ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A Colorado lawmaker wants a statewide standard for allowing officers to return to work after they're involved in a shooting. State Senator Rhonda Fields (D-Arapahoe County) is working to write legislation now.
“The idea is to create a state-wide standard that every police department would have as a protocol in handling post-traumatic, fatal shootings,” she said. “Like a checklist of certain criteria that has to be met before someone is returned back to work.”
Fields sought feedback on the bill from law enforcement groups and mental health professionals. She learned many departments have policies in place already, and some are extensive. But there were no state-wide standards.
“I’m just making sure that each department has been thoughtful about all the things that should be met before someone returns to duty for their own well-being and the safety of our community,” she said.
While she hasn’t written her bill yet, she’s floating several ideas.
“For example, maybe going back to the scene of the crime,” she began listing. “Maybe going to the shooting range. Maybe practicing on a simulator. Maybe buddying up for the first two weeks or whatever criteria is. Talking to a police psychologist. Getting a debrief. Are there lessons to be learned about that shooting? Just to make sure the person’s mindset is in good shape to be returned back to duty.”
Fields said she was inspired to draft the bill after a case in Aurora this summer.
In July, an Aurora police officer responded to a report of an intruder, then shot and killed an armed homeowner, Richard “Gary” Black, Jr. APD said responding officers did not have a clear description of the suspect, didn’t realize Black was the homeowner, and Black did not respond to multiple commands to drop his weapon.
About a month before that shooting, the same officer who shot Black shot and killed a suspect in a different case. He was placed on administrative leave, then went back to work about two weeks later.
The Aurora officer has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in both shootings. Dave Young, the District Attorney for the 17th Judicial District, said the second shooting, where Black was killed, was justified under Colorado law because the officer reasonably believed lives were in danger, including his own.
Young also acknowledged the officer’s previous shooting and administrative leave, saying he “went through the Department’s ‘reintegration process,’ which includes a psychological assessment, ongoing post-incident counseling and peer support, a critical incident stress management debrief led by certified clinicians, and firearms qualification.”
A spokesman for the Aurora police said the department established an Employee Wellness Unit about two years ago. APD follows standards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as an established directive for officers returning to duty after a shooting. That directive is posted publicly on the APD website and includes stress management techniques, counseling, and numerous training exercises.
Many Colorado police departments have similar policies, said John Camper, the President of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Most agencies have a contract with a police psychologist that they can use. Most agencies certainly require a certain amount of time off, it may vary depending on what the circumstance was, perhaps until at least the internally affairs investigation is done,” he said.
Camper was part of the feedback group with State Sen. Fields. He said he and others cautioned her to avoid a “cookie cutter” approach to her legislation. Some smaller departments don’t have the same resources as larger teams, he said, and every officer will respond differently to a shooting.
“I’ve never met any police officer that wants to be involved in a shooting. But on the other hand, there’s certainly prepared and trained for that very likelihood when they go into the profession,” Camper said. “Similarly, I’ve never met a police chief yet, and I work with all of them in the state, who wants an officer to go back to work before they’re ready.”
Fields said she knows whatever legislation she writes may be redundant for some departments. She still feels it’s an issue worth studying and creating a state-statute over. She said she has spoken to members of Gary Black’s family about the issue, too.
“I see it as non-threatening, especially if [departments] are doing it already. Then if they’re not, they'll be required to have a protocol in place,” she said.
“This is for the well-being of our officers, and making sure we're not shortchanging their mental health and behavioral health at the expense of getting back to work too soon.”
Senator Fields plans to write a draft of the bill by next week, and ask for more feedback from law enforcement and mental health organizations before introducing it in the legislature early next year.