Boulder police are closing complaints against officers before independent review

The Boulder Police Department has closed at least 21 complaints against officers before they were reviewed by the city’s independent police monitor or civilian oversight panel under a process in use since late 2025, according to city officials.

Police officials say the new process is meant to help supervisors resolve minor complaints quickly rather than initiate formal investigations that can take months. Examples include allegations that an officer rolled through a stop sign, failed to use a turn signal or behaved rudely. 

But the process also allows the department to resolve complaints before they reach the independent monitor, limiting the monitor’s role in classifying allegations. Some members of the civilian Police Oversight Panel warn that could undercut a system designed to hold police accountable independently of the department itself.

“The fear would be that a complaint could come into the system and be closed based on just a few people seeing it,” panel Co-Chair Lizzie Friend told Boulder Reporting Lab. “I am not saying that I think this is the intention of the policy or that BPD is trying to provide ways to sweep cases under the rug. But it provides a path for that to happen.” 

The new process is outlined in a proposed revision to General Order 120, the police department’s policy governing how complaints against officers are handled. Although city officials said the revision remains under review by the City Attorney’s Office, elements of it have already been put into practice. 

The police department has final authority over the policy, a city spokesperson said. 

The policy is the latest change to the city’s independent oversight system that has frustrated members of the Police Oversight Panel. The 11-member panel reviews investigations into complaints of alleged officer misconduct and makes recommendations to the police chief, who has the final say on disciplinary decisions.

Late last year, the city also began closing out certain misconduct cases without panel review when the police monitor and the police department’s Professional Standards Unit agree that a complaint is unfounded or the officer should be exonerated.

The proposed revision to General Order 120 goes further by allowing the department to resolve certain complaints before the police monitor reviews them. 

Under the new process, a supervisor investigates minor complaints and, with a commander’s sign-off, addresses them directly with the employee before the case reaches the monitor, according to a city spokesperson. Cases involving a disputed allegation or possible misconduct are instead routed through the full independent oversight process, the spokesperson said. The monitor has been able to review all 21 cases handled this way, but only after they had been resolved.

Boulder’s city code identifies the police monitor as the “intake center” for complaints and says the monitor shall “receive and process complaints” to “ensure best practices are followed by the professional standards unit.” 

Maria Soledad-Diaz, a panel member and former co-chair, argued during the panel’s July meeting that the proposed revision conflicts with the section of city code governing the independent oversight system.

“It’s dangerous territory,” she said. “This is illegal.”

City officials declined to provide a copy of the proposed revision to General Order 120 and said they anticipate approving it within a month, following final input from the City Attorney’s Office.

“We reject any notion that this common practice violated any laws,” Sarah Huntley, a city spokesperson, told Boulder Reporting Lab. “Creating and developing department policy is a normal course of business in every city government across the country. The Boulder Police Department is no different. Throughout this process, both the Police Department and the city as a whole have worked hard to balance community engagement, transparency, accountability and efficient operations.” 

Police chief cites need for faster resolutions 

Police Chief Steve Redfearn told oversight panel members in late June that the process is intended for minor policy or procedural violations that should be corrected promptly rather than be subject to investigations lasting several months.

“I can think of two or three [cases] that took literally seven or eight months to go through the whole process just for the boss to sit down and go, ‘Hey, next time use your turn signal,’” Redfearn said. 

“The sergeants and commanders have said, ‘Please give me the ability to deal with low-level behavior,’” Redfearn added. “We agree that that should happen, but don’t abuse it, or we’re going to lose it.” 

Friend, the panel co-chair, said the goal of resolving minor complaints more efficiently is reasonable. But she said the proposed policy does not appear to contain sufficient checks and balances.

Police Oversight Panel members reviewed the proposed revision in February. Several said they did not learn until June that parts of the policy had already been in use since approximately November 2025. The city’s website explaining the complaint process has not been updated to reflect the new method for routing and resolving complaints.

Panel members raised several concerns at their July meeting. Some said the process restricts the monitor’s authority to decide whether allegations constitute misconduct. Others questioned why the department had implemented portions of a policy that remained under legal review. It was also unclear whether panel members appointed this year had been told that parts of the proposed revision were already in use. 

Independent Police Monitor Sherry Daun said she supports the spirit of the proposed revision. But she said she will advocate for the oversight panel and monitor to be involved in conversations about the policy change. 

“I recommend that moving forward, a formal process requires the notification and early involvement of both oversight entities before changes can be made to G.O. 120 and BPD’s Use of Force policy,” she told Boulder Reporting Lab. 

Daun said some of the 21 complaints the department had closed under the new process since November resulted in verbal corrective action for officers. 

During the panel’s June meeting with Redfearn, Daun warned that department officials could themselves face misconduct allegations if they use the process to resolve cases that should have been classified as misconduct. 

The ordinance creating the Police Oversight Panel passed in 2020, a year after a Boulder police officer drew his gun on an unarmed Black college student who was picking up trash outside his home.

The city has hired a consultant to help conduct the five-year review of the Police Oversight Panel. The review could lead to updates to the ordinance governing the city’s independent police oversight system. The process is expected to be completed in October 2026, according to consultant Anthony Finnell, a former president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement.