The next time a Denver police officer shoots someone, the investigation will be faster and more thorough than at any time in the city’s recent history, new police monitor Richard Rosenthal said Thursday.
Rosenthal declined to comment on the specifics of last year’s fatal police shooting of the unarmed Frank Lobato, although he did say the investigation that ended last week with the suspension of officer Ranjan Ford Jr. took a “long time, festering.”
That won’t happen in the future, he said.
“I’m going to roll out to all the shootings. I’m going to watch them process the crime scene and listen to the interviews and see if they are missing anything,” Rosenthal said, noting that his presence behind the yellow crime-scene tape has been cleared through the police and the district attorney’s office. “I will be embedded in the whole process.”
Rosenthal opened his office Aug. 1. The job was created as part of sweeping reforms instituted by Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration in response to public outcry over the fatal shooting of disabled teenager Paul Childs in 2003. A new Civilian Review Board also has been created to increase oversight and police accountability.
Rosenthal, who reports to the mayor, said that in addition to in-depth investigations, he plans to have annual use-of-force reviews, route about 10 percent of all complaints against officers to mediation and conduct surveys on citizens and officers involved in a complaint.
He said the district attorney has agreed to let his office and the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau complete their investigations before deciding whether to file criminal charges against officers in cases that don’t involve shootings.
Shootings by officers are investigated by the district attorney’s office from the beginning.
“We have no change in protocol on police shootings,” said District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. “For other cases, it made sense to us that IAB and Rosenthal complete their investigation before we review it for possible criminal charges.”
Mike Mosco, head of the Police Protective Association, said officers have a “wait- and-see” attitude with Rosenthal. Rosenthal and the Police Department will conduct parallel investigations. When internal affairs finishes its investigation, Rosenthal will recommend whether its findings are reasonable and make his own recommendations. Both will go to Manager of Public Safety Al LaCabe.
“He will still be the ultimate decision- maker, but I have ability to publicize my recommendations as well,” Rosenthal said.
LaCabe could not be reached for comment.
Rosenthal is the former police-review director in Portland, Ore. He was not involved in last week’s decision by LaCabe to suspend Ford for 90 days for shooting Lobato on July 11, 2004.
Rosenthal said that in September, he will commission a 10- to 12-month study of the city’s use-of-force policies. He did an identical study in Portland two years ago, and the nonprofit Police Assessment Resource Center made 89 suggestions for policy changes. Rosenthal said he was considering hiring the same group but had not made a decision yet. After a benchmark is set, the independent monitor’s office will produce an annual report on shootings each year.
Transparency in shooting-review procedures, Rosenthal said, is the “crown jewel” of police monitoring. Reviewing incidents case-by-case usually fails to effect change.
“The reality is that the disciplinary system is not good at managing use of force. They are split-second decisions and difficult to review,” he said. “Instead of reacting while embroiled in controversial incidents, we have to look at the quality of investigations … the training and policies.”
Staff writer Karen E. Crummy can be reached at kcrummy@denverpost.com or 303-820-1594.
