Special counsel: Sweeney-Miran should resign or be removed from Boulder's Police Oversight Panel

Amber Carlson, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 14—An independent investigator has recommended that Lisa Sweeney-Miran resign — or, if she refuses to resign, be removed — from Boulder's Police Oversight Panel amid complaints about her appointment.

Clay Douglas, who the city hired as special counsel to investigate five code of conduct complaints that three community members filed over the recent appointment of new panel members, released a report detailing his findings. He sustained an allegation that the selection committee had "failed to adequately evaluate whether candidates immediately prior to appointment demonstrate absence of any real or perceived bias (or) prejudice," according to a news release.

Before her appointment, the release stated, Sweeney-Miran was a plaintiff in the ongoing ACLU lawsuit against Boulder's camping ban, which is enforced by officers, and she made posts on social media criticizing police or policing.

The POP's role is to review cases in which officers are accused of wrongdoing. Opponents of her appointment expressed concern that Sweeney-Miran would not impartially carry out her police oversight duties, and they asked the City Council to intervene.

Douglas sustained allegations in his report that both the lawsuit and Sweeney-Miran's social media posts "demonstrate real or perceived bias or prejudice and should have been explored prior to appointment," according to the release.

On Monday, city staff plans to ask members of the Council Agenda Committee to set aside time for the City Council to discuss the matter at an upcoming meeting.

In response to the report, Sweeney-Miran posted tweets disputing that her views are biased and arguing that she should not be excluded from the POP based on a "disgruntled resident's complaint."

"That I have expressed heartfelt concern over past instances of police violence, and that I am open to alternatives to police responses when force is not needed, does not make me biased — it makes me the sort of thoughtful person who is intended to be on Boulder's POP."

Reached for comment, Sweeney-Miran, who serves as vice president of the BVSD Board of Education, suggested that Douglas' recommendation for her removal undermined the POP's purpose of elevating the voices of people of color and other underrepresented members of the community.

"It should really stand out to anyone following this case that the judgment and expertise of people of color who work directly under this ordinance and in police oversight every day is being considered of less value than the opinion of two white men who've never worked in police oversight," Sweeney-Miran said. She said the second man she referred to is John Neslage, one of the community members who filed the code of conduct complaints.

Furthermore, Sweeney-Miran called Douglas' statement that the panel did not adequately consider bias "factually ridiculous," saying that the City Council had sent recommendations for new appointment candidates to the POP for review for possible bias, and the POP did not see any of the candidates as being problematic.

"For Clay to say that this was not adequately addressed is nonsense," she said. "All he can say is that he thinks City Council should take his opinion more seriously than that of the POP selection committee. And frankly, I find that deeply offensive. And it undercuts the exact work around structural racism that the POP was implemented."

She also questioned whether Douglas' suggestion to remove her from the panel would be legally actionable.

Douglas did not sustain other allegations from the code of conduct complaints, such as issues related to the Council's discussions and vote at meetings on Dec. 15 and Jan. 19, potential conflicts of interest, and a "nay" vote on appointing a special investigator by one councilmember, the news release stated. The full report can be found at bit.ly/3L1BHPV.

Another conduct complaint about Boulder police officers present in Council Chambers as councilmembers discussed this topic is under investigation and will ultimately be reviewed by the Police Monitor and POP.