Jerry Kennedy, left, and Police Chief Art Dill, right, with Elvis Presley, in a DPD uniform, at the 1976 funeral of Kennedy's brother, Detective Eugene Kennedy.
Jerry Kennedy, one of the more colorful and controversial characters in Denver police annals, was known for defusing tense situations — especially those involving himself.
In 1982, while testifying before a state Senate hearing investigating the Police Department's handling of off-duty security assignments, the Denver police division chief was asked if he knew a guy named Taco. Without missing a beat, Kennedy said: “No … but I know his brother, Burrito.”
Kennedy, who was friends with everyone from brewery magnate Bill Coors to cable pioneer Bill Daniels to rock ‘n roll king Elvis Presley, died Thursday at age 90, his family confirmed. He served in the Denver Police Department for 34 years.
“Jerry was truly a legend,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen. “He deeply cared about Denver and its safety. The youth of the city were especially important to him. He was involved in so much, from the Police Athletic League (PAL) to being a friend of Elvis. He was a colorful character this city and this department will never forget.”
Kennedy, former head of stadium security for the Denver Broncos and namesake of the now-closed PAL youth athletic complex in Valverde Park, joined the Denver Police Department as an officer in 1957 and served in many capacities before his retirement in 1991, including head of investigations and community relations. But he got more attention for his friendship with Elvis than anything else.
In addition to his regular duties, Kennedy was in charge of assigning cops as off-duty security for music and sporting events from 1962-87. In the early ’70s, his friendship with Presley became the stuff of legend — and endless curiosity for the local press. It began when Presley played a Denver gig and Kennedy helped out with his security.
“Elvis had a fascination — some would say obsession — with police officers,” Brian Trembath wrote in a 2020 article for the Denver Public Library. “Wherever he went, Elvis courted the attention of the local authorities, whom he also hired as security. And in Denver, Elvis' go-to man on the force was Jerry Kennedy.”
Elvis was vacationing in Aspen in 1976 when The King casually asked Kennedy what kind of car he drove. He said a small Audi Fox. According to a Rocky Mountain News account from Jan. 16, 1976, Elvis replied: "I want to buy you a family car. I've got a Lincoln and I want you to have one, too." Elvis then turned to Detective Ron Petrifaso and said, "I'll buy you a car, too."
Jerry Kennedy, right, with the Lincoln that Elvis Presley bought for him in 1976.
The next day, The King and The (Division) Chief high-tailed it down the mountains to a Lincoln dealer at Eighth Avenue and Broadway, where Elvis cut a personal check for $13,300 for Kennedy’s car — about $67,500 today.
According to legend, Presley purchased up to nine luxury cars as gifts during that week in Denver. When that raised reporters’ eyebrows, then-Denver Police Chief Art Dill ruled that while officers couldn't accept gifts while on duty — they were free to do so on their own time.
Still, questions about Kennedy’s handling of off-duty security assignments, and how and whether payroll taxes were paid, put him under scrutiny, leading to that state Senate hearing in 1982.
“Jerry Kennedy was simply the greatest police officer the city of Denver ever had, bar none,” said attorney Marshall Fogel, who has represented hundreds of police officers over 40 years and said Kennedy was fully exonerated by the state and IRS. “The reason they could never lay anything on him is because he never did anything wrong. All the attacks against him were political, all based on jealousy.”
Presley’s affection for Denver police extended to donating the funds to outfit the gymnasium at the old Denver District 2 police station at East 35th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. When Jerry’s brother, Denver Detective Eugene Kennedy, died in 1976, Elvis attended the funeral wearing a double-breasted Denver police uniform that had been gifted to him by Dill.
Fogel said Kennedy was a local celebrity in his own right, and that his birthday parties were like no others.
“There would be 400 people there, and always more trying to get in,” he said. “Imagine a birthday party for a police officer where Bill Coors walks in and plays the piano. If you were invited to Jerry Kennedy’s birthday party, you were somebody. I would dress as a priest and put a crown on Jerry’s head.”
The short-lived Police Athletic League youth athletic complex was named after Jerry Kennedy
Kennedy got to know Daniels while providing security at local boxing events and they became close friends. In 2009, the Daniels estate funded the PAL sports complex at 150 S. Navajo St., and it was named after Kennedy. The 9,000-square-foot building, closed in 2013 for lack of funding, housed a boxing ring, a gym, offices and storage.
"This is quite an honor; I'm humbled," Kennedy said at the time.
Because of his connection to promoter Barry Fey and the concert industry, Kennedy witnessed some monumental events in local music history.
In 2011, Kennedy spoke with his nephew, then-Denver Post reporter Ricardo Baca, about an apocalyptic 1971 Jethro Tull date that closed Red Rocks to concerts for the next five years. Up to 2,000 fans showed up without tickets to the sold-out concert, and they were directed by Denver police to a side of the mountain where they could watch the show. When some charged the gates, there was tear gas, unruly crowds, rocks thrown at police (and returned), violent confrontations with cops and even a swooping police helicopter.
"The place was under assault by thousands of people who wanted to get in,” Kennedy said. “They decided they were going to rush the place, and that's what caused the battle. It was the first real incident of that kind that I'd seen."
Kennedy will be remembered, Fogel said, as a cop who was generous with his influence, and one who had the full respect of his fellow officers. “I can’t tell you the number of officers who became commanders because of Jerry’s influence,” he said. “He was just the gold standard for law enforcement.”
Jerry Kennedy was born in Denver on July 9, 1931, one of Michael and Mary Kennedy’s nine children. He graduated from Holy Family High School and served in the U.S. Air Force before attending Regis College.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Joan; their three children: Tom Kennedy, Kate Eagleton and Colleen Kennedy; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild; sister Maureen Kennedy of Westminster; and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass will be held on at 10 a.m. Friday, May 27, at the original Holy Family Catholic Church, 4377 Utica St. followed by a burial at 11:30 a.m. at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge and a reception back at the Holy Family reception center.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Mullen Home for the Aged – Little Sisters of the Poor Denver.