Free pancakes, SWAT trucks, mounted patrol horses, and a bug-based art project are all part of the plan when the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and Arapahoe County Coroner throw open their Centennial headquarters on September 26. The joint open house and free pancake breakfast runs from 8 a.m. to noon at 13101 E. Broncos Parkway, with free parking included for anyone who shows up hungry or just curious.
The invitation comes straight from the agency itself, which posted the announcement on the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page on September 1. Beyond the free pancake and sausage breakfast, families can expect mounted patrol horses, SWAT vehicle access, bomb squad and drone team displays, SRO bike patrol, patrol cars, hostage negotiators, traffic unit motorcycles, and crime scene investigation demonstrations. K-9 and therapy dog demonstrations round out the hands-on offerings, according to the same post.
Tours, Mascots and a Bug-Painting Lesson in Forensics
Visitors can also tour both the Sheriff's Office and the Coroner's facility, stop by an anthropology table, and walk through a sheriff's history exhibit, per the agency's announcement. Kids and families can meet Bailey, the coroner's office mascot, and sit down with the sheriff and coroner themselves during the event.
One of the more distinctive stops is the “maggot art” table, where children dip live blowfly larvae into non-toxic, water-based paint and let them crawl across paper. The activity isn't just a novelty — according to Mile High Hook & Ladder, it's designed to teach forensic entomology basics, since insect growth stages on a body are critical evidence coroners use to help determine time of death.
A New Coroner Steps Into the Role
This year's open house arrives during a leadership shift at the Coroner's Office. Long-serving elected Coroner Dr. Kelly Lear, who had held the post since 2014, retired in July, and Arapahoe County commissioners appointed forensic pathologist Dr. Casey Bitting on July 2, 2026, to serve out the remainder of Lear's term through January 2027, according to Sentinel Colorado. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 30-10-606, county coroners are legally required to independently investigate all unnatural, unexpected, or unexplained deaths within their jurisdiction to determine cause and manner of death, per Justia Law.
Fire Crews and a Century-Old Agency Join In
The Sheriff's Office isn't hosting alone. South Metro Fire Rescue and the volunteer Arapahoe Rescue Patrol are expected to join for demonstrations that have included vehicle extrications using the Jaws of Life at past events, along with a detentions sort team demo, wildland fire team, command post, 911 dispatch tours and emergency management exhibits, according to the sheriff's announcement. A command structure led by Sheriff Tyler Brown, who has served since 2019, oversees the agency's Detentions, Public Safety and Support Services divisions that keep both unincorporated Arapahoe County and contracted municipalities covered.
That contracted-municipality arrangement is why the Sheriff's Office headquarters sits in Centennial in the first place. When Centennial incorporated on February 7, 2001 — the largest incorporation in U.S. history by population — the city opted to contract its entire municipal law enforcement through the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office rather than stand up its own police department, according to the City of Centennial. That arrangement now covers more than 100,000 residents.
The agency itself has deep roots. Established in 1858, before Colorado achieved statehood, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office is recognized as the oldest sheriff's office in the state, a legacy the open house highlights through its history tours and mini-museum exhibits. The detention facility at the same Centennial complex processes roughly 17,000 inmates annually and has held continuous accreditation from the American Correctional Association since 1991.
A Growing Community Tradition
Attendance at the open house has climbed steadily in recent years, growing from more than 1,000 visitors in 2021 to an estimated 2,500 community members at the August 2022 event, both held in Centennial. Past editions have doubled as fundraisers, including nearly $1,000 collected for charity in 2021 and additional funds raised for local cancer treatment programs through a dunk tank in 2022, with elected officials taking the plunge to support hospital patient care.
The September 26 gathering follows other recent community touchpoints for the agency, including the RexRun event at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds in August, which similarly featured K-9 demonstrations. It also comes roughly a month after a person died outside the Sheriff's Office headquarters in Centennial, an incident deputies said posed no threat to the public. Whether that case has been resolved is not addressed in the agency's open house announcement.
