Expect more “transparency and accountability” of the inner- workings of the Denver Police Department, the city’s new police monitor vowed to citizens at a community meeting Wednesday night.
The monitor, Richard Rosenthal, detailed several ways citizens can make their case, commend officers on the job and even iron out grievances in a private mediation setting.
“The goal is long-term organizational improvement, basically that’s what the monitor’s office is all about,” Rosenthal said. He was part of a panel discussion that included Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe and City Councilman Rick Garcia. It was sponsored by the Denver League of Women Voters at a Park Hill church.
The panel was assembled to discuss issues facing Denver’s justice system. LaCabe touched on issues surrounding jail crowding and construction of a new detention facility, while Garcia discussed the need for alternative sentencing and programs to cut down on recidivism to trim the jail population.
Rosenthal talked about new approaches for disciplining officers and settling complaints with the department.
One item is a mediation process set up in October that puts complainants across a table from officers with whom they have a grievance.
The process, which typically would result in an explanation or an apology, already has seen about 12 complaints get resolved, Rosenthal said. Mediation is not intended for disciplining officers, nor would it result in a monetary award if a complaint is deemed valid, he said.
The monitor’s office also will be releasing quarterly reports of complaints that are found to be valid, which would include some non-identifying information about the incidents and the resulting disciplinary measures taken.
On Wednesday, the monitor’s office released complaint/commendation forms translated into Spanish. And he said his office expects to reach out to other ethnic communities to make the process of filing complaints or commendations less daunting.
Also, he said, a California consultant has been hired to review officer-involved shootings that took place over the past five to six years to determine whether new training or policies have to be implemented to avoid such use of force.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
