DENVER — Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca proposed changing the name of Denver Police Department to “Peace Force.” She said the “Peace Force” would prioritize a “holistic, anti-racist, public health-oriented approach to public safety.”
However, Denver city council members shot down the proposal 11-1 on Monday night, KDVR reported.
Had the bill passed, it would have ended up on the November ballot.
Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer received significant feedback from a survey she put out over the weekend, which she says received about 1,300 responses, a record number of responses compared to past surveys over the last year.
Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said they would not support referring the proposal to the November ballot.
“I think the feedback I’ve gotten has indicated that people feel that they would have preferred to have more than just a survey’s worth of participation in a conversation that’s important in our city,” said Sawyer.
Sawyer, along with other city council members, criticized CdeBaca for approving a direct file on the charter amendment, which means it bypasses committee and goes straight to discussion on the floor.
“The inability to ask questions, the inability to see the research that went into it, the inability to have discussions with the community and engage the community—that piece was missing,” Sawyer told KDVR.
“For this particular bill to have been filed without any discussion at all in our committee process, and having some input of details of what we would put on the ballot, that would make decisions for years into the future, is just irresponsible for the way we’re expected to govern,” At-Large Councilwoman Deborah Ortega said during Monday’s meeting.
