Denver’s police union should back down

Leadership of Denver’s police union would have been wise to bite their tongues and wait for an internal investigation to be completed into the behavior of Chief Robert White and Deputy Chief Matt Murray rather than to call for a judge to hold a special hearing on the matter.

We join the union’s concerns about how White and Murray handled a public records request, particularly the question of whether the two intentionally deceived the public by pretending that they didn’t have a letter from the district attorney’s office that was highly critical of Murray’s handling of a case.

If the two conspired to cover up the letter and the fact that no official inquiry into the letter’s complaint was ever opened, then it would have serious ramifications for top command at the Denver Police Department.

But it also seems pretty clear to us that District Attorney Beth McCann would have made a mistake to bring what many people say would have been the first ever criminal charges against someone for violating the Colorado Open Records Act.

McCann would have had to prove to a jury that White and Murray “willfully and knowingly” violated the state’s requirements that almost all documents — with few exceptions — are open to the public.

That would be a tough thing to prove even with the damning testimony of Mary Dulacki, the attorney who handles open records requests for the police. Dulacki told the DA’s office investigator that White and Murray clearly tried to deceive her and the public about the existence of the letter.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the criminal provisions of CORA were repealed by Gov. John Hickenlooper when he signed Senate Bill 40 this year, a bill that takes effect Aug. 9. That would mean this messy protracted pursuit of a highly difficult to prove charge would literally be the first and last time the criminal applications of CORA were ever imposed.

We are certain there are times when a DA’s decision not to prosecute should be called into question and challenged before a judge. But to do so in pursuit of a difficult-to-prove Class 2 misdemeanor — which would come with a maximum fine of $100 and/ or up to 90 days in jail — strikes us as unwise. It smacks soundly of trying to force an embarrassing hearing on the matter instead of waiting to hear the outcome of the investigation.

The allegations hanging over White and Murray are serious and should be treated that way. Not because they were criminal, but because members of the police force face a higher standard than most public officials. Their honesty and integrity must be unquestionable and untarnished.

But the police union isn’t going to come out of this looking good either with this over-exuberance to air dirty laundry before the internal investigation is complete. The judge’s hearing could further delay the ongoing internal investigation, which has already been too slow and hampered by the criminal investigation.

The public needs to know quickly whether or not White and Murray are deserving of our trust, and this latest petition from the union only muddies the water.