Denver police policy on use of force officially introduced

Under the new Denver Police Department useofforce policy, officers involved in a shooting will not be allowed to watch footage from their body cameras before they are interviewed by investigators.

That is one new feature in the policy, which was officially introduced Thursday morning during a news conference at the policy department’s headquarters.

Mayor Michael Hancock proclaimed the policy is innovative and progressive and will prepare the department to handle the public’s changing expectations of law enforcement.

“This is a critical policy for the city of Denver,” Hancock said.

Officers will begin training on the new policy Aug. 20. Each officer will receive eight hours of lectures, slide shows and discussions, and all 1,525 officers should be trained by year’s end, Chief Paul Pazen said.

The policy goes beyond national legal standards that determine when an officer is justified in wounding or killing someone. It focuses on deescalation and using only the amount of force necessary to get a suspect under control, Pazen said.

“It increases accountability,” he said. “We are raising the bar.”

The policy has been in the works for 19 months and has continued through a change in the police department’s administration.

City Councilman Paul Lopez, who serves on the safety committee, said he hopes the new policy will improve trust between police and the public they serve. And he was satisfied with the collaboration between the police department and the community.

“We have a collective ownership of the policy,” he said. “I look forward to seeing the changes. Nothing is going to happen overnight. These are new guiding principles.”