Boulder police oversight chair faces union complaint as community presses for answers

The Boulder Police Oversight Panel heard public concern on March 2026 after a police‑union code‑of‑conduct complaint against the panel's outgoing chair, Solidad Diaz, became public. Several commenters said the complaint threatens the panel's independence and urged city officials and the police chief to speak publicly about the matter.

At a public‑comment period that drew residents and community advocates, Dan, who identified himself as a longtime government employee, said the complaint ‘‘calls into question the ability of the oversight to function in this city’’ and urged the city to defend civilian oversight. Another speaker, a climate scientist and longtime resident, said the complaint compounded already acute concerns about racialized treatment by police and the city's declining Black population.

Diaz, who was present, described feeling unsafe after the complaint was filed and said the filing came from the police union rather than a single officer. "I feel unsafe," she said, adding that she recognizes and works on her own biases and asked whether union leadership had voted to pursue the complaint. She asked for clarity about how the complaint was initiated and its scope.

Independent Police Monitor Sher D acknowledged the complaint's confidentiality during the investigative phase but said it had become public through media reporting. The monitor said she has not received a formal decision from the city manager about the complaint's outcome and expressed concern about the impact of the filing on panel members. Sher D urged the panel to pursue a meeting with union leadership to clarify expectations and preserve a working relationship.

Panel members and several public speakers called for a transparent response from city leadership. River, a public commenter, said the complaint appears to conflate policy critique with misconduct and warned that disciplining panelists for interpretation undermines civilian oversight. Multiple speakers requested that the city manager and police chief publicly affirm the panel's independence.

The panel did not take a formal action on the complaint at the meeting; several members said the next steps should include gathering information from the city manager's office and deciding how the panel wants to proceed. The panel said it would aim to report back with more information at its next meeting.

Why it matters: Civilian oversight panels rely on public trust and access to investigations and are designed to surface community perspectives on policing. Residents and panelists said the union complaint risks chilling those perspectives if disagreement about case interpretation is treated as misconduct.