On December 16, the Denver Justice Project sent a formal letter to Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, Mayor Mike Johnston, Director of Public Safety Al Gardner, and every member of Denver City Council opposing the Denver Police Department’s proposed Education-Based Development (EBD) policy.

Since we started organizing against this harmful proposal, hundreds of you have signed our petition, spoken up, and helped raise the alarm. We are deeply grateful.

But we need you to know something important:

This proposal is still on the table.

Despite the outpouring of community opposition, the City and DPD have not withdrawn this plan. That means the push to weaken Denver’s police discipline system is still very real and so is the risk of losing years of hard-fought accountability.

What’s at stake

Denver’s current discipline matrix, Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM), and Citizen Oversight Board (COB) exist because communities demanded real accountability after years of police violence and misconduct.

Education-Based Development would quietly undo that progress.

Under this policy:

  • Up to 85% of misconduct cases could be handled internally by DPD

  • Independent oversight would be sidelined

  • Misconduct could disappear from public record under the label of “education”

That is not reform. That is a rollback.

We don’t need less accountability for law enforcement — We need more.

Why we’re continuing to push

Colorado already ranks among the highest states for fatal police shootings per capita. In Denver, Black and Latino residents are disproportionately impacted by use of force and police violence. Weakening oversight now would only deepen those harms.

Education-Based Development would make it harder to:

  • Track repeat offenders

  • Identify racial bias

  • Hold officers accountable

  • Build public trust

It replaces transparency with secrecy, at the exact moment when communities are demanding honesty, safety, and real change.

Our community is standing strong

More than 330 people and organizations have signed on to oppose this policy, including civil rights groups, faith leaders, educators, organizers, and Denver residents from every part of the city. Several Denver City Council members have also added their names in opposition.

This is what democracy looks like: community speaking up, together.

What we need now

If you have already signed, thank you.

Please share the petition and keep spreading the word.

If you haven’t yet, now is the time.

City leaders need to hear, loudly and clearly, that Denver residents will not accept backroom changes that weaken police accountability.

We fought for this system.
We will defend it.

Sign the petition. Stay engaged. Keep pushing.

— Denver Justice Project 💛