The Denver police are not adequately handling complaints against officers who have lost credibility by “departing from the truth,” says a report from Richard Rosenthal, the city’s independent police monitor, quoted by the Denver Post. The report says Rosenthal and police supervisors clashed last year over the handling of officers found to have been dishonest during internal investigations.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman has agreed that he would consider any recommendations Rosenthal might make on duty assignments of officers allowed to remain on the force despite a finding that they had failed to tell the truth. Twice last year, his recommendations on officers found to have departed from the truth were ignored by Whitman. Rosenthal believes that under a new disciplinary plan being crafted by Manager of Safety Al LaCabe officers will be put on notice that dishonesty in internal investigations will likely result in termination.