DENVER – In a rare move, a Colorado legislative committee Thursday reversed course on a police-reform bill that it already passed, choosing to kill the measure concerning unlawful orders.
Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee say they reconsidered the issue after supporting it Tuesday night, and therefore advanced a motion to take another vote on the issue. It took a two-thirds vote by the committee to reconsider.
“We rarely bring back a bill like this,” said Rep. Tim Dore, R-Elizabeth, one of four lawmakers to flip. “But we’re late in the session, and if a bill is not fully ready for prime time, I don’t think we have enough time to go forward.”
The other lawmakers to backpedal were Reps. Lois Court, D-Denver, Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, and Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch.
The measure ultimately died on a 10-3 vote.
It would have required a court to dismiss all charges against a defendant that were based on a violation of an unlawful order.
Concerns were raised by law enforcement and prosecutors over a provision of the bill that would have allowed a court to order an agency that filed the charges to reimburse the defendant for attorney’s fees. They also suggested that the bill is unnecessary, pointing out that there already are remedies through the courts.
The bill was part of a larger package of 10 bills that aim at bringing police reforms to the state in the wake of national incidents that caused turmoil and unrest between residents and law enforcement.
Even though some Democrats had unrolled the bill as part of the package, it became clear that there was a disconnect within the party. Sponsors also thought that they would have more support from law enforcement, but officials strongly opposed the effort.
Sitting and watching as the bill failed was Alex Landau, an organizer with the Colorado Progressive Coalition, who was the victim of a police beating. He received a $795,000 settlement in 2011 from the incident involving the Denver Police Department, which at the time was the second-largest settlement in the city’s history.
None of the officers were prosecuted or disciplined in the Landau case. Two of the officers were later fired for lying about other beatings.
“That was a step backwards,” Landau said of the vote. “When we have nothing in place already – we don’t even have a clear definition of a lawful order – how can we expect all police to be doing their jobs correctly?”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
