DENVER – Denver City Council has approved raises for its roughly 1,450 police officers beginning in 2022.
Approval of the police union contract on Monday came with a 10-3 vote after the council initially denied the contract in September.
At the time, council members said they were uncomfortable raising police salaries after protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and while other city employees faced unpaid furloughs, the Denver Post reported.
However, an arbitrator ruled that the officers should receive a 2% raise on Jan. 1, 2022, and an additional 1.5% raise on July 1, 2022.
The ruling was binding and voting it down could expose the city to potential lawsuits, a representative from the city attorney’s office told council members.
“I’m voting for this tonight because of the legal consequences that will occur, but I could not remain silent in what I consider to be a bad-faith outcome between the branches of government that requires rectifying,” Councilwoman Robin Kniech said.
