Rejecting news organizations’ appeal, Colorado Supreme Court keeps police officer database confidential
A ruling by the state’s highest court means that the bulk of Colorado’s licensing database of law enforcement officers will remain confidential.
A ruling by the state’s highest court means that the bulk of Colorado’s licensing database of law enforcement officers will remain confidential.
Comparing the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board to the dental board and similar state licensing agencies, an attorney for two news organizations urged the Colorado Supreme Court to reverse an appellate ruling that keeps the state’s database of law enforcement officers confidential.
The Colorado Supreme Court will review whether appellate judges wrongly decided the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST) is a criminal justice agency in a 2023 ruling that kept the state’s database of law enforcement officers confidential.
Several key rulings in 2023 showed why courts matter so much for enforcing and interpreting Colorado’s open government laws.
Powerful new reporting by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) and news organization partners shines a light on gaps and weaknesses in Colorado’s recent legislative efforts to make law enforcement more transparent and accountable in our state.
The refusal to release this information makes Colorado one of just 15 states that keep this type of police officer data secret, according to a nationwide reporting project, preventing the press and public from adequately monitoring the state’s oversight of wandering or second-chance officers.
A Court of Appeals opinion keeping Colorado’s database of law enforcement officers confidential “creates a gaping hole” in the Colorado Open Records Act and broadens the scope of the criminal justice records law “beyond recognition,” two news organizations contend in a certiorari petition submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board is a criminal justice agency, and it did not abuse its discretion by denying two news organizations’ requests for the state’s database of certified and decertified law enforcement officers, the Colorado Court of Appeals decided.
Lawyers argued in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training board is a criminal justice agency or an agency subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.
Over the past two decades, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and its member organizations and board members have achieved numerous successes both in amending the Colorado Open Meetings Law and in applying it in lawsuits to ensure compliance by governmental bodies.