James Henning
James Henning, Commander
Denver Police Department (Retired)
Career Highlights
- Certified IACP Leadership in Police Organizations instructor
- Colorado POST Certified Instructor
- Department Field Training Officer
- Marijuana Legalization Instructor
- FBI National Academy graduate (Class 258)
- Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management in Policing Graduate
James Henning served over 31 years with the Denver Police Department and recently retired after attaining the rank of Commander. Working his way from Patrol to Command Staff, James worked assignments in Training, Communications, Vice/Drug, Administration, and served as the Commander of the Investigative Support Division.
In 2012, James became Lieutenant of the Vice/Drug control unit. That same Fall, Colorado was the first state to legalize the production, sale, and possession of recreational Marijuana. In his role as lieutenant, James took the lead in developing the Denver Police Department’s policy, procedure, and implementing Municipal Code and State Law to address the complicated issues created by the new law. James was a founding member of the Denver Marijuana Policy Team and worked collaboratively with other city agencies, state agencies, and community organizations in the development of these polices and trained and presented to DPD and every other city agency on their roll out and implementation. James has made countless presentations concerning the impact of marijuana legalization to Law Enforcement, law makers, judges, legislative aids, prosecutors, media, and other interested parties from across the State of Colorado, the United States, and the world.
As the Commander of the DPD Investigative Support Division from 2016 – 2020, James lead the DPD Vice/Drug Unit, Excise and Licensing team, Gang Unit, Intelligence Unit, Human Trafficking Team, various task forces, and created the Real Time Crime Center. James created the first collaborative human trafficking team with the Denver Police Department, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, and victim service providers. In his various roles, James also assisted with the application and administration of numerous state and federal grants totaling more than $10M.
When he is not teaching, James enjoys fishing, woodworking, reading, and spending time with his family and granddaughters.