A virtual conversation Tuesday evening will ask residents to "reimagine policing" as calls for reforming, defunding and abolishing the Denver Police Department have gained momentum since the latest civil rights movement began in late May after George Floyd's killing in police custody.
The Zoom meeting was organized by the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, The Conflict Center and the Denver Citizen Oversight Board, a watchdog group that assesses the Office of Independent Monitor, a city agency that watchdogs the police department.
Members of the Denver Police Department and its umbrella agency, the Department of Safety, will attend and listen but will not play a leading role, said Kelli Christensen, a spokesperson for the safety department.
"We're supportive of this effort and anxious to hear what people's thoughts are," Christensen told Denverite.
Christensen said there's been talk of setting up a task force headed by the Citizen Oversight Board to recommend changes to the policing system but that neither DPD nor the safety department have been asked to join. Both would consider joining if asked, she said.
Murphy Robinson, Denver's top public safety official, committed to a "criminal justice transformation" on June 17.
Denverites can join via Zoom or by dialing 1-669-900-6833 and entering passcode 94250978875# at 6 p.m.
