A PUSH TO MAKE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OPEN TO PUBLIC

Advocates back a bill to improve accountability in police, sheriff offices.

A bill working its way through the Colorado General Assembly would force police departments and sheriffs offices to open their internal affairs case files to the public.

Advocates say the bill would improve transparency and accountability within the state’s law enforcement agencies and build more trust from the public. But law enforcement is opposed, saying victims and witnesses might hold back during investigations if they know their statements will become public.

“This is a straight up transparency issue,” said Rebecca Wallace, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado. “Over and over, the courts say that an officer’s conduct where he is interacting with the public are of public concern and do not raise privacy interests for the officer.”

The bill, which has bipartisan support, is expected to have a second reading this week in the House. The bill’s largest hurdle may come from the calendar because the legislative session ends May 9, leaving it crunched for time to get approval from the House and Senate.

Most Colorado police and sheriff’s offices reject requests for internal affairs files, a recent report from the University of Denver Sturm School of Law found. Denver is the only jurisdiction that consistently makes internal affairs case files available upon request, while others deny requests, charge excessive fees or only open portions of the files for public review.

People can take a law enforcement agency to court and ask a judge to order the records to be made public.

“Open records should not be designed so that only those who can afford a lawyer can get them,” Wallace said.

Supporters say the bill especially would benefit the public in cases where cities and counties pay large settlements in use-of-force cases even after police and sheriff’s internal investigations determine an officer acted appropriately, Wallace said.

“The taxpayers and even the victim have no opportunity to ask questions about how can it be that a law enforcement agency found no wrongdoing and then pay out hundreds of thousands,” she said.

For example, Aurora last year paid $110,000 to Darsean Kelley, an unarmed man who was shocked from behind with a Taser by an Aurora Police Department officer. The case, which was caught on video, caused a public outcry. A police investigation found the officer had acted within the department’s policies. The ACLU said

Aurora police have refused to provide a copy of the internal affairs file.

The County Sheriffs of Colorado oppose the bill because sheriffs fear the bill could affect the integrity of investigations, said Chris Johnson, the executive director.

“If witnesses know information will be released to the public, it will make them hesitant to talk to investigators,” Johnson said.