Head On "Independent Police Monitor"
Tuesday, February 7 at 6:58 pm on Channel
12.1
Independent Police MonitorJohn: As the father of a police officer, I am not objective about law enforcement. It's a good thing - hard work, dangerous work. The dedicated people who do it deserve the
... [See more]benefit of the doubt. Denver's independent police monitor and oversight board are needlessly adversarial to law enforcement. Why have them at all?Susan: A handful of rogue cops, an ineffective internal review process and a series of abusive conflicts mean citizens don't trust the police department. That's why Mayor Hancock took the unprecedented step of bringing in a police chief from outside the department. Accountability is key.John: To protect public safety, we grant government a monopoly of force. To prevent tyranny and protect liberty, we have watchdogs to watch the watchers. It's a balancing act. But the outgoing police monitor, Rosenthal, lost the balance. His call to bring in the feds, an Obama administration that's anti-police, is wrong.Susan: Agreed. The police dept doesn't need a federal investigation. On the other hand, the department has been rogue since Paul Childs was murdered in 2003, I expect the new chief and manager will clean things up. But an independent monitor can give them cover and reassure the public.
Viewer Comments