(1) (a) A peace officer who, in pursuance of such officer's law enforcement duties, witnesses another peace officer, in pursuance of such other peace officer's law enforcement duties in carrying out an arrest of any person, placing any person under detention, taking any person into custody, booking any person, or in the process of crowd control or riot control, use physical force which exceeds the degree of physical force permitted pursuant to section 18-1-707 must report such use of force to such officer's immediate supervisor.
At a minimum, the report required by this section shall include the date, time, andplace of the occurrence, the identity, if known, and description of the participants, and a description of the events and the force used. A copy of an arrest report or other similar report required as a part of a peace officer's duties can be substituted for the report required by this section, so long as it includes such information. The report shall be made in writing within ten days of the occurrence of the use of such force.
Any peace officer who fails to report such use of force in the manner prescribed inthis subsection (1) commits a class 1 misdemeanor.
(1.5) (a) A peace officer shall intervene to prevent or stop another peace officer from using physical force that exceeds the degree of force permitted, if any, by section 18-1-707 in pursuance of the other peace officer's law enforcement duties in carrying out an arrest of any person, placing any person under detention, taking any person into custody, booking any person, or in the process of crowd control or riot control, without regard for chain of command.
(b) (I) A peace officer who intervenes as required by subsection (1.5)(a) of this section shall report the intervention to his or her immediate supervisor.
(II) At a minimum, the report required by this subsection (1.5)(b) must include the date, time, and place of the occurrence; the identity, if known, and description of the participants; and a description of the intervention actions taken. This report shall be made in writing within ten days of the occurrence of the use of such force and shall be appended to all other reports of the incident.
A member of a law enforcement agency shall not discipline or retaliate in any wayagainst a peace officer for intervening as required by subsection (1.5)(a) of this section, or for reporting unconstitutional conduct, or for failing to follow what the officer reasonably believes is an unconstitutional directive.
Any peace officer who fails to intervene to prevent the use of unlawful force asprescribed in this subsection (1.5) commits a class 1 misdemeanor. Nothing in this subsection (1.5) shall prohibit or discourage prosecution of any other criminal offense related to failure to intervene, including a higher charge, if supported by the evidence.
When an administrative law judge or internal investigation finds that a peace officerfailed to intervene to prevent the use of unlawful physical force as prescribed in this subsection (1.5), this finding must be presented to the district attorney so that he or she can determine whether charges should be filed pursuant to subsection (1.5)(d) of this section. However, nothing in this subsection (1.5)(e) prohibits the district attorney from charging an officer with failure to intervene before the conclusion of any internal investigation.
In addition to any criminal liability and penalty under the law, when an administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation finds that a peace officer failed to intervene as required by subsection (1.5)(a) of this section in an incident resulting in serious bodily injury or death to any person, the peace officer's employer shall subject the peace officer to discipline, up to and including termination, to the extent permitted by applicable constitutional and statutory personnel laws and case law, and the P.O.S.T. board shall permanently decertify the peace officer upon receipt of notice of the peace officer's discipline. The revocation may only be overturned if the peace officer is exonerated by a court.
In a case in which the prosecution charges a peace officer with offenses related toand based upon the use of excessive force but does not file charges against any other peace officer or officers who were at the scene during the use of force, the district attorney shall prepare a written report explaining the district attorney's basis for the decision not to charge any other peace officer with any criminal conduct and shall publicly disclose the report to the public; except that if disclosure of the report would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation, the district attorney may delay public disclosure for up to forty-five days. The district attorney shall post the written report on its website or, if it does not have a website, make it publicly available upon request. Nothing in this section is intended to prohibit or discourage criminal prosecution of an officer who failed to intervene for conduct in which the facts support a criminal charge, including under a complicity theory, or for an inchoate offense.
Any peace officer who knowingly makes a materially false statement, which the officer does not believe to be true, in any report made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section commits false reporting to authorities pursuant to section 18-8-111 (1)(a)(III).
No report filed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be used as evidenceagainst a peace officer in a criminal proceeding unless there is other credible evidence which corroborates such report or in a civil action over a claim of executive or statutory privilege without a valid court order.
Source: L. 91: Entire part added, p. 396, § 1, effective June 5. L. 2018: (2) amended, (SB 18-068), ch. 401, p. 2372, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2020: (1.5) added, (SB 20-217), ch. 110, p. 455, § 6, effective June 19.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 20-217, see section 1 of chapter 110, Session Laws of Colorado 2020.