A major overhaul to the police discipline system that has been pushed for more than three years seemed closer to reality Friday after the union representing officers removed earlier objections.
The union is backing a new version of the plan that would allow Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe to develop guidelines for officers that would specify presumed punishment for specific violations.
LaCabe has pushed for the change, saying it is needed to replace a system that has relied on past discipline to guide police supervisors in imposing punishment.
A major sticking point has been how much consideration the Denver Civil Service Commission should give the new guidelines.
The commission will vote in several weeks on whether to accept the proposed overhaul. The commission has strived to strike a balance, watering down some of the language that LaCabe had pushed earlier.
For instance, LaCabe originally had wanted to definitively specify that the Civil Service Commission and its hearing officers “shall” take the new guidelines into account when hearing appeals.
Lawyers for the union objected to that language, and language that said disciplinary decisions by the administration using the new guidelines would be presumed to be correct during appeals.
Eventually, the staff of the Civil Service Commission proposed compromise language that includes the new disciplinary guidelines as one of several factors to consider as well as similar disciplinary histories.
In a letter to the commission, David Bruno, a lawyer representing the Denver Police Protection Association, said, “The commission has taken the comments of all into consideration and has reached a fair and meaningful compromise.”
LaCabe still is pushing to strengthen some language.
“The points they are contesting at this point are relatively fine points,” said Brian Kellog, a senior human-resources professional for the commission. “Now the attorneys would argue that although they are fine points, they still go to the heart of whether the commission is doing an independent review or whether it is accepting elements of the disciplinary matrix without doing that independent review.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
