In April of 2015, DPS Director Frank Milstead promoted Danny Lugo from the rank of Major to Lt. Colonel and assigned him as Assistant Director of the Highway Patrol Division. On August 5th, 2017 Lt. Col. Lugo was appointed to the Assistant Director position over the Criminal Investigations Division. In March 2019, Lt. Col. Lugo was appointed to the Assistant Director position in the Agency Support Division. On July 2nd, 2022, under Department of Public Safety Director Heston Silbert, Lt. Col. Lugo was appointed to the Assistant Director position in the Criminal Investigations Division. In June of 2023, Col. Jeffrey D. Glover appointed Lt. Col. Lugo to the Assistant Director position of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Task Force where he serves currently.
During his thirty-four years as an Arizona State Trooper, he has held a variety of positions in the Highway Patrol Division and the Criminal Investigations Division throughout the state. Lt. Col. Lugo has spent approximately twenty-two-years of his career in the Criminal Investigations Division serving in several multi-agency task forces. Prior to his promotion, he served as the Investigations Bureau Commander over statewide Narcotics Enforcement, Auto Theft Task Force, SWAT, and Homicide Investigations (Major Crimes Unit) at the rank of major. Lt. Col. Lugo served for approximately three years as the full-time SWAT Commander and has approximately 17 years of total SWAT experience as a SWAT Operator, Assistant Team Leader, Team Leader and Commander.
He served three years as the Highway Patrol District Commander in Tucson and approximately one and one-half years as the State Gang Task Force Border District Commander, both at the rank of captain. Lt. Col. Lugo was assigned to the State Gang Task Force on four separate occasions throughout his career and one year as a Border Intelligence Commander, at the rank of lieutenant. As a sergeant, he served a three-year assignment at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC), which is a multi-agency intelligence fusion center.
His additional assignments in the Criminal Investigations Division as a sergeant were in the areas of Financial Investigations, Administrative Sergeant, Intelligence Supervisor, Undercover Narcotics Detective and Supervisor, Major Offenders Unit Detective and Supervisor, Meth Lab Task Force Supervisor, State Gang Task Force Supervisor (as well as a Detective), and SWAT Team Leader.
Lt. Col. Lugo attended the Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy, the Pima County Corrections Officer Basic Academy, and honorably served four years in the United States Marine Corps with assignments in Japan, South Korea, and California. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and the West Point Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) Command program. In March of 2016, he graduated from the FBI National Academy Session #263 in Quantico, Virginia. Lt. Col. Lugo has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership.
Lt. Colonel Lugo was instrumental in starting the Tucson Chapter of the Latino Peace Officers Association (LPOA) and served as Tucson Chapter President for two years. He is also a Lifetime Member of the LPOA. He is a proud member of the Arizona State Troopers Association (ASTA), State Troopers Coalition, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP), National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 32.