Panel schedules case-review training, plans community outreach and forms strategic planning ad hoc committee

At its April virtual meeting, the Boulder Police Oversight Panel discussed community outreach plans, finalized a case-review training exercise for panel members and voted to create a strategic planning ad hoc committee to set priorities through March 2026.

Community outreach and events Bill, speaking for the panel's outreach team, said the panel has an outreach event planned at the Trident bookstore on Pearl Street. "We have an event scheduled for the 20 second at the Trident, bookstore on Pearl Street," Bill said, describing the format as an informal meet-and-greet on the patio behind the store where panel members can answer community questions.

Panel members discussed coordinating attendance, using city summer event application opportunities (for block parties and community events) to host a table, and working with a "connectors" group to reach community networks. Bill and Milan were identified as outreach leads; the panel encouraged members to participate even if only for part of the event.

Case review manual and mock training Vera (referred to in the meeting as "Vera" / "Bara" in some remarks) presented a second draft of the panel's case review manual and proposed a mock case-review training to be held next Monday evening. The training would use publicly available materials from another jurisdiction (a Chicago Office of Police Accountability case) and include a short pre-meeting review (about 15 minutes of targeted evidence) followed by a 90-minute facilitated discussion to mirror a panel case-review meeting.

"I want 15 minutes of your time. In that 15 minutes, can you review these three things before Monday?" Vera said, referring to a short evidence packet she would circulate in advance.

Panel members discussed scheduling, whether to record the session, and running a second session for members who could not attend. Some panelists preferred not to record the training in order to promote candid discussion; the group agreed to proceed with the Monday session and to schedule a second daytime session for those unable to attend. The lead agreed to send a 10- to 15-minute preview email the following day with links and time markers for the evidence materials.

Strategic planning ad hoc committee The panel agreed to convene a strategic planning session to set priorities for the upcoming year (roughly a March-to-March planning window was discussed). The panel voted to create a strategic planning ad hoc committee that will organize a facilitated summit and finalize a written deliverable after the meeting. The motion to create the committee passed; Alan volunteered to help lead the committee and Bill also volunteered to participate.

Other administrative notes The panel confirmed its preference, established more than a year earlier, to hold quarterly meetings with the police chief in person at the municipal building rather than at the police department; members reiterated the rationale that some community members feel uncomfortable visiting the police department building for such meetings. Panel members also asked that training opportunities (for example, compressed Fourth Amendment training) be made available to the panel over the coming months.

Ending: The panel closed the items by reminding members to attend the outreach event if possible, to review the 15-minute evidence packet before the mock case-review training and to expect an emailed calendar update with the training links and a second session date for members who cannot attend Monday evening.