Dem. candidates Marta Loachamin and Jonathan Singer on need for police reform

Since the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has once again come to the forefront of American thought. Along with the calls to specifically end police violence, there have also been calls for cities and various levels of government to reform, defund and even abolish police departments.

Police violence has once again become a divisive issue in the country. Both District 2 county commissioner candidates Marta Loachamin and Jonathan Singer agree that it is communities of color that are most affected by it. Across the country, as well as in Boulder County, data on incarceration trends show that the criminal justice system disproportionately affects black and Latinx communities.

A 2016 report commissioned by the county showed that the average length of stay for Hispanic/Latinx citizens in county jail facilities was 44% longer than those of white citizens, and black citizens stayed incarcerated 50% longer than their white counterparts.

But while it's often easy to focus on the bigger protests--like those for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and more recently Rayshard Brooks--it is important to remember our own local history. In Longmont, Boulder County saw its own example of excessive force from police nearly four decades ago. In Aug. 1980, rookie Officer Glenn Herner shot and killed two young Latino men. He was acquitted by a jury, and civic unrest ensued. Leaders of the local Latino community then "came together to advocate for the rights of Latinos and improve community relations with local law enforcement and the community at large." This group is now known as El Comité.

"They [El Comité] have been a remarkable, trusted nonprofit that serves everyone," Singer said. "If more communities invested in those kinds of organizations, we wouldn't see the level of tension that we're seeing between law enforcement and everyday residents right now."

"It goes back to 'how do we have conversations about our local community'," Loachamin added. "[We need to evaluate] where the money is being spent right now, are we using all of the Boulder County resources to support people...are we disproportionally funding to harm people versus creating alternatives to the criminal justice system?"

Both candidates see flaws in current policing policies, and a large part of it has to do with departments' transparency. Loachamin said that people shouldn't have to do deep research about police records, implying that they should be open record and available.

At the state legislative level, Singer has been part of an instrumental bill that bans choke-holds, limits qualitative immunity (which shields individual officers from liability for their on-the-job actions), bans shooting projectiles and using pepper spray/tear gas indiscriminately, requires all officers to have cameras that record interactions with citizens and requires that police officers report if their peers react inappropriately. "If you [as an officer] fail to intervene, then you're subject to discipline, including termination," Singer said.

This bipartisan bill, which aims to address many issues, passed the Colorado Senate with only one lawmaker opposed, and passed the House with only 13 in opposition.

With any attempt at reforming the system, there are questions brought up regarding the method. Since the protests last week for Floyd and others, there have been numerous calls to action in regard to how we, as a nation, police its people.

"My concern with 'reform' is similar to the conversation about immigration reform," said Loachamin. "I believe that most systems need 'reconstruction.' The issue with 'reform' is that we're going to hang on to something already there and that's not enough...We need to be transparent and, from a county level, show the data which will give us some baseline information to see where [funds and resources need to be reallocated] to better support people."

Ultimately, both candidates emphasized the importance of building systems of support so that large, well funded police departments are less of a necessity. Access to education, housing, physical and mental health resources and job opportunities are all ways that lead to safer communities with lower crime and incarceration rates, according to Singer and Loachamin.

Singer acknowledged that the county has since implemented actions such as creating a hotline system to help people get to court dates and that the district attorney is aware and taking steps to better serve these communities. But, he was also quick to say, "These disparities aren't an accident, and it's up to us to do better now that we know better. "

As Loachamin pointed out, it's dangerous to compare our relative progress to other communities because, "We still have work to do...It's really the action and what people are willing to do [that] ensures that all communities are represented."

Marta Loachamin and Jonathan Singer are candidates for Boulder County Commissioner district two seat, and will face off in a primary on June 30. The winner will face the Republican candidate James Crowder in the November election. For more information about the candidates, see our prior coverage of Loachamin here and Singer here.