Dear Friend,

Over the last year, our nation has put a spotlight on the question of how we build trust in law enforcement through improved training and accountability. In Colorado, we are focused on this challenge. Last week, I joined John King on CNN to discuss Colorado’s police integrity law and our office’s commitment to implementing it.

Our office’s work on building trust in law enforcement is a top priority. That’s why, after the guilty verdict for the murder of George Floyd, I stated,

“This is not an end, but a beginning. The work must continue to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and to hold accountable those who break that trust.”

At the Attorney General’s Office, we have an ambitious agenda for how we build that trust and improve policing, particularly with communities of color. After extensive community input and engagement, we have set forth an agenda--explained in this blog post--that includes improved de-escalation and implicit bias training. It also involves re-imagining law enforcement training at the academy level by building core competencies that include empathy and ethical decision-making. I believe that Colorado can modernize our system of law enforcement and be on the leading edge of this important change.

Colorado is committed to accountability for those officers who betray the public’s trust. That’s why our Peace Officer Standards and Training Board has decertified 11 individuals for being untruthful, preventing them from serving in the profession. We are also now building a database to track law enforcement officers who are decertified and/or were fired for cause.

Together, we can improve community safety, support law enforcement, and work toward equity for all Coloradans within our criminal justice system. Thanks for your commitment to that important work.

Phil