Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca files bill to replace the Denver Police Department with a ‘peace force’
Denver CO Aug 15 2020
Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca has filed a bill that, if approved by a majority of her fellow legislators, would ask voters in November to replace the city’s police department with a “peace force” focused on preventing crime and reducing violence without using force.
The peace force would “subsume” the Denver Police Department, according to the bill. Its language reflects demands from protesters who have called to abolish the police department and use the money for social services that treat the root causes of crime.
“As much as I want to claim credit for this, it was not all me,” CdeBaca said. “This was all of them with my advice.”
The potential ballot measure, filed Thursday, takes aim at the current system of policing, stating that the Denver Police Department perpetuates “disproportionate policing and violence based upon the color of their skin” and mostly reacts to crime instead of being “proactive” to prevent it.
“This department is charged with responsibility to actively implement strategies to prevent conflict, reduce violence, and strengthen security and is to do so prioritizing a holistic, anti-racist, public health-oriented approach,” the bill states.
Mayor Hancock released a statement about the proposal Friday, calling it “reckless and irresponsible.”
“City Council should reject it soundly, and the councilwoman should exercise greater transparency and public accountability before putting something of this magnitude forward for a vote again instead of springing it on the public,” Hancock said. “I firmly stand by the men and women of our police department and will continue to hold accountable those who step over the line when dealing with the public.”
The councilwoman put her bill in front of her fellow legislators via “direct file,” a tactic allowed in the city charter that lets council members send a bill directly to a vote without a committee hearing. The city council will vet the bill twice in public starting Monday. If council members choose to advance it, the final vote to put the initiative on the ballot would come a week later.
The potential ballot measure would amend the city charter. Mayor Michael Hancock would not be able to veto the proposal, according to the municipal code, meaning Denver voters would be the sole decider.
Director of Public Safety Murphy Robinson, Denver’s top law enforcement official and a member of Mayor Michael Hancock’s cabinet, has committed to transforming the city’s police department but getting rid of it altogether has never been on the table.
DPD has a few programs aimed at redirecting people toward behavioral health services — to treat mental health problems, substance abuse and other societal forces — and away from the criminal justice system. Its co-responder program that pairs social workers with cops and its Support Team Assisted Response program, or STAR, are examples.
Peace department officers would not be armed, the bill states. Peacekeepers would use weapons only after officials, through a triage system, decide that an armed response is warranted.
CdeBaca’s bill also references “a lack of trust” between the community and local police officers and insufficient money dedicated to what she called the “underlying causes of violence and crime” including job insecurity, transience, homelessness and hunger.
DPD’s powers — and the police union’s — are enshrined in the city charter, so the bill might face legal challenges.
Attempts by Denverite to reach the Denver Police Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the Department of Safety have been unsuccessful.
Denverite
