Unchecked Authority: Colorado security company accused of using illegal lights

Driving past construction sites across the Denver metro area, it’s common to see unmarked vehicles with armed security guards attempting to slow traffic to keep workers safe and clear of oncoming traffic.

But in some areas, one local security company’s cars are registered out of state and, according to law enforcement, are illegally using red and blue lights while on scene.

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Unchecked Authority: Colorado security company accused of using illegal lights

Denver7 Investigates spent weeks tracking cars at Denver Metro Security job locations where they provided traffic control with officers in uniform. In all cases, their cars had Montana license plates and used red and blue lights without proper permitting and in violation of state law, according to Colorado State Patrol.

Multiple insiders and employees contacted Denver7 Investigates after the company’s operations manager told Denver7 in a previous story that the company had permission to use the lights and rented the cars from Montana.

“I was stunned because, to me, there was a lot of false information put out,” said Kevin Heely, a former contractor who worked construction sites for Denver Metro Security for 10 years and left the company earlier this year.

Heely came forward last month to dispute claims made by Denver Metro Security Operations Manager Nate Boyd.

“Somebody’s got to bring this to light,” he said.

Former Denver Metro Security Sales Director Dwight Berry also spoke to Denver7 Investigates and said the company was misleading their clients and the public.

“The company has gotten to the point where they think they’re above the law,” he said.

Illegal red and blue lights

Arvada resident Jordan Shaw said the red and blue lights on cars with Montana license plates caught his attention, as did the person conducting traffic with a belt and a gun.

So he started taking pictures.

He then reached out to Denver7 Traffic Reporter Jayson Luber, who first started asking questions about the cars and the company behind them.

“Having these cars out there that we, as citizens, don’t understand the purpose of or the authority of, I think is a problem,” Shaw said.

Boyd, the company’s operations manager, then told Luber that Denver Metro Security could use red and blue emergency lights because they had a POST-certified – or state-certified – officer with the car. Colorado State Patrol has since said that is false.

“It’s very black and white. There’s no gray area in this at all,” Colorado State Trooper Hunter Matthews told Denver7 Investigates.

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When shown video of Denver Metro Security vehicles at road construction sites using red and blue lights, Matthews said it was concerning to see and called them “law enforcement lights.”

He also said the company was breaking the law because the cars had to be registered to a law enforcement or government agency in order to use those lights.

The one way for a private vehicle to use red and blue lights without a vehicle being registered to a law enforcement agency is to have an emergency vehicle equipment authorization issued by the state.

The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles said Denver Metro Security once had that authorization, but no longer did.

“To my knowledge, Denver Metro hasn’t had any for years,” said Heely, who does have the authorization and a permit displayed on his personal car.

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Also, court records show that a Denver Metro Security worker faced criminal charges after Fort Collins Police said she illegally used red and blue lights in an unmarked car with Montana license plates in August 2025.

That case ended with the worker pleading guilty to attempting to influence a public servant and illegal use of emergency lights. She received a deferred sentence and probation.

The Montana Loophole

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Despite Boyd previously telling Denver7 that the company was renting cars out of Montana because it was cheaper, Denver7 Investigates found that the company had set up an LLC in Montana under the names of the company owners, John and Susan Perry, launched in December 2024, and using a Lakewood address associated with Denver Metro Security.

“The Montana plates were used to specifically circumvent the Colorado registration process,” Berry said.

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Registration fees are far less expensive in Montana than they are in Colorado and the LLC allows people or businesses to register a car in Montana.

“There’s no footprint for Denver Metro in Montana,” Heely said.

Don Mayer, a business ethics professor at the University of Denver, said what is known as the Montana loophole is becoming more common.

“It’s unfair. You’re paying, they’re not. You’re helping to maintain the roads and bridges, they’re not,” Mayer said. “The reason we should care is we’re paying taxpayer dollars. We’re also paying the registration fees and they’re not. They’re freeriding.”

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Denver Metro Security’s owners denied interview requests, but in a statement said that the company had “updated its practices after being notified of Colorado’s requirements.”

It’s unclear what those changes are, but Denver7 Investigates has found that in recent days, the cars have switched over to Colorado plates, but were still using red and blue lights.

“It’s a misrepresentation of authority,” Shaw said. “I think everybody when they see red and blue lights, they think, ‘all right, how fast am I going?’”

Matthews, the state trooper, said that the use of red and blue lights needs to stop.

“It’s taking trust away from us,” he said. “Change your lights or you’re gonna face the repercussions that come with using the red and blues.”

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