Louisville residents meet, speak with chief of police finalists – Bo…

Red flag laws, gun safety and community engagement were the hot topics at the Louisville Chief of Police finalists reception on Thursday.

Louisville residents were invited to meet the four chief of police candidates at the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center, 900 Via Appia Way. The finalists are Alice Cary, Deric Gress, Rafael Gutierrez and Jeff Fisher, the current interim chief of police.

The community reception was a chance for residents to speak with them and ask questions in an informal setting. Residents were also able to provide their input on the finalists, which City Manager Jeff Durbin will take into account during the selection process.

Durbin said that he hopes to extend a formal job offer early next week, and have the new chief start by the end of summer.

More than 50 Louisville residents attended the community reception, with many being Moms Demand Action members, a grassroots group that fights for public safety measures against gun violence. MDA members asked each candidate about their views on red flag laws and gun safety.

Carol Callicotte-Belmon, a MDA member, said that she values a chief of police who will take gun violence and gun safety seriously and not dismiss safety concerns.

“We want a chief of police who will enforce laws, not pick and choose,” Callicotte-Belmon said.

One MDA member pointed out that when Fisher ran for sheriff in Larimer County, he said that he would work to recruit volunteer members who have experience with guns to stand guard at schools. Fisher said that while he still feels that would be a good tactic in Larimer County, he does not feel it would work in Louisville.

One Louisville resident said that sometimes making schools safer is not as simple as locking doors or having people stand guard.

“The police can not provide all the public safety that a community needs anywhere, it’s a partnership with the community,” Fisher said.

Fisher said that it is important to the police department to have a relationship with the public in order to have public safety. Fisher added that the department has to and will make the time to develop a better relationship with the community to complete the “art of neighboring.”

Fisher also noted that the police department had a contract with a mental health clinician, so that the officers could refer to people in crisis to the clinician. He said that the contract ended, but he wants to have a mental health clinician on staff.

Kathy Hagen, a MDA member, said that Cary, the chief of police at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, had an in-depth understanding of red flag laws and a good understanding of the community despite not living in the area. Hagen said that Cary also understood the importance of officer training in de-escalation. They both said that it is important for their police department officers to know the difference between someone being in crisis and someone presenting a danger. Callicotte-Belmon said that Cary mentioned experience with having social workers and mental health liaisons on staff to help de-escalate situations.

“I have professionals in the field that are making mental health assessments to make sure that scene is safe and then a social worker goes in and gives an individual the resources they need,” said Cary, who works with MDA in Urbana, Illinois.

One MDA member — a Boulder Valley School District teacher — asked Gress what she can do to stop the threat beforehand. Gress, assistant chief of police with the Breckenridge Police Department, said that he is aware of Colorado’s red flag laws and is willing to use that law to stop potential offenders. Gress also noted that while many district attorneys will not enforce red flag laws, he supports the law.

Gress said that he believes in education, and while people have a right to own a gun they also need gun education.

William Graser, a Louisville police officer, asked Gress what police training would look like under his leadership. Gress said that he hoped to train with local jurisdictions as well, to be prepared for an active shooter situation.

Gutierrez, the deputy chief with the Greeley Police Department, said that before enforcing a red flag law, he would work to make sure any accusations towards a person are credible and valid.

“We don’t want to infringe on people’s rights or overstep, but we also don’t want to dismiss that someone is bringing us information that says ‘this individual is going through a mental health crisis and could be a danger to themselves or somebody else,’” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said that he is not opposed to the red flag law and called it a “valuable tool and option and needs to be on the table.”