On Tuesday, August 19th, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas presented his proposed Education-Based Discipline/Development (EBD) policy to the Mayor and City Council. What was made clear in that meeting is that the Chief and the Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM) are on two completely different pages.
City Council members asked critical questions: What problem is this policy change trying to solve?
Chief Thomas pointed to two issues:
- The length of investigations under the current model, which includes independent review by the OIM.
- A desire to reduce recidivism of officer misconduct.
But when asked what the current rate of recidivism is—or even what the goal would be—he had no answer. He admitted that establishing a baseline would only come after this policy is already in place. In other words, the Chief is asking the community to accept a sweeping policy change with no evidence it is needed, no data to justify it, and no accountability measures built in.
Education-Based Discipline is bad policy.
An Ever-Changing Proposal
Chief Thomas has already made concessions to the version of the policy posted online, but it remains unclear what the actual proposal is at this point. At a Community Oversight Board (COB) meeting on Friday, August 22nd, it was made clear that neither the COB nor the OIM endorse this policy. Community members also pointed out that critical details of the policy the Chief has promised in public meetings are not reflected in the written proposal.
Why DJP Opposes This Policy
Chief Thomas has argued that verbal and written reprimands, or even suspensions, do little to repair harm to the community and only damage officer morale. He claims training would be more impactful.
But here’s the reality: discipline and training are not mutually exclusive. Under the current model, the Chief already has the authority to issue a write-up and require additional training. Nothing is stopping him from using both tools today.
So why replace independent oversight and established discipline with a policy that weakens accountability? The message this sends is clear: the Denver Police Department prioritizes officer morale over community trust.
What the Community is Asking For
Denver residents fought for decades for oversight mechanisms like the OIM and COB. Weakening them now is a step backwards. If the issue is that investigations take too long, the solution is not to gut accountability — the solution is to fully staff and resource the OIM so oversight can be carried out efficiently and thoroughly. Oversight takes time, and that time is worth it when the goal is true independent oversight, accountability, and transparency.
Our Position
The Denver Justice Project is firmly opposed to the Education-Based Discipline proposal in its entirety. The OIM does not endorse it. The COB does not endorse it. And the community does not want it.
We will continue to collect signatures on our community petition opposing changes to the discipline matrix. These signatures will be presented directly to Chief Thomas as part of our continued opposition to this harmful policy.
👉 If you haven’t already, please take a moment to sign the petition. Together, we can send a clear message: Denver needs more accountability for police misconduct — not
