Audit recommends more training, clearer policies, new facility for Colorado Springs police

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - In August 2023, the City of Colorado Springs commissioned the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Colorado Springs Police Department’s (CSPD) training in four areas:

• de-escalation
• use of force
• procedural justice practices
• crisis response

The previous year, a report from Transparency Matters had recommended that CSPD conduct such an audit to ensure that its training conformed to best-practice standards.

The final audit is almost 150 pages and includes recommendations for all four sections.

CSPD spoke on this report. Their remarks can be watched above.

The major findings in each section are broken down below. The full report can be found at the bottom of this article.

De-escalation

The major recommendations in the de-escalation section include more training both in classrooms and in real-life situations. PERF also recommends that CSPD publicly recognize officers’ valiant de-escalation efforts, just as they do other brave and selfless acts. PERF says that this would help demonstrate that de-escalation is a valued skill worth practicing and honing, with the goal of resolving crises without use of force when possible.

The study also notes that the CSPD was planning to train using PERF's ICAT de-escalation training program. However, the training was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. CSPD did move forward with different de-escalation training that PERF says lacked any role-based scenarios.

Use of Force

The major recommendations in the use of force section include creating a more streamlined policy that is housed in fewer documents and upgrading the policy itself.

PERF says that CSPD’s current policies related to use of force are scattered across multiple stand-alone documents. PERF recommends that CSPD consolidate those policies into a single document, or at least consolidate the less-lethal tool policies. This would ensure clarity and ease of reference, and would also make updating the policies easier since all critical components would be in no more than two policies.

PERF also recommends that CSPD add a definition of proportionality to the definitions section of its use-of-force policy. According to PERF, proportionality encourages officers to consider the nature and severity of the underlying events and what might be appropriate to a situation as they approach it; proportionality also reminds officers to keep these factors in mind as they assess — and reassess — the incident and their response.

PERF suggests adding the following to the policy.

• Existing CSPD policy states that supervisors are required to respond to all use-of-force situations and may respond to a show of force. PERF recommends that CSPD strengthen this language by requiring that a supervisor respond to all events, when possible, where a use of force may be likely, even if it has not yet occurred.
• Current policy language on the review responsibilities of supervisors when responding to a use of force is minimal. CSPD can strengthen it by requiring on-scene supervisors to use the CDM as they investigate the reported use of force. Supervisors should be taught to review each incident holistically — not just the moment force was used, but also the circumstances leading up to the use of force — and the CDM will greatly aid supervisors in this holistic review.
• CSPD can strengthen the function of the agency’s Critical Incident Review Committee by broadening the scope of incidents that it will review. Those incidents should include the following: any serious use of force (including canine bites); any use of lethal force; any use of force resulting in death, serious physical injury, loss of consciousness, or need for hospitalization; any in-custody death; and any other critical police incident as directed by the chief of police.

The use of force section also showed that 80 percent of CSPD officers felt that they “needed more training on non-lethal weapons, defensive tactics, crisis intervention, and de-escalation.”

The major recommendation from PERF was that CSPD include some form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in all officer training. PERF says that other departments that have implemented this have seen positive outcomes and that some form of Jiu-Jitsu-based ground fighting techniques allow officers to go hands-on to gain control of subjects without reverting to force tools, like batons or ECWs.

The positive outcomes include lower injury rates for officers and subjects, reductions in use of force, recognizable changes in officer confidence levels, and an increase in efforts to use communication to de-escalate situations that would otherwise have been hands-on events, likely with a tool or instrument.

PERF suggests that CSPD create a committee to determine if they will incorporate Jiu-Jitsu training and that if they do, the change needs to be explained to officers along with an explanation of how this will improve the defensive tactics program.

Procedural Justice

Rather than adopting one procedural justice policy, as some agencies have done, CSPD embeds its procedural justice principles in four separate policies: Constitutional Policing, First Amendment Rights, Treatment of the Public, and Fair and Impartial Policing. PERF recommends that CSPD create a policy that defines internal and external procedural justice. This would set out the department’s position on fairness, trustworthiness, and respect, both internally to officers and externally to the community.

Survey responses suggest that while CSPD has sufficient training on the practice of external procedural justice, the same is not true of internal procedural justice.

PERF says that most members of CSPD believe they practice procedural justice when interacting with the public, but do not believe that they are shown the same level of respect during internal interactions.

According to PERF, focus group members cited several specific areas in which they believe internal procedural justice is lacking. For example, officers involved in the promotional process want to know where they are deficient and what they can do to improve their skills for future promotions but said that, generally, no one will talk to them about their deficiencies. Also, there were officers who perceived a lack of consistency in the way use-of-force violations are handled; they believe different officers who commit the same violation are sometimes treated differently. And many officers think that while the department quickly publicizes cases of negative conduct, it is slow to publicize the good things its officers are doing.

PERF recommends that CSPD promote internal procedural justice within the department as extensively as it promotes external procedural justice. Every CSPD member should feel able to voice their opinions respectfully without fear of reprisal. Promotional processes and the process for filling vacancies should be perceived as fair and transparent. Use-of-force reviews and internal investigations should also be perceived as fair, and discipline should be applied consistently.

Crisis Response

The study says that CSPD created a Community Response Team (CRT) as a specialized response for those experiencing a crisis. The CRT is composed of a masters-level mental health clinician, a paramedic from the Colorado Springs Fire Department, and a CSPD officer.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) operates an Alternate Response Team (ART) for crisis response. ART is composed of a paramedic and a mental health navigator (a bachelor’s degree-level clinician with at least one year of professional experience), both of which are employed by CSFD; there is no law enforcement presence.

PERF found that CSPD officers were generally aware of the CRT but did not know the specific services it provides. Officers were much less aware of ART and its role in responding to mental health calls.

PERF notes that while ART is not a part of CSPD, the two organizations’ operations are undeniably linked; ART can handle calls that might otherwise be handled by officers.

PERF therefore recommends that CSPD work with CSFD to develop policy regarding ART, detailing their partnership and distinguishing their expectations and responsibilities.

PERF also recommends adding information about ART to recruit training. Officers’ lack of familiarity with ART means they do not recognize it as a resource that can respond to lower-acuity calls. The current academy curriculum does not mention ART or its mission and goals.

Overall, officers said they were satisfied with the amount of crisis response training they received through the department.

Officers reported that many of the calls they respond to have a mental health component, such as responding to homeless encampments or citizens suffering from drug dependency, and that the training they received in the academy on dealing with people in crisis, ICAT, and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training left them adequately trained to handle those calls appropriately.

Many respondents to PERF’s survey, however, reported that crisis response skills fade after they leave the academy and that existing refresher training is inadequate. To enable officers to maintain proficiency, PERF recommends that CSPD develop roll-call training on interaction with special populations and dealing with people in crisis.

Other Notable Findings

The study touched on more than just the four areas broken down above.

One notable section is the recommendation from PERF for CSPD to get an updated training facility.

PERF notes that the current training facility does not meet CSPD's needs.

PERF says in the report "CSPD clearly needs a new training facility. Aside from a firing range and driving track, the campus should include a mock training space that allows for immersive reality-based training (to ensure proper defensive tactics and ICAT programs), an Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC), a firing range, enough classroom space for two academy classes and in-service training, and classrooms dedicated to leadership development programming (quarterly supervisor conferences) and first-line supervisor training."

In 2023, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed the city to build a new training facility.

PERF also states that some officers said they hesitate to act for fear that they will incur personal liability for any mistakes they make, believing that qualified immunity no longer exists.

According to PERF, qualified immunity and personal liability are significant concerns for officers, especially in the current political climate. Some officers acknowledge they are hesitant to use force, however justified it may be, because they are unsure of how they will be judged and the financial consequences they might face.

To help combat these fears, PERF suggests that CSPD leadership should dedicate time in the next in-service training session to explain qualified immunity and civil liability. A subject matter expert, such as the city attorney, should teach this course, rather than an officer. The class should allow time for officers to ask questions and should address some of their fears about using force and any related consequences.

The full report can be found below.