A. Policy
Unlawful or improper bias in public safety is the application of police authority and action based on a common trait of a group. These are practices that present a great danger to the fundamental principles of our constitutional republic and cannot be tolerated. Biased based law enforcement is the practice of relying solely on race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, language fluency, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, immigration status, occupation, or disability in determining citizen contact duties, the existence of probable cause or suspicion that an offense has been or is being committed to justify a detention, arrest, investigatory stop of a vehicle, or in determining the scope, substance, or duration of law enforcement activity to which a person will be subjected. A peace officer may use age when making decisions while investigating juvenile status offenses. Bias based practices are prohibited.
B. Procedure
In order to ensure that no citizen is subjected to unlawful or improper bias, the department will:
1. Train agency personnel about biased action or decision making in police department employee - public contacts of all description. Training shall be conducted during new-hire initial training and annually thereafter. Such training should include cultural diversity, legal basis and biased based performance, citizen consensual or non-consensual enforcement or investigatory contacts, traffic stops, searches, asset seizure and forfeiture, interview techniques, and related community support issues.
2. The training provided for peace officers shall include an examination of the practices, and protocols that result in profiling and prescribe practices and protocols that prevent apparent discrimination.
3. Agents will record citizen contact data required by statute on department provided formats. “Contact” means an in-person interaction with an individual, whether or not the person is in a motor vehicle, initiated by a peace officer, whether consensual or non-consensual, for the purpose of enforcing the law or investigating possible violations of the law. “Contact” does not include routine interactions with the public at the point of entry or exit from a controlled area; a non-investigatory and consensual interaction with a member of the public, initiated by a member of the public, unless and until the interaction progresses into an investigation of a possible violation of the law; a motorist assist; undercover interactions; or routine interactions with persons detained in a jail or detention facility.
4. The office of the chief of police through the Internal Affairs Unit will conduct an annual administrative review of agency practices pertaining to unlawful or improper bias derived from any information alleging biased based performance and citizen concerns. The review will include any corrective measures needed or taken.
5. In compliance with state law, the department shall annually compile any information derived from telephone calls received due to the distribution of business cards, as described below, which allege bias. This information is available to the public but shall not include the names of police employees or reporting parties and the internal affairs investigatory file.
6. If a complaint of unlawful or improper bias is sustained, the employee will receive appropriate discipline and training.
C. Rule
1. No employee shall engage in bias to include service reduction, detentions, field contacts, traffic stops, search issues, asset seizure and forfeiture.
2. Police agents shall provide, without being asked, their business card to any person who the police agent has detained in a vehicle stop but has not cited or arrested. The business card shall include the police agent's name, division, badge number, and a telephone number to the internal affairs unit which may be used, if necessary, to report any comments, positive or negative, regarding the traffic stop.
3. This Department shall collect and report all data as required by statute to the Colorado Department of Public Safety statewide database concerning:
a. All use of force by agents resulting in death or serious bodily injury or that involves the use of a weapon (firearm, long gun, taser, baton, or projectile) including:
(1) Whether the agent unholstered, brandished, or discharged a weapon (type).
(2) Whether the use of force resulted in a law enforcement agency investigation and the result of the investigation.
(3) Whether the use of force resulted in a civilian complaint and the resolution.
(4) Whether an ambulance was called to the scene and whether a person was transported to a hospital from the scene.
(5) Whether the person contacted exhibited a weapon during the interaction, the type of weapon, and whether the weapon was discovered before or after the use of force.
b. Instances when an agent resigned while under investigation for violating department policy.
c. All data relating to required contacts including entries into a residence related to the contact, including a forcible entry, conducted by agents.
d. Instances of unannounced entry into a residence with or without a warrant.
e. The number of officer-involved civilian deaths.
