EXCESSIVE-FORCE COMPLAINTS FALL

Eight-Year Plunge Parallels Decline In Denver Arrests

The number of excessive-force complaints filed against Denver police
has plunged in the past eight years, closely paralleling a sharp drop
in city arrests.

As of the first week of September, citizens had lodged 58
excessive-force complaints against Denver officers, or an average of
about seven a month.

In 1998, there were 158 complaints, or an average of about 13 a month.

The 47 percent drop in complaints comes at a time that arrests have
been sliced by more than a third .

There's not an exact downward match: Arrests have consistently
declined, while complaints have varied from year to year.

The threat of citizen complaints - and the black mark they can make
on an officer's record - tops the list of explanations that many
officers have given for the drop in arrests.

And the police union president says that contributes to the decline
in excessive force as well.

"Officers are using discretion in the cases they handle," Mike Mosco
said. "If you make fewer arrests you get fewer complaints."

Mosco, however, added that there are other reasons for the drop in
complaints. He cited understaffing as another reason for the sharp
drop in arrests for non-major crimes.

Bill Woodward, a consultant for the National Institute of
Corrections, agreed with Mosco that fewer arrests could produce fewer
complaints, though he said he would need more data before drawing a
firm conclusion.

However, Woodward said that the steep drop-off of arrests in Denver
for drunken driving and prostitution supports the theory that
officers are avoiding complaints by avoiding arrests.

"People who are drunk or on drugs make it more likely that there
could be a confrontation," he said. Confrontations often lead to
excessive-force complaints, he added.

DUI arrests have been sliced in half since 1998, while prostitution
arrests are down 43 percent , according to figures from Denver's
Safety Office of Policy Analysis.

Police Chief Gerry Whitman declined to speak about the issue.
Instead, he had a public information officer field calls.

Lt. John Burbach said he didn't know what had caused a drop in complaints.

"It could be a number of factors," he said. "It could be that if you
have fewer arrests, you have fewer complaints. It could be because
the department has a better relationship with the community."

He said he knew of no change in the definition of excessive force
that could have caused the complaint decline, though he added that
the police would need several days to research the figures before
reaching any conclusion.

Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe also had no theory about the figures.

"It's not what I deal with," he said. "Use-of-force reports are not
something my office sees."

Richard Rosenthal, Denver's new civilian police monitor, offered
another possible explanation: Perhaps there are fewer complaints
because people have come to believe that complaining does no good.

But like LaCabe and Burbach, Rosenthal said he could not be certain
what had caused the complaint decline.

Whatever the reason, the trend is "good news," said Denver City
Councilman Doug Linkhart.

He said that part of the drop in complaints could be from officer
reluctance to proactively enforce the law, but the "numbers are too
big" for that to be the only reason.

Linkhart said that he "would assume that the drop in complaints is
because of all the steps the police department has taken" to better
monitor officers' use of force.

"There's been a lot more focus since 1998 on courtesy and being
careful, and that's good," Linkhart said.

Jeanne Faatz, chairwoman of the council's Safety Committee, seconded
Linkhart. A drop in complaints is good. However, Faatz has been
concerned about the slowdown in enforcement.

The decline in arrests during a period of increasing crime reports
prompted her to form a special task force to try to find out why
Denver arrests have declined while city crime has increased.

Arrests have dropped 35 percent while traffic tickets are down 31 percent.

Further underlining the enforcement decline, police released figures
last week tracking the number of offenders who are not arrested after
being cited for minor infractions, such as possession of small
amounts of marijuana.

Again, the trend is sharply down.

In 1998, police wrote 37,492 tickets for these infractions. Last
year, the number was 23,048 - a 38.5 percent drop.

To reverse the trend of plunging arrests, Faatz and several other
council members have called for an increase in the number of
authorized Denver police officers.

Mayor John Hickenlooper is seeking 20 additional slots next year,
while Faatz is calling for 60.

A compromise is expected before the final budget goes before council Oct. 17.