Editorial: A better way to police Denver's police force? - The Denver Post
Editorial: A better way to police Denver's police force? - The Denver Post A few mayoral candidates have begun to ask an intriguing question: Does the city of Denver even need a public safety manager? Mayor Bill Vidal on Monday named Charley Garcia to the post. He's the fourth person to hold the job in less than a year. Given the turmoil of the past year, we think the time is ripe for just such a debate. However, we're not yet ready to declare the position, which has been ensconced in the city charter since 1960, dead. First, Vidal and Garcia should prove the job has some usefulness by resolving two high-profile beating cases before a new mayor takes office in July. Investigations into the beating death of inmate Marvin Booker, who was in Denver sheriff's custody at the time, and the beating of Michael DeHerrera in LoDo by Denver cops have dragged on long enough and need resolution. The cases have not yet reached the manager of public safety's desk, but Vidal said he intends for the cases to be wrapped up before he leaves office. Meanwhile, a few mayoral candidates have begun talking about dumping the position. "It's time to have a hard look at whether bureaucracy is improperly getting in the way of transparency and public safety," candidate Chris Romer said. City Councilman Michael Hancock, who's also running for mayor, said the necessity of the position should be reviewed: "While eliminating the position and consolidating the department could save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars, this requires a thoughtful and prudent review." However, councilman and mayoral candidate Doug Linkhart told us on Monday that he would keep the position and save money elsewhere. If the city can hire someone in the vein of Al LaCabe, who retired from the job last June, we think it's useful to have that type of civilian oversight. But not everyone who has held the position has been up to LaCabe's standards — making the job seem more dispensable than perhaps it is.
1 comment:
Cops who are not accountable to the public because of there union patronage arent cops at all. There violating there oaths to uphold the constitution. Unions do not. Fire them all get a real Chief of police and start over. djw
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