What Will Colorado Police Reform Look Like?

In Colorado, activists and lawmakers worked hard to pass Senate Bill 217, titled the Law Enforcement Integrity Act. The act, which has been signed into law by Governor Jared Polis, requires officers to use body cameras and bars the use of chokeholds and excessive force.

“This is a historic day,” says Rep. Leslie Herod. “In response to the protests and outcry from the community, today, we took action that will correct the ways in which law enforcement interacts with the public.”

She continues, “It shouldn’t have taken this long. The community has been pleading for law enforcement reform for generations now, and today, we answered their plea. This bill is a cultivation of so many people’s hard work, and I am honored to have taken it over the finish line with Rep. Gonzales-Gutierrez. This long-fought struggle for true justice has been going on for generations, and although this is a great victory for the movement, our work is nowhere near done.”

The Law Enforcement Integrity Act’s key provisions include:

Mandating body cameras, making videos of police misconduct publicly available, and holding officers accountable when they fail to record

Requiring data collection and public reporting on policing: all law enforcement agencies will be required to track demographic data of individuals they encounter.

Reining in use of deadly force by officers

Requiring officers to intervene to stop excessive force

Decertifying bad officers

Creating a public database to prevent rehiring of bad officers

Providing justice for victims of police violence by ending qualified immunity: the bill allows victims of police misconduct to bring a lawsuit for the violation of their constitutional rights.

Protecting protesters from police use of tear gas and projectiles

Allowing attorney general lawsuits against bad police departments.

“Police reform is going to look like more training for officers. They need to be prepared to be held accountable for their mistakes, 100 percent of the time” says Athena Sylvers, local, nonbinary drag performer and LGBTQ activist.

Sylvers says we need to end police presence in school, switch officers to being largely unarmed, and emphasize police are just civilians with training.

“So, when someone is killed or injured at the hands of an officer, they should be charged just as any other civilian would be. The essential thing here is that the police force needs to be defunded and resources reallocated to social services, education, affordable housing, and accessible healthcare.”

While SB 217 doesn’t contain language to defund Denver Police Department, it does provide a glimmer of hope for those who see that legislation as the next step.

Rep. Serena Gonzales-Guitierrez, co-sponsor of Senate Bill 217, states, “It’s not every day we have the opportunity to vote on a true, life-and-death issue in the legislature, but that’s exactly what we did today.”

Gonzales-Guitierrez says the bill will make lasting, overdue change to law enforcement and help to prevent more deaths of Black and Brown people at the hands of Colorado police. “I am honored to have accomplished this work with another woman of color, Representative Herod.”

Elisabeth Epps, an abolitionist with the Colorado Freedom Fund and ACLU of Colorado, reflects on the victory. “What we accomplished with Senate Bill 217 serves as a reminder that direct action matters. Protest matters. Black lives matter.”