The suspended head of a long-troubled youth detention center in Golden appears to have carried on a romantic relationship with a subordinate, with the pair exchanging racist text messages and demeaning the young people in their care as well as co-workers.
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The Denver Post obtained thousands of texts between Lindsey Miller, the superintendent of the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center, and Justin Tomsick, the facility’s program manager, under the Colorado Open Records Act. State leaders suspended the pair in July amid an unspecified employment investigation.
The messages, dating back to May 1, show the two in what appears to be a romantic relationship. Miller calls Tomsick “buttercup,” and the two texted frequently about their families, weekend plans and borrowing each other’s clothes. In one message, one of them said they wished the other could be there to “warm me up.”
It wasn’t always clear which person sent certain messages, since the records provided to The Post by the Colorado Department of Human Services omit names and phone numbers.
Miller and Tomsick did not respond to messages from a reporter seeking comment.
The Division of Youth Services, which oversees the state’s 10 detention and commitment facilities, declined an interview request for this story. In a statement, division leaders said they “do not condone or tolerate the conduct, language or unprofessional behavior of these individuals.”
Neither has worked in a facility since being placed on leave.
The state, officials said, “is committed to accountability, workplace integrity and a safe, respectful environment for everyone we serve.”
In several texts, Miller and Tomsick made racist jokes targeting different ethnic groups. One joked about selling the other to another boss, to which they responded, “I’m not Black.”
In another, one of them said they were waiting for “my parents’ Mexicans” to finish doing lawn work. While discussing July 4th, one of them said: “Let’s be honest, it’s a white people holiday. I mean, I guess Middle Easterners like to blow (expletive) up too, but the 4th definitely isn’t for them.”
Several messages targeted youth being housed at the facility they helped run.
Miller or Tomsick called them “little (expletive) bags” in one text. Another string of messages said one youth “has been (expletive) his whole life” and will “unfortunately end up in the adult system.” They guessed the young person would survive one month out of prison before being arrested again.
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In another text, Miller or Tomsick joked that they “haven’t touched any kids yet.”
The pair also regularly disparaged their coworkers.
“We tell the kids not to do this, but then staff does it half the time; I feel like our staff are worse than the kids,” one of them complained. The other responded: “Look at you being nice. I’d say the majority of the time, these behaviors are expected from juvenile delinquents, not the adults that are supposed to be professionals.”
The staff is operating in an “absolute crisis mode all the time,” one of them said in another message. The two frequently called employees derogatory names and jokingly threatened to kill workers who bothered them.
Miller and Tomsick occasionally vented about directives from state leadership.
“The decisions around beds and populations and placements don’t make sense and are rushed decisions that they’re not thinking through or know what to consider,” one of them said.
The two lamented that brass from the Department of Human Services were holding public-relations events at Lookout Mountain. In one message, they blasted an executive order from Gov. Jared Polis that sought to eliminate soft drinks at official functions.
“Communists, they want to control everything,” one of them said. “These supervisors are just morons — so dumb.”
Several times, Miller and Tomsick reminded each other to delete their texts.
The suspensions came less than a year after state officials temporarily removed all youth from Lookout Mountain amid deteriorating safety conditions. Records obtained by The Post last year showed the move came after serious assaults on staff, drugs entering the facility and at least one violent threat that led the state to request additional police patrols.
The Division of Youth Services reopened portions of the Golden facility on Nov. 1 after providing additional training to staff, redesigning programming and creating a working group to recommend changes.
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The facility has a long history of riots, violence and escapes.
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