Let's agree that Americans in every community — regardless of race, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation or socio-economic status — expect two things of local law enforcement:

Fight crime

Respect civil rights

That's essentially all any of us wants from our police. It was the case before the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last May — sparking months-long protests nationwide over police treatment of Blacks and Hispanics — and has remained so since.

We should demand nothing less of those entrusted with public safety. We don't want anything to hinder them from carrying out either of those fundamental priorities.

It requires balance because the need to respect our civil rights must temper the need to fight crime. For example, police must not pull over a motorist or question a suspect or use force, especially deadly force, based on something arbitrary like race or ethnicity. When police violate such standards, they must be called to account and face severe consequences.

Unfortunately, the debate over police conduct that followed Floyd's death — in a year that also included a pandemic and a presidential election — has become politicized. It has drifted far beyond a focus on fighting crime and respecting civil rights.

The ongoing re-examination of police work and scrutiny of police departments in city after city have provided a platform for a motley, mixed-up and opportunistic agenda to creep in. Some of it is about promoting broader social policy that has little to do with the police. Some of it seems to be aimed at undermining, rather than improving, police work. And some of it is about eliminating the police altogether — like last year's calls from some quarters to "defund police."

All those elements are more or less reflected in a report released last week by a panel tasked with mapping out police reform in Denver. The 112 recommendations of the Reimagine Policing and Public Safety task force mostly miss the mark. Worse still, they would actually fuel crime, which as noted here recently, is soaring in the state's metro areas in a range of crime categories.

Yet, the upshot of the group's work is worth noting for all Colorado communities if only as a warning: Beware attempts to invoke Floyd's memory in pursuit of assorted, largely unrelated goals and causes.

The outgrowth of a meeting last June between Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, the task force was launched with the usual good intentions. But mission creep inevitably set in once the more political, activist members of the ad hoc effort envisioned a more ambitious undertaking. By the time Denver Public Safety Director Murphy Robinson wisely pulled police off the panel in January — essentially, they were told to speak only when spoken to — it was clear the panel had jumped the rails.

Hence, a report by the task force that meanders off onto myriad tangents. Here are just a few of the recommendations that left us scratching our heads:

Bar the police gang unit and militarized responses from protests and riots.

Prohibit police from conducting searches related to petty offenses and traffic violations.

Decriminalize offenses that, as panel members apparently believe, don't pose a public safety threat — such as drug use and possession, public intoxication and fare evasion.

Increase funding to programs for housing, employment, mental health and substance-abuse treatment

The recommendations also second-guess the structure of government at City Hall and propose realigning the chain of command, like putting the police Internal Affairs Bureau under supervision of Denver's manager of safety rather than the police department. And it micromanages the police budget, calling for more transparency on weapons purchases.

It is almost belly-laugh funny to suggest police use a soft touch in addressing a full-blown riot — for fear of antagonizing the rioters, perhaps? — though there may be merit in some of the other recommendations. But what does expanding the social safety net or decriminalizing the likes of public drunkenness have to do with the death of George Floyd?

There are effective ways to address the kinds of concerns that arose around that tragedy — while keeping cops productively engaged in the crime fight.

Police will work with community members, businesses, nonprofits and mental health professionals to establish relationships with area residents. They'll partner with groups that will walk neighborhoods to talk with residents and connect them with services they might need.

That's more like it: Embrace a diverse community, and focus on fighting crime where it happens and if possible before it happens. No need for grandiose agendas.

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

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