{"id":3676,"date":"2026-08-12T20:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3676"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:34:10","slug":"denver-suspends-changes-to-sheriffs-discipline-after-pushback-from-oversight-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3676","title":{"rendered":"Denver suspends changes to sheriff\u2019s discipline after pushback from oversight groups"},"content":{"rendered":"
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City officials have suspended a new approach to deputy discipline at the Denver Sheriff Department that had shifted some disciplinary matters away from independent investigation \u2014 a move that comes after months of pushback from police oversight groups.<\/p>\n

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Denver Department of Public Safety Executive Director Al Gardner paused the new approach, which he put in place in late May, to give the Office of the Independent Monitor time to review the changes, meet with city officials and make recommendations for how discipline should be handled, he wrote in a pair of letters to the independent monitor and to the sheriff\u2019s department on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be clear and upfront with you all that I am not rescinding the directive,\u201d Gardner wrote in the letter to the sheriff\u2019s department. \u201cFurthermore, this pause is not a reflection that the original purpose of the directive, or its importance, has changed. Rather, it is an opportunity for the Department of Public Safety and the Denver Sheriff Department to work collaboratively with the Office of Independent Monitor to ensure recommendations are provided. We intend to lift the pause as quickly as the review process allows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner in May unilaterally changed the sheriff\u2019s disciplinary process in a four-page directive that exempted at least 14 types of policy violations from default investigation by the city\u2019s Public Integrity Division, a\u00a0civilian unit created in 2019 to investigate internal affairs complaints and policy violations for the sheriff department after a pair of outside reviews found significant problems with the sheriff department\u2019s internal affairs processes.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Elias Diggins said in May that the new approach was intended to empower first-line supervisors to handle minor disciplinary issues in order to avoid unnecessary internal affairs investigations. He hoped the change would improve morale, retention and hiring.<\/p>\n

He said Wednesday that the effort was well-received in the sheriff\u2019s department during the two months in which the changes were active and that he is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d the directive will be reinstated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support Gardner\u2019s decision and look forward to working with the monitor to hear her thoughts and continue to move our department forward in a way that best serves the sworn members of our agency and the people that we\u2019re called to protect,\u201d Diggins said.<\/p>\n

The directive initially raised alarm among the city\u2019s police oversight groups both because it shifted some discipline back into the sheriff\u2019s department and away from civilian oversight, and because Gardner did not take time to hear feedback from the Office of Independent Monitor before making the change \u2014 a process required by city ordinance.<\/p>\n

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Rufina Hern\u00e1ndez, chair of Denver\u2019s Citizen Oversight Board, said Wednesday that pausing the directive is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider this pause as an important and encouraging step in the spirit of transparency for policy changes made to the discipline process of the sheriff\u2019s department,\u201d she said, \u201cand we sincerely appreciate that the mayor and Department of Safety heard the concerns raised by the community, the Office of Independent Monitor and the Citizen Oversight Board and responded accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner invited Independent Monitor Lisabeth P\u00e9rez Castle to a series of meetings to discuss both the directive itself and how to build a \u201cmore collaborative process for future policy development,\u201d according to the letter he sent to her office.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the Department of Safety, Brent Weisberg, declined to offer further comment.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Department of Public Safety continues to believe there is value in empowering supervisors to quickly address appropriate low-level performance issues through documented coaching and corrective action, while still preserving formal investigations for serious policy violations and conduct that requires independent review,\u201d Gardner wrote in the letter. \u201cI also recognize that any lasting reform must be developed in a manner that inspires confidence among our oversight authorities and the communities we jointly serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez Castle said Wednesday that she is looking forward to working with public safety officials to address \u201cissues of concern.\u201d The letters did not lay out a concrete timeline for the review.<\/p>\n

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Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denver officials have suspended a new approach to deputy discipline at the Denver Sheriff Department after months of pushback from police oversight groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDenver suspends changes to sheriff\u2019s discipline after pushback from oversight groups - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3676\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denver suspends changes to sheriff\u2019s discipline after pushback from oversight groups - 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