CSPD Refuses to Be Held Accountable at Law Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Commission (LETAC) Meeting

On Monday, April 4th, 2022 a meeting of the Colorado Springs Law Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Commission met, with several items on the agenda that pertained to COSDSA. The subjects discussed were how the CSPD conducts undercover investigations, how the CSPD disciplines officers who break the law, and how the CSPD handles officers who use excessive force with citizens. In addition to the commissioners, several police officers, interim Police Chief Vasquez, several other stakeholders, and many members of the COSDSA were in attendance. The audience came prepared with questions to address the CSPD's recent undercover investigation of COSDSA, as well as other leftist groups.

Unfortunately, interim Police Chief Vasquez would not entertain any questions from the public. Only members of the commission were allowed to ask questions. Additionally, Vasquez was unwilling to discuss any specific undercover investigations or tactics that are employed during such investigations.

Vasquez's main point was that, in order to conduct an undercover investigation, there must be reasonable suspicion, a violation of the law, or criminal activity. Upon questioning, he was unwilling to discuss the reasonable suspicion resulting in any specific investigations, but he said upon further questioning that, due to the large amount of resources that are involved in such investigations, certain cases get prioritized based upon the estimated amount of harm that the perpetrators would inflict upon the community. He said that any investigation had to have reasonable suspicion that a criminal activity is occurring, and that the department had to lay out the facts in order to proceed with an investigation. The former chief, attending virtually, parroted his own canned statement that the CSPD is not political and no officers or investigations were ever biased.

Deb Walker, who was at the table with the commission, asked several pertinent questions, particularly about the Fourth Amendment rights of people who are the target of an undercover investigation. She wanted to know what checks and balances are in place to ensure that these rights are not being denied. She also asked what procedural justice those people have to ensure the security of their private information.

Vasquez responded to these questions by repeatedly using the department's standard trainings as examples of checks and balances. He said that oversight from within the department and, occasionally, a liason in the DA's office, were evidence of checks and balances. He was unable to describe any actual checks and balances in place within the department. He referred to laws that the department is required to follow, and to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act) guidelines, stating that people who are under investigation should request information under these guidelines (even though there's no way for them to know they're under this type of investigation in the first place). He also recommended that people interested in this should investigate the Bureau of Justice's 28 CFR part 23, which outlines policies and procedures that should be followed when operating federally funded, multijurisdictional criminal intelligence systems. He did not elaborate as to which specific policies the department has in place to comply with this guidance.

Members of the audience were very frustrated by being denied a voice in the proceedings of the LETAC. When the audience became audibly agitated, they were instructed to settle down.

What became very clear during the course of the meeting was that the CSPD doesn't intend to submit to any form of checks and balances of their power. This is currently a very upsetting trend in the USA as a whole. According to stakeholders, the LETAC was designed to have no authority to undertake corrective action as a result of such meetings. Trainings are not checks and balances. Oversight from within the very same organization it's overseeing does not constitute checks and balances. PC Vasquez intentionally directed the commission to CORA, when CORA doesn't even apply to the CSPD. Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act does, and the CSPD's website says that no information will be given in regards to undercover investigations.

The COSDSA is making requests for as much information as possible, but anticipates that there will be very little, if any, information shared regarding the recent undercover investigation.

Where is the accountability? Where is the transparency?