Report: Colorado Springs Police have “very minor or no racial/ethnic disparities” in use of force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A use of force report filed by the consulting group Transparency Matters shows Colorado Springs Police (CSPD) have "very minor or no racial/ ethnic disparities in use of force against Black and Hispanic people.
According to Chief of Police Adrian Vasquez, city taxpayers paid about $169,000 for the report. The city entered into a contract with the group in January of 2021. The report encompasses use of force incidents between January 2017 and December 2020.
In the report, it says the purpose is "to examine current practices and identify opportunities to
reduce the frequency and severity of use of force incidents, racial/ethnic disparities in force, and injuries
to both officers and citizens through improvements to policies, training, and supervision."
The study found that Black and Hispanic arrestees were 1.3 times and 1.2 times, more likely than white arrestees to have force used against them. According to the researcher, that number is lower than most police departments across the country. The report also says male arrestees were 1.8 times more likely to be involved in uses of force.
The report recommends that CSPD:
-Enhance agency culture that emphasizes, reinforces, and rewards the use of de-escalation tactics
and skills by officers through systematic documentation, continual reinforcement of policies and
training, and development of accountability and oversight mechanisms.
-Continue the processes established for the CSPD’s Use of Force Committee for comprehensive
and routine reviews and updates to policy.
-Review and update the documentation, policy, training, and supervisory oversight related to the
pointing of firearms at a person.
-Conduct an independent audit of CSPD use of force training to ensure content, quality, and
duration of use of force training is meeting industry best practices.
-Enhance transparency through the timely release of information to the community to improve
public confidence and trust.
-Continue to enhance supervision, accountability & oversight related to use of force.
-Review and make appropriate changes to use of force data collection to meet best practices.
-Work internally and externally to continually reduce racial/ethnic disparities in use of force
