Details of complaint and report remain secret
The Ouray Police Department has been cleared in a complaint alleging some of its officers used excessive force against a juvenile last year. But the substance and details of the complaint and the investigation report remain secret because city officials claim they can withhold them because it involved a juvenile who completed a diversion program and had the records expunged from the court system.
The majority of the documents – a 10-page citizen complaint filed Feb. 19 and a 9-page internal investigation report – have been blacked out by city officials who claim the officers accused of misconduct cannot be identified and the allegations against them are also protected.
These images show a 10-page complaint filed Feb. 19 against the Ouray Police Department alleging excessive use of force against a juvenile. An internal investigation cleared offi- cers of any wrongdoing, but the city redacted most of the information in the complaint and investigation report. The Plaindealer has asked the city to reconsider the heavy redactions.
The city said anyone connected to the juvenile’s arrest and details of the complaint and the investigation must not be released because of laws protecting juveniles in the criminal justice system, and the fact that the juvenile court records were destroyed.
What is clear from the report is that Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood argued with the investigator over requirements to wear and activate body cameras, which is required by state law, and that at least one officer involved did not have his camera on during the physical altercation with the juvenile. It appears an officer from a different agency who also responded to the call wore a body camera and had it turned on, and the footage was used in the investigation.
A former contract employee who also filed a complaint against the police department this year also alleged lack of compliance in the department with state body camera laws.
The rest of the complaint involving the juvenile case and the investigation report are largely unreadable.
The Plaindealer has asked the city to reconsider the amount of redaction in both the complaint and the report, which were obtained in March and April using the Colorado Open Records Act.
The city responded that because the matter concerned a case that was expunged after the juvenile who was arrested completed his diversion program, “No one gets any information regarding a case that is expunged. It is as if the case never existed.”
The city did not respond by the Plaindealer’s deadline this week to a letter from the Plaindealer’s attorney, Steve Zansberg, again asking officials to reconsider the excessive redaction.
The incident
According to the investigation report, the police department received a call reporting a child was bleeding and someone had been assaulted during a concert at Fellin Park last summer. The suspect was a 14-year-old boy who reportedly told someone he had a gun, but no one saw the gun. No gun was found during this investigation. One kid interviewed by officers handed over a knife, but there was no description of the knife in any of the police reports, according to the investigator.
The details are scattered due to the amount of redaction in the report, but it seems one kid was accused of pushing another kid down and someone was also accused of saying racial slurs. Juvenile witnesses who were interviewed at the concert also said someone was punched in the stomach.
At one point, the juvenile who was arrested for alleged obstruction and assault tried to run away from the officers, the report said. It does not appear there was an arrest for false reporting regarding the claim that he had a gun. Police arrested the juvenile for alleged obstruction and assault.
The complaint
Because of the amount of redaction, it’s difficult to tell the substance or details of the complaint against the police department.
The complainant, whose identity is blacked out, indicated they were requesting an inquiry and there were “questionable circumstances” involving the incident. The date of the incident has been blacked out from the report.
The complainant indicated they waited to file it due to fear of retaliation – but it’s not clear who they were afraid of.
From what is not blacked out in the document, it appears there are allegations of an incident where racial slurs were used, one person punched another, and someone was pushed to the ground. It’s not clear who was involved or how many juveniles were involved.
Later on in the complaint, it seems there was an altercation between one juvenile and at least one police officer responding to the incident, when the juvenile was restrained and held face down on the pavement. After that, he complained of ankle pain and an ambulance arrived to provide assistance. There appears to be a conflict over whether the juvenile tripped on a car tire or was taken down by an officer.
The person who filed the complaint also wrote they tried to talk with someone at the police department about what happened, but the narrative of that conversation has been blacked out.
The complainant asked for officers to be held accountable, but the specifics of what they would like officers to be held accountable for are blacked out.
The investigation report
The city hired Paul Schultz, a retired police chief who owns Broomfield-based Municipal Police Consultants, to conduct the investigation into the complaint alleging improper use of force.
Schultz has 48 years of law enforcement experience, according to his website, and spent 25 years as police chief in Cañon City, Fort Morgan and Lafayette, Colorado. He also is the former director of the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training program, which certifies officers.
During the investigation into the complaint, Schultz reviewed what body cam footage existed, interviewed the police chief and others involved in the case, and reviewed the reports and other related documents. These records were open to him because the police department can continue to access juvenile records that have been expunged from the court system.
Schultz attempted to – but was not allowed – to interview two deputy district attorneys. It’s not clear why – the reason is blacked out from the reports.
The investigator found the police who investigated the incident involving “several young juveniles” was well done, and that they only used the minimum amount of force to gain compliance with the juvenile who was arrested.
He wrote that the officers used what’s called an “arm bar technique,” which forces a person to the ground to gain control. This is a commonly used technique taught in police academies.
Schultz also wrote that training should be provided to officers on conducting interviews with suspects when they are going to be arrested and referred for charges.
He ended the report by recommending the chief wear a body camera and activate it in situations where he’s involved in enforcement or investigations, as he will often be in situations where he’s required by state law to wear it and turn it on, working for a small department.
The city paid Schultz $6,234 to complete the investigation.
The records
While the city is required to withhold any identifying information related to juveniles, the Plaindealer’s attorney has argued the expungement of the juvenile criminal case has no bearing on any non-juvenile records – in this case, the complaint against the officers involved or their conduct.
“One need only peruse a small portion of the redactions at issue to appreciate their overbreadth, to the point of rendering the underlying narrative incomprehensible,” Zansberg wrote to the city.
The complaint filed against the department was filed after the juvenile completed the court diversion program and the motion to expunge the records was approved. The city maintains the expungement of the records allows it to withhold the names of the adults connected with the initial case and the complaint, as well as any details.
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