Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas responds to criticism over proposed disciplinary policy change

DENVER — In an interview with Denver7 on Friday, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas shared more details about his proposal to change how officers are disciplined for certain low-level policy violations and responded to accusations that he had not been transparent in developing the policy.

Instead of relying on traditional discipline, such as oral or written reprimands, the proposal would provide officers with the option of receiving “behavior-focused education and training.” Thomas said this would involve the officers going to the academy and taking a class from trainers who would help them understand the specific policy and procedure they were supposed to follow.

“And then, you know, training to make sure that when you walk away at the end of that eight or 16 hours, that you clearly understand what you're supposed to do the next time you're in that situation, what the department expectation is, and what the community expectation is,” Thomas told Denver7's Brandon Richard. “And I think that ultimately, that is what community members want. They want people to understand what they're supposed to do and what's expected of them.”

This alternative approach is known as education-based discipline (EBD). It’s a policy that was first used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department around 2009. Thomas said after conversations with Lisabeth Pérez Castle, Denver’s independent monitor, he agreed to substitute “discipline” for “development.” Now, the policy in Denver would be known as education-based development (EBD).

“I do think that that's ultimately what we're trying to do,” Thomas said. “We're trying to develop within officers who make minor mistakes, the understanding of what the expectation is, both from the agency and from the community.”

• Watch our full interview with Chief Ron Thomas below:

Thomas said DPD’s current system can leave a citizen who has filed a complaint against an officer for a low-level violation waiting months for the case to be resolved.

“And despite the fact that it's a very low-level type of penalty, these cases take a long period of time to resolve, and I just think it's a disservice,” Thomas said. “And I think even impacts public trust, when you file a complaint and eight, nine months later, you get a response that it’s been resolved and the officer has received a letter of reprimand.”

Thomas’ proposal has been criticized by some community police watchdog groups and Denver’s independent monitor. They have accused Thomas of trying to avoid oversight and accountability.

“I think that it's a false accusation,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he has provided people with plenty of opportunities to provide feedback. He said DPD sent out emails about one of his initial presentations and received over 800 responses. According to the police chief, 78% of those responses were in favor of education-based development.

“I’ve been transparent about what I want to do, why I want to do it, you know, given as much detail as I can about the mechanics,” Thomas said.

• Read our previous coverage in the story below

Denver

Denver PD's proposed disciplinary policy change faces resistance

Brandon Richard

Julia Richmond, the chair of the Denver Citizen Oversight Board, said previous policy changes were developed with significant input from the community, such as the 2017 policy updates concerning the use of force.

“The community had to fight to be a part of that process, and once they were, it was robust and engaged,” Richmond told Denver7.

Richmond said city regulations also require DPD to engage Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM) on significant policy updates.

“And in this case, they were not upfront,” Richmond said. “They have been since. And the department doesn't have to listen to the monitor's office, it's not a requirement, but they do have to engage them. And [DPD] skipped that step pretty significantly.”

Denver7

That’s another charge Thomas disputes.

“I think that I have been very transparent. I've been talking to the Office of Independent Monitor for over a year,” Thomas said. “I think they were interested in what I would come forward with. It took me some time. I wanted to be very thoughtful in coming up with the right program. So, I did my own research, and then started building a model, and then engaged the community.”

Castle shared her concerns about the proposed policy with Denver7 last month.

“My chief concern is that it is an attempt to avoid responsibility, accountability for officers, and that it is a policy that is being unilaterally changed without significant engagement by the community,” Castle said.

She’s still not on board with Thomas’ proposal.

On Friday, during a meeting of the citizen oversight board, Castle said there was no research that shows EBD is more effective than DPD’s current discipline system. Thomas said that was probably a fair observation.

“I would say that there is no research that shows that this is effective in policing, but I think there's models where this is effective in the business world, in education, even in the criminal justice system,” he said.

Denver7

If the policy proposal is implemented, Thomas said he hopes to partner with a university to study the impact.

“Does this reduce low-level complaints? Does this change behavior? Does this reduce recidivism? Does this allow for greater focus on larger cases and even faster resolutions on some of these larger cases that I would think the community would want?” Thomas said. “When people have done something that they should be terminated for, they should receive a pretty significant penalty, [and] we come to that conclusion quickly, as well.”

Thomas said if the study shows EBD is not reducing low-level complaints or recidivism, he would get rid of the policy. He also reiterated several times during his interview with Denver7 that citizen complaints would still be fully investigated to determine whether EBD is appropriate for the officer involved.

“There's 127 specific conduct specifications that can be lodged against an officer. Of those 127, there are 66 that right off the bat are ineligible for education-based development consideration,” Thomas said. “And so, we're really probably talking about a very short number of cases after the complete investigation, after OIM has determined that the investigation is thorough and complete.”

DPD is seeking public feedback on the proposal and has published its draft policy for review. Citizens can submit their feedback through Aug. 27.

• Read the full draft below

According to the draft, officers who are offered EBD could receive training on emotional intelligence, tactical skills, leadership development, health and wellness, and procedural justice.

Richmond believes EBD could result in citizens filing fewer complaints because they are not satisfied with how their case was handled. She said they could instead take matters to court.

“It may also result in more lawsuits for the city, because people may make less complaints because there's no actual outcome for their complaints,” Richmond said. “You know, an officer gets to go to training, you get to skip your shift, and you get to sit in a computer room or in a classroom for 10 hours instead. And so that lack of accountability could translate to folks suing the city more.”

DPD can adopt the policy without Denver City Council approval, though Thomas said he hopes to get support from council members.

The police chief said he still needs to engage with Mayor Mike Johnston's office.

“There are still some steps that I need to go through to really kind of get a true sense of the support that there is for the program,” Thomas said. “I'm hopeful that there is enough support to make me feel comfortable moving forward.”

---