DENVER — Denver's Independent Monitor is accusing the city's law enforcement agencies of cutting her office out of key policy decisions — and some city council members say they agree.
Independent Monitor Lisabeth Pérez Castle told a Denver City Council committee Wednesday that the Denver Police Department, the Denver Sheriff's Department and the city's Department of Public Safety have been sidelining her office on matters that directly affect police and deputy accountability.
"The departments are moving away from transparency and accountability and attempting to limit or completely eliminate the role of the independent monitor," Pérez Castle said.
Watch Denver7 reporter Veronica Acosta's video below:
Pérez Castle pointed to two specific incidents. The Denver Department of Public Safety changed how sheriff's deputies are disciplined for minor policy violations without first consulting her office. And DPD suggested changes to its Taser policy, then erroneously published those changes before the Office of the Independent Monitor could weigh in with its recommendations.
READ MORE: Denver's Independent Monitor flags DPD Taser policy change
"We are being bypassed," Pérez Castle said. "We are being left out of the process."
She said the pattern amounts to a violation of the law governing her office's role.
READ MORE: Denver sheriff's new discipline policy sparks debate over oversight
"They're just ignoring the law and putting us in a position to have to defend the right to have oversight," she said.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas pushed back on the characterization in an interview with Denver7 Wednesday, saying avoiding accountability is not his intent.
"Absolutely not," Thomas said. "I don't think that we can provide safety to this community without accountability."
Thomas said he wants that accountability relationship to continue adding he values community input and wants to continue the department's partnership with the OIM.
"I mean, we want to continue to partner with the Office of the Independent Monitor. There is nothing that we have historically done that we're not going to continue to do still going to allow her to actively monitor any cases she's inclined to," he said.
Chief Thomas went on to say his department works hand in hand with the Independent Monitor on a variety on things.
"We provide her that she has access to our database, where every single internal affairs case is stored," he said. "We call her on any incident in which there's a death or serious bodily injury."
"Those are the kinds of things, law violations, those are the kinds of cases that she, by ordinance, must actively monitor, and so we reach out to her," Chief Thomas said.
Some council members sided with the Independent Monitor during Wednesday's meeting. District 6 Councilmember Paul Kashmann said the issue is one of respect, not just process.
"What needs to change is what appears to be a lack of respect from the administration on the critical role that the OIM plays in the creation of public safety in our city," Kashmann said.
The mayor's office acknowledged the concern. Policy Director Tim Hoffman, responding to direct questioning during the meeting, said the administration is aware of the issue.
"I certainly think making sure that the Independent Monitor is being brought into the loop in a timely fashion and has the ability to respond is something that we're aware of," Hoffman said.
During his interview with Denver7 Wednesday, Chief Thomas also spoke to why he believes the department's new 'Education-Based Development' goes hand in hand with accountability within the department.
"As it relates to accountability, I actually think that education-based development improves our ability to hold people accountable, because we very quickly, very timely, can provide feedback and hold people accountable for lower-level mistakes, rather than having those investigations last for lengthy periods of time, where accountability is delayed, and often they receive penalties, and they don't even understand what they're expecting, what the expectation is of them," he told Denver7's Veronica Acosta.
The Office of the Independent Monitor is a civilian oversight body charged with providing independent oversight of DPD and the Denver Sheriff's Department. Its role includes reviewing use-of-force incidents, monitoring misconduct investigations, and making policy recommendations to city leadership.
