Lakewood starts process in creating independent oversight committee

In a post on X announcing officers found her body, the Lakewood Police Department referred to Gratton by her pre-transition name. Lakewood Police Department Chief Philip Smith later apologized to Gratton-Camis.

“The Lakewood Police Department has dehumanized my daughter from the beginning,” Gratton-Camis told Rocky Mountain PBS. “And when I’ve brought up questions and concerns, I’ve been met with poor communication and feeling like they’re frustrated with me for asking questions.” 

Denver and Boulder both have civilian oversight boards. Denver established its board in 2004, while Boulder City Council voted to create its committee in 2020, following a lawsuit from Zayd Atkinson, a Black resident who sued the city after a white officer drew his gun on him as he was picking up trash outside his apartment.

Aurora has a Civil Service Commission made up of residents appointed by Aurora City Council. Commissioners receive city pay and handle matters such as hiring, promotions and disciplinary appeals for police and fire personnel. 

Because the commission ultimately answers to the City Council, critics have argued it lacks true independence compared with civilian oversight boards in other cities.

Civilian boards don’t conduct investigations like police do or directly influence police departments’ decisions. Instead, they take feedback from residents and provide recommendations.

Denver’s nine-member Citizen Oversight Board meets via Zoom on the first and third Friday of each month, with all meetings open to the public. Seven members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by City Council, while the council selects the remaining two. Applicants must live in Denver, but they cannot be employed by the city.

The Citizen Oversight Board, made up of volunteer Denver residents, oversees the Office of Independent Monitor’s  work and takes feedback from residents on the police department and the OIM. Typically, residents who feel the Denver Police Department or Denver Sheriff's Department have mistreated them file an online complaint through the OIM, which investigates the cases.

“Our goal is to help our citizens feel like they understand what our police are doing and why, as well as to let our police know that our citizens are listening,” said Karen Collier, a member of the Citizen Oversight Board.

Collier, a resident of Denver’s Whittier neighborhood, joined the board in 2019 after retiring from a career as a court reporter. In that role, Collier said she witnessed firsthand the disparities in how defendants of color were treated compared with their white counterparts. Those experiences motivated her to become more involved in shaping the policing process.

“I got quite the experience watching and hearing these cases play out in the Denver District Court and being able to see when cases were being handled fairly versus when there was obvious racial biases or other biases at play,” Collier said. 

The Citizen Oversight Board and Independent Monitor do not have any definitive authority. They can’t issue subpoenas, compel officers to speak with them or enact direct discipline.

Increasing transparency — the board’s main goal — may not feel like enough to some residents, said Tymesha Watkins, Citizen Oversight Board vice chair and a resident in Denver’s North Park Hill neighborhood. But her time on the board, she said, has allowed her to feel more comfortable and trusting of the Denver Police Department. 

“I’ve learned a lot about law enforcement and have learned that our law enforcement are really trying their best and most officers really want to do the right thing,” she said. 

As a Black woman raising two Black teenagers, Watkins said she has felt nervous in police interactions and worries her kids could be mistreated by police. She took a class about interacting with the police in 1994 and has tried to teach her children about their rights.

“That experience made me want to get involved in the process of police accountability,” Watkins said. “And I feel better now with the knowledge that someone is watching what our law enforcement is doing.”

Following the 2020 protests against police brutality, Denver’s Citizen Oversight Board and OIM urged the police department to strengthen accountability by requiring officers to wear body cameras at all times and to issue clear warnings before deploying chemical agents such as tear gas or rubber bullets. The department adopted those changes later that year.

Denver City Council also voted Monday to task the committee with ensuring police implement requirements made from lawsuits.

“We do not have the expertise to conduct investigations like the police do,” Collier said. “But we’re here to help the public feel confident in their law enforcement and encourage changes to make that happen.”

Boulder’s Police Oversight Panel operates similarly. Its 11 volunteer members are selected by a panel of community members and representatives from the city attorney and city manager’s offices. Instead of working in tandem with a team of lawyers, Boulder’s panel directly reviews police misconduct complaints and makes disciplinary recommendations to the department. The board has also recommended policy and training recommendations.

Police have historically faced a lack of accountability, said Lizzie Friend, co chair of the Boulder Police Oversight Panel.

“We see ourselves as a voice of the community,” Friend said.

In 2023, the panel recommended the police department be more efficient in its investigation process after an internal investigation revealed one officer had a backlog of 46 cases, some dating back to 2019. The police implemented the board’s recommendation.

“That was a really great example of our system working,” Friend said.

Council members Cruz and Shahrezaei want Lakewood’s board to expand on those in Denver and Boulder. 

Lakewood’s process of implementation will require extra steps, including a private conversation with a city attorney, to discuss subpoena power. If the city council ultimately grants the board subpoena power, Lakewood’s oversight board would be the first in Colorado with that ability. Boards in New York City, Albany and Hartford, Conn., have subpoena power. 

Council members have not yet decided on other aspects of the board’s potential power, including whether it could fire or discipline officers on its own. Cruz and Shahrezaei want the board to be composed of a transgender person, a victim advocate, a civil rights attorney and a public safety expert, such as a firefighter, search-and-rescue member or former law enforcement officer.

“It’s the first step in a long road ahead that will hopefully end with success moving forward on this horrible tragedy,” Cruz said.