Thread by @shayshinecastle

OK, on to police oversight. Here's the staff presentation: www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/4A_Police…

And again, my story summarizing where we are and what's being voted on. boulderbeat.news/2019/10/26/pol…

Three council candidates stayed for this one: Swetlik, Duran and Friend.

Todd Conklin, a CU student and member of the police oversight task force, is presenting.

Here's what council is voting on: Auditor/Monitor
Model with a Police Oversight Panel
• Full-time auditor/monitor professional in City Manager’s Office
• Enhanced police oversight panel of 11 community members
• Improved community engagement

(That's from the presentation, btw)

Implementation of this (assuming a positive vote) will take awhile; possibly 18 months, task force said last time. Some of the task force members are staying on to help with that.

Correction to earlier tweet: Candidate Wallach *may* still be here for this. I see a balding gray head in front of me that looks like him but it's hard to tell.

Julca and Dolan def gone, tho.

Pretty straightforward presentation. There's more info in my story that I'm not going to tweet. Just read the story!

All but 3-4 members of task force are staying on to help with implementation, Conklin says.

Conklin: The final decision on misconduct investigations, though reviewed by the auditor/monitor and citizen panel, will remain with the police chief. But those folks will oversee investigations and make recommendations to chief.

That was in response to a q from Young.

"When police chief is left with final decision," she says, "there's some element of not being able to" meet the standards of community trust and oversight.

Conklin: In the process we've designed, we think investigations are going to be so well done and thorough, we believe they will be making the correct decision, including feedback from the panel.

As part of this model, police will have to interact with community more.

"We think in doing that, we will create a healthy relationship between the police and the community."

Jones: Investigation will be public, right? So there will be transparency to the public when that decision is made?

Conklin: Yes

Young also asked about how to measure the trust in police among the community. Weaver asking that, too.

Conklin: That's an implementation question, but it's going to be "absolutely critical" and part of continued and ongoing outreach to the community.

Jane Brautigam: There is a survey in which the police dept is highly rated, always. But it asks "an easy question ... I don't want to say it's superficial... but I feel more qs would get at the perception" of mistrust.

Public hearing. 3 ppl are signed up.

First one is a cop. Mark Bliley

Speaking on behalf of 180+ sworn officers.

I know a lot of work has gone into this ... in such a short period of time. "There's still a lot of work ahead of us."

Police have concerns about how this has initially been put together. But these things can be worked out in time, Bliley says. "As long as we're not rushed into this."

Police have to live with this, he says. It's something we have to be comfortable with as well as the community.

Darren O'Connor, speaking for the local NAACP, addressing some concerns.

"While I think we still disagree on the final position that the police chief should make final decisions, we recognize (the task force) came to that decision quite knowledgable." (sic)

Denver's auditor/monitor has been "stymied" by the police. They refused to take his recommendations. That might not happen here, O'Connor says, but it might.

Boulder's police chief at the last meeting said his officers were scared by this process. "I hope they would welcome it. ... Our police ultimately, I just don't understand how they can be scared of the community they serve asking them to treat that community fairly."

Weaver: "Change is often scary." It may be fear, not of the community, but of what the process might look like.

Sammie Lawrence IV is speaking. It's been a minute since he's been here.

The community cried out for this change, Lawrence says. "We as a community have scars to back our stance."

"True healing begins when you are independent" from those who hurt you, he says.

Public hearing is over. Carlisle makes a motion to adopt the ordinances relating to this.

"I think this has been a good change, a good move," she says. "I do trust that our police will be taking up, as they should be, their end of the bargain here."

Young: "Never doubt that a small, dedicated, thoughtful group of citizens can change police process."

She also wants the implementation group to think about "the appearance" of having the police chief make final decisions in cases of misconduct.

Consider giving the auditor/monitor and police chief "equal standing."

Suggests that the Zayd Atkinson case be "run through" the new model "to see how it works."

Weaver: There are difficult community conversations that needed to be had. They're not done, but they've been started.

Brockett: "We've come a couple of important steps down a road of improving trust. This is a long journey; we have many more steps. I'm committed personally to doing what I can to continue down that road."

Most unusually, Morzel didn't make a speech.
Yates or Nagle either, but that's pretty normal.

Unanimous vote to implement that.

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