Police oversight panel debates scope of community events after Juneteenth screening pulled

The Boulder Police Oversight Panel discussed whether it may host community-engagement events after a planned Juneteenth film screening was canceled as a panel-hosted event. At the meeting, City Attorney Chris Reynolds, who is serving as the panel’s attorney, said the panel can participate in or help run events but must follow the ordinance’s requirements for community engagement.

"There is no prohibition on the panel hosting a movie for a community engagement session event," Reynolds said. He added that events must be "in accordance with the ordinance," specifically referring to what he described as the provision in "2-119, subsection (h)," and that the panel would need to plan such events "in collaboration with the monitor." Reynolds said collaboration means "working together towards a common goal."

Panel members said the interpretation and the process for approving events have been unclear. Milan, a panel member involved in organizing the Juneteenth plan, said the event was not intended to be only a screening but to include a public conversation and information about how to file complaints and commendations. "The plan was not to just have a movie, but to have a conversation about policing around that movie and about the panel presenting the panel and what we do and how people can file complaints," Milan said.

Soledad, another panel member, said she disagreed with a narrow interpretation of the panel’s scope. "I don't think this is the approach that was intended with the ordinance or the bylaws," she said, and asked for a dedicated discussion of how the panel should interpret community engagement rules.

Curtis said organizers had been working with panel members and the monitor and that a decision appeared to have come from the city manager that the planned Juneteenth event could not be hosted by the panel. "At some point in time, a decision came, who I believe was the city manager, had told us that we weren't in alignment with the ordinance," Curtis said. He asked who can ultimately decide whether an event may go forward.

Reynolds replied that whether an event proceeds depends on the facts and the host of the event; he reiterated that the ordinance contemplates collaboration with the independent police monitor and that the panel’s actions must be decided by a majority vote when the panel is the acting body. "So the actions of the panel have to be decided by a majority," Reynolds said.

Panel members agreed to continue the conversation. The meeting record shows the Juneteenth screening had been scheduled for June 22 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church but panel members said the screening would not be hosted by the panel; Curtis said Naropa University had expressed interest in a related screening and the panel could participate without hosting. Bill, chair of the outreach committee, said the committee will continue coordinating possible collaboration opportunities with community groups and the monitor.

Panel chair Lizzie Friend asked the city attorney to meet with the committee to clarify the ordinance’s requirements and to return with more specifics. The panel asked staff to coordinate availability for a focused discussion on the topic.