Sheriff Elias Diggins answers questions during a Denver Sheriff Department Community Forum at Manual High School on Sept. 7. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)
Re: “Proposed changes would make it easier to fire Denver jail deputies,” Oct. 3 news story.
Why did it take a 21-member panel to come up with these 32 recommendations for improving discipline and accountability in the Denver jail, especially in cases involving the use of excessive force by deputies? It doesn’t take rocket science to know that the major factors leading to the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers include the lack of management, supervisory and officer accountability, and the lack of a quality system of inspections and control. When these factors are absent, we see problems like what we have been reading about.
Why have these factors been absent for so long? Where was the quality control and who is responsible? Why is there a department of public safety, an independent monitor, and a civilian oversight board? What is their role in all of this?
Dan Montgomery, Arvada
The writer is a former Westminster police chief.
This letter was published in the Oct. 12 edition.
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