OP-ED - Why resolution 40-20 is a disgrace to Greenwood Village

BY BILLY WYNNE, J.D.

After the horrific death of George Floyd and the predominantly peaceful protests that ensued, the state of Colorado took decisive action and enacted Senate Bill 217. SB 217, which passed with broadly bipartisan votes of 32-1 in the Senate and 52-13 in the House, included a number of measures intended to prevent the most egregious forms of police misconduct, including racially motivated violence toward innocent people.

On July 6, in their first meeting since the passage of the new law, the Greenwood Village City Council spuriously adopted Resolution 40-20, which directly contradicts SB 217 by creating a loophole under which no police officer in our City would ever – no matter how heinous their act – face personal civil liability.

In effect, the City Council prejudged every instance of police misconduct as performed in “good faith” before those events have ever happened, any evidence has been collected, and any reasonable due process has been given to the victims.

This is a gross miscarriage of justice that every Greenwood Village resident should deplore.

The Council’s rationalizations for this action – stated at the time of the vote, again in a statement a few days later, and yet again in a column by Councilman Dave Bullock in these pages last week – are transparently weak and reveal, at best, utter lack of judgment and, whether conscious or not, more pernicious motives.

Resolution 40-20 is not about preventing police officers from quitting. The vast majority of our officers are good, upstanding people who choose to protect and serve us nobly and are willing to accept some personal responsibility for their actions. One police officer chose to depart the force after passage of SB 217 and, if they had such deep discomfort with the accountability required by the law, it is probably best that they stepped aside.

Resolution 40-20 is not about keeping us safe. Exempting rare, isolated bad actor police officers from responsibility for criminal behavior makes us less safe, not more so. Our officers are well-trained and most of us agree they are very skilled at performing their duties. Nothing about Resolution 40-20 is going to enhance their performance further.

Resolution 40-20 is not about demonstrating support for police officers. As Mr. Bullock and other members of the Council said at the time, we all support our police officers, the vast majority of whom serve nobly, with integrity, with tremendous bravery and sacrifice. Obstructing Colorado law isn’t necessary to reaffirm that.

What Resolution 40-20 is really about, as Mr. Bullock and the Council have repeatedly stated, is “sending a message” that Greenwood Village is “different” from “other places” that have taken proactive steps to listen to the public outcry over the last several weeks and address institutional racism.

As if there were any doubt based on the plain text of the Resolution and Council member comments made during its adoption, Mr. Bullock’s defense of his vote published in the Villager last week makes the real rationale for this action unavoidably clear.

After raising the specter of “riots” and implying SB 217 is somehow going to trigger a rise in crime, Bullock pulled out the old “if someone is breaking into your home in the middle of the night” trick that shameless politicians have used for centuries to stoke racially-oriented fear.

I am truly saddened that Mr. Bullock and the City Council apparently have such a low opinion of the people of Greenwood Village, where we believe in justice, support Black lives, and favor reasonable, honest, bipartisan laws over coy legal technicalities and loopholes.

There is only one solution to this miscarriage of justice and profoundly offensive “message” the Council has advanced in the name of Village residents. It must be rescinded immediately and replaced with a clear, unequivocal statement of inclusivity, equity, and accountability – values our city truly stands for.

To learn more and submit feedback, please visit www. CancelRes4020.com.