LeTech leadership asks council to dissolve commission, recommend redesign

Chair Deb Walker told the City Council on Monday that the Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Commission (LeTech) voted to recommend dissolving the current ordinance‑based commission and asked city leadership to review other municipal models and return with a new structure that better serves community needs.

Michael Montgomery of Legislative Services outlined LeTech’s history, noting the commission was created by ordinance in July 2020 (later renamed in June 2022) to provide advice on police operations, transparency and community engagement. He cited accomplishments including the Crisis Response Team recommendation and work on CSPD’s use‑of‑force study.

Deb Walker, who described herself as the last remaining original member of the commission, and Vice Chair Andrew Hoskins said their March recommendation has three parts: disband the body as currently constituted, study alternative models used in other cities, and have city leadership design a new entity to create the right fit.

Council members praised LeTech’s contributions. “I want to acknowledge a number of things that I appreciate LeTech having done,” one council member said, citing crisis response team work and use‑of‑force review support. Deputy Chief Jeff Jensen of the Colorado Springs Police Department described increased transparency measures and independent reviews, including CALEA accreditation and public access to department policies and data.

Michael Montgomery said the ordinance repeal will have its first reading on April 14 and the final vote and recognition of current and past commissioners is scheduled for April 27 or 28. Council discussion at the work session included appreciation for commissioners’ service and counsel that the ordinance process requires two readings for repeal.

No final repeal vote occurred at the session; the matter will follow the ordinance process on the council agenda.