Denver City Council Health and Safety Committee Meeting: Police Training and PACE Overview – January 23, 2026
Denver City Council Health and Safety Committee Meeting: Police Training and PACE Overview – January 23, 2026
This meeting of the Denver City Council Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Councilmember Darrell Watson (District 9), featured two briefings: first on continuing education and training for the Denver Police Department (DPD) and Denver Sheriff Department (DSD), and second on the operations and challenges of the PACE (Prosecution and Community Engagement) section of the City Attorney's Office. Councilmembers present included Amanda Sawyer, Kevin Flynn, Laura Alvitres, Paul Cashman, Jamie Torres, and Council President Pro Tem.
Discussion Items
DPD and DSD Continuing Education Briefing
- Lieutenant Campion (DPD), Jesse (DPD), Mike (DSD curriculum developer), and Captain Sims (DSD) presented training requirements. DPD must meet 24 hours of POST minimums, including 12 hours of perishable skills (arrest control, emergency driving, firearms). They train 1,462 officers annually. DSD is not POST-certified but uses Triple Crown accreditation (ACA, NCCHC, CALEA) requiring 40 hours of training annually.
- Programs highlighted: ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) from Georgetown University (8-hour initial, 2-hour annual refresher), crisis intervention training, annual supervisor training (sergeants and lieutenants), and hands-on citizen service training reinstated after COVID. DSD is adopting the HEROES adaptation of ABLE focused on corrections settings (launching February 9, 2026).
- Logistics challenges: limited facility space (only 15 range stalls, two padded cells at sheriff's academy, old mats), scheduling to minimize overtime, and staffing constraints. DPD schedules in-service a year ahead; DSD holds training on off-days to avoid replacement.
- Councilmember Torres asked how new requirements (state or local) are integrated; Lieutenant Campion described a quarterly trends group (including Independent Monitor) that develops training within weeks to months. Councilmember Flynn questioned whether low staffing at the jail changes training needs; DSD noted they currently do not have specific low-staff protocols but will follow up. Councilmember Perry asked for sample training transcripts and noted the minimum training hours; DPD reported recruits receive over 1,000 hours in academy plus 16-week field training, while experienced officers often exceed the 24-hour minimum.
- Councilmember Alvitres raised concerns about officer mental health and overtime. DPD highlighted wellness teams, peer support (60 members), reintegration programs for those returning from leave, and a partnership with Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model for trauma-informed training. DSD emphasized normalizing asking for help and family nights in the academy.
- Councilmember Sawyer asked about online vs. in-person training, ammo costs (not paid by officers), and autism training; DPD said they would provide details offline. Councilmember Cashman had no questions.
PACE (Prosecution and Community Engagement) Briefing
- Director Marlee Bordowski, Linda Laughlin-Pettit (victim advocacy), Reggie Newbein (assistant director), and Genevieve St. Ledger presented. PACE is a charter agency prosecuting all municipal ordinance violations, with four trial courtrooms (currently 2.5 attorneys each, aiming for 3), traffic and juvenile dockets, and courtroom 2100 in the detention center operating seven days a week.
- Statistics: 14,300 cases in 2025 (up 2% from 2024, which was up 12% from 2023); 2,500 were domestic violence cases (up 19%, a 10-year high). Traffic cases fluctuated. Juvenile cases decreased 6% due to diversion programs and the Alternatives to Citation program rolled out citywide in 2024.
- Other PACE functions: legal support for licensing, public nuisance abatement (including street racing vehicle seizures), mental health team (over 1,300 involuntary commitment cases and 48 extreme risk protection order filings in 2025, a statewide high), and the Neighborhood Partnership Team (e.g., Denver Methamphetamine Abatement Partnership – 33 residences tested positive in 2025).
- Linda Laughlin-Pettit presented slides on domestic violence cases with images of injuries and victim quotes. Councilmember Sawyer objected to the use of images, citing privacy concerns and questioning the narrative of victims voicelessness, and asked for data on how many prosecuted by PACE are experiencing homelessness (previously estimated at 54% in 2023). Marlee Bordowski said they do not currently track that data but would follow up.
- Councilmember Alvitres asked about improving victim access to services (e.g., online protection orders) and why domestic violence is rising; PACE noted the Denver Domestic Violence Collaborative reinstigated in 2025 to address prevention and response.
- Councilmember Flynn asked about the drop in domestic violence cases year-over-year (though 2025 was higher than 2021); PACE had no definitive answer. He also asked about follow-up for methamphetamine contamination; PACE explained DDPHE works on landlord requirements and alternative housing.
- Councilmember Sawyer requested removal of case numbers from the slides; legal counsel was to determine if possible under open meetings law.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken during the committee meeting.
- DPD and DSD agreed to follow up on specific questions: sample training transcripts, information on autism training, and consideration of low-staffing protocols for the jail.
- PACE agreed to pursue removing case numbers from the presentation slides if legally permissible and to provide data on the percentage of defendants experiencing homelessness.
- The committee received the presentations and will continue oversight of training and prosecution practices.
Meeting Transcript
community that feeds the soul through music, through entertainment, where you, where our community can access health issues and education. So I feel like it's always been that give and take. And in that, it's so good. Welcome back to this weekly meeting of the Health and Safety Committee with Denver City Council. Coverage of the Health and Safety Committee starts now. Good morning and welcome to the January 21st Health and Safety Committee meeting. My name is Darrell Watson. I'm honored to serve all of the residents of Define District 9, and I'm honored to be the chair of this Health and Safety Committee. We have two briefings this morning, but before we roll into the briefings, why don't we turn it over to Councilmembers for introductions with Start to the Right. Good morning, Amanda Sawyer, District 5. Kevin Flynn, Southwest member of District 2. Laura Alvitres, Lucky District 7. Good morning, Paul Cashman, South Denver District 6. Jamie Torres, West Denver District 3. It's a quick check to see if we have anyone virtual. I guess. District 4. Thank you, Council President Pro Tem. Our two briefings this morning will kick off with the Department of Safety, Continuing Education. We have some good folks from the Sheriff's Department and Denver Police. We'll turn it over to you to introduce yourselves. You each have 10 minutes each and then we'll open it up for questions from City Council. We'll turn it over to you to do your introductions on anyone in the audience that's going to be providing you support. If you don't mind introduce them as well. I'm sorry to Mike buildings with the pressure on the training for me. To mills on the curriculum developer for the Denver service department and then our captain over there. Captain Sims is our support. Oh, we're on to get sent out. I'm a police department with the professional development unit. Jesse can't be an director of training and oversee police academy and training assignment with us today. It's coming to see that. And council member parody just got in on time and so thank you so much. How far parties serves the entire city. Turn it over to you all for your presentation. Okay, well, thank you council members for having us here today. providing the opportunity to really give you an idea of our training that we're proud of, that both agencies provide to our staff, and really, in turn, serve in the community with our officers and with the skills that they deploy every day. So today we're going to talk about a few things. We're going to start off with DPD, the Peace Officer Standards and Training for Policy Requirements. DSC is going to talk about their CALEA and accreditation. Then we're going to go into logistics, some challenges that we have, as well as highlights. But again, we're proud of the things that we have put forth and initiatives we're continuing to work on. So our post-train requirements, these are mandated by post through the state and are the minimum that we have to meet to stay in compliance with state law as well as our accreditation. So they provide these trainings, these standards statewide, and they are for police officers or recruits that have to be trained and meet those certifications. Right now, we have 24 hours that are required by post, 12 of which are in what we call perishable skills. So that's going to be arrest control, defensive emergency driving, and firearms training. So when you look at that, 12 hours really doesn't seem that much. But when you look at trying to train 1,462 officers, that becomes a significant lift. Because we have to do this while, you know, keep in mind our service to the community, making sure our officers are there and available to answer calls for service. The staffing, trying to make sure that we equate this throughout the year and aren't really working blind, right? Denver is a very busy city. We have different demands, different things that come into the city that we also have to account for and plan for.
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