DENVER — The social justice protests of 2020 led lawmakers in Colorado to pass sweeping police accountability reforms that included a mandated public report on use of force.
The deadline was July. Now in late September, the dashboard remains unpublished.
According to a spokesperson with the Colorado Dept. of Public Safety, the state had to navigate technology challenges and work with local law enforcement agencies to clarify the data required.
The deadline needed to be adjusted because of the workload.
“As with any implementation of this magnitude, it presented unexpected challenges such as software implementation, technology training, terminology education, outreach to local law enforcement, and an imposed timeline,” the department told 9NEWS via email.
The state now aims to publish the dashboard on the Division of Criminal Justice web page in the fall.
It will ultimately include more than two dozen pieces of information, like the type of force used, names of which law enforcement officers were present during the incident, whether a gun was fired or removed from its holster and the demographics of the person contacted by law enforcement.
More than 270 law enforcement agencies had to shift how they collect data to meet the needs of the dashboard. That required them to either incorporate new entry requirements into their own systems, get a new system or utilize a new system developed by the state.
Colorado's new laws -- SB20-217, HB21-1250, and HB 21-1142 -- mandated other reforms, as well, such as required body cameras and rules around transparency.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark