Police oversight on Monday's agenda: a Citizen Oversight Board seat and a budget amendment for the Independent Monitor

Denver's system for overseeing police and sheriff's deputies has two parts: the Office of the Independent Monitor, a city agency that monitors investigations of officer misconduct, and the Citizen Oversight Board, a volunteer board that oversees the monitor's office and makes policy recommendations. Both come before the City Council on Monday, Nov. 2.

Why it matters: these offices are how residents' complaints about police and jail conduct get a second look outside the departments themselves. Council members have tied that work to the money the city pays to settle lawsuits.

The board seat

Council Resolution 26-1507 would approve a City Council appointment to the Citizen Oversight Board. The term would start immediately and end Feb. 18, 2027, or when a successor is appointed. The Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee approved it by consent on Oct. 20, and it is listed with Monday's resolutions (agenda).

Why seats matter. When the board presented its annual report to the Council's Health and Safety Committee on June 24, its presenter said it had three vacancies, two of them mayoral appointments and one a joint mayor-Council appointment, leaving six members to carry the work (video). The presenter said the board held 20 meetings in 2025 (video).

What the board does. In the same presentation, the board described three sets of duties: overseeing the monitor's office, including appointing the monitor with Council confirmation; making recommendations on policy such as hiring, training, use of force and discipline; and taking up other community concerns. The presenter said the board does not conduct investigations (video).

The board said much of its 2025 work went to the police department's proposed education-based discipline policy, and that it had not been consulted at the start (video). It also credited a Council ordinance requiring the city attorney's office to share settlements with oversight agencies so they can track non-monetary terms, such as policy changes (video). Council member Jamie Torres described that requirement when it was before the Council in August 2025 (video).

The budget amendment

Separately, Council member Shontel Lewis has filed 26-1662, one of 10 amendments to the 2027 budget on Monday's agenda. It would add $60,000 to the Office of the Independent Monitor's personnel budget. The amendment says the mayor already added $60,000 for an additional position and that this would let the office make it an analyst position (text). It does not name a cut elsewhere to pay for it.

Mayor Mike Johnston approved more money for the monitor's office in his response to the Council's budget requests, and agreed to work with the Council on communication between the monitor's office and the Department of Safety, the Denver Gazette reported. The Gazette did not give amounts.

What our records add

Why members connect oversight to settlements. On April 27, as the Council approved a batch of liability settlements, Lewis described the monitor's office as "for all intents and purposes, the police watchdog" and said the Council's job is to ask how the city can reduce uses of force so taxpayers pay less in settlements (video).

Budget concerns from the hearings. During September budget hearings, Council member Amanda Sawyer cited figures the monitor's office had reported on naloxone use in the jail and asked how sheriff staffing affects response (video).

How amendments did last year. Last year's budget amendments that touched public safety passed and failed by narrow margins, as our story on the 2026 amendments shows. With 12 members seated this year, an amendment needs seven votes if all are present.

What's next

• Monday, Nov. 2: Amendments are first on the agenda, at 3:30 p.m.; the board appointment comes up with the night's resolutions (agenda).
• By noon Nov. 6: The mayor accepts or vetoes any amendments that pass. Nov. 9: overrides, if any, and the final budget vote.