The Boulder City Council has voted to remove a member from the , the latest flashpoint in a dispute that has dominated Boulder headlines for months. The decision was seen by some as a rebuff to the community organizations that helped appoint the member, and it may prompt a lawsuit against the city.
Councilmembers voted 5-2 to approve a recommendation by a special counsel to remove Lisa Sweeney-Miran from the panel due to her outspoken advocacy for police reform, and involvement in seeking to overturn the city鈥檚 camping ban. The was based in part on a provision in prohibiting anyone with a 鈥渞eal or perceived bias, prejudice or conflict of interest鈥� from serving on the panel.
The 11-member Police Oversight Panel reviews internal investigations into cases of alleged officer misconduct and makes disciplinary recommendations to the city鈥檚 police chief, among other responsibilities.
In casting their votes to remove Sweeney-Miran, who was appointed in January 2023, some councilmembers said they did so to ensure public trust in the panel鈥檚 work. Several supported her appointment and said she was fit to serve. Some even consider her a friend.
鈥淚 support the panel鈥檚 work wholeheartedly. And it is critically important that they have the clean slate from which to do the work and have that work be trusted and validated,鈥� Councilmember Matt Benjamin, who voted for Sweeney-Miran鈥檚 removal, said. 鈥淭his is a tough one.鈥�
Councilmember Rachel Friend also voted for her removal. She said if Sweeney-Miran were to stay on, it would 鈥渢hreaten the legal sustainability鈥� of the panel鈥檚 work. If officers were disciplined based on the recommendations of a panel that included Sweeney-Miran, she said, they would likely appeal and 鈥渉ave pretty strong evidence for reversal.鈥�
鈥淲e are mired in the politicization of these appointments,鈥� Friend added.
In addition to Benjamin and Friend, Councilmembers Bob Yates, Tara Winer and Mark Wallach voted for Sweeney-Miran鈥檚 removal. Voting against it were Councilmembers Nicole Speer and Lauren Folkerts. Councilmember Junie Joseph was absent. Mayor Aaron Brockett was also absent, but he wrote in an email to councilmembers prior to the vote that he would oppose removing Sweeney-Miran.
鈥淩egardless of the outcome of tonight鈥檚 discussion, it鈥檚 imperative that we try to heal our divisions and work together going forward on policing and police oversight in our community,鈥� Brockett wrote.
The Boulder City Council created the in 2020, the year after a city police officer drew his gun on a Black college student. Councilmembers sought with its creation to give 鈥渉istorically excluded communities鈥� a greater role in civilian oversight.
Folkerts suggested that the special counsel, Clay Douglas, a former city attorney, 鈥渓acked sufficient knowledge of the history鈥� surrounding the panel鈥檚 creation when he made the recommendation to remove Sweeney-Miran.
鈥淓veryone has biases, and acknowledging our biases is important for accountability and working towards justice,鈥� she said. Folkerts added, 鈥淲e must consider the chilling effects on free speech of any potential actions 鈥� I question not only who will be left to speak, but what they will feel comfortable saying.鈥�
鈥淲hen we ask people with marginalized identities to use their time and energy to give us feedback, we need to be prepared to use their input and to have their back when others attack their perspectives,鈥� Speer said. 鈥淥therwise, we鈥檙e wasting everyone鈥檚 time and making people feel dismissed, tokenized and vulnerable.鈥�
This year鈥檚 appointment process for the Police Oversight Panel marked the most involvement by city council since the panel . Since then, the panel has . One member resigned from the panel, in part to protest limits on what panel members can say publicly about cases they review. In a to city councilmembers this week, Ariel Amaru, one of the founding members of the panel whose term ended earlier this year, said the situation involving Sweeney-Miran is distracting the panel from doing its work.
鈥淚 worry that this con铿俰ct could spell the end of the Panel,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope that this con铿俰ct doesn鈥檛 make us forget that the core of the Panel鈥檚 work is good work.鈥�
The vote is the latest twist in the drawn-out appointment process.
In January 2023, about a week before councilmembers approved a new slate of panelists, a Boulder resident, John Neslage, lodged a code of conduct complaint alleging the committee set up to nominate new members to the panel violated city code due to Sweeney-Miran鈥檚 鈥渙bvious bias鈥� against police. The selection committee included representatives from the NAACP Boulder County, El Centro Amistad, and two members of the Police Oversight Panel.
Neslage, who is helping residents gather signatures for that aims to put pressure on the city to clear out encampments of homeless people near schools, pointed to social media posts made by Sweeney-Miran critical of policing. Residents opposing her appointment have also cited her previous involvement in the over the camping ban, which allows officers to ticket homeless people for sleeping in public spaces. Sweeney-Miran is also a member of the Boulder Valley School District school board, and has advocated for removing police officers from schools. She runs Mother House, a homeless shelter in Boulder.
Douglas, the special council appointed by councilmembers, investigated the complaint 鈥� as well as several He determined that the selection committee 鈥渇ailed to adequately evaluate鈥� the candidates for bias and that Sweeney-Miran could 鈥渦ndermine public trust in and effectiveness of the Police Oversight Panel.鈥� To address the issue, he she resign or be removed by city councilmembers. (Douglas has already billed the city about $11,000 for the this year, according to city . His contract is capped at $20,000, according to city officials.)
鈥楾his has far-reaching consequences鈥�
Leading up to last night鈥檚 vote, Sweeney-Miran鈥檚 lawyer, Dan Williams, councilmembers he does not believe the city council has the authority to remove a member from the Police Oversight Panel. In a joint statement with Sweeney-Miran after the vote, they hinted at legal action.
鈥淭he vote this evening to remove Lisa Sweeney-Miran from the police oversight panel was taken despite Boulder City Council having neither cause nor authority to act,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭he city has broken their own laws, violated due process, and trampled on the first amendment. While this vote is over, we are not done with this fight.鈥�
After the vote, the groups that helped nominate Sweeney-Miran were outraged by the council鈥檚 actions. Jude Landsman, a vice president with the and a member of the selection committee, said the city council has misused its power by overriding what was supposed to be a community-led process.
鈥淚 think the [Police Oversight Panel] is done,鈥� Landsman told Boulder Reporting Lab. 鈥淭his has far-reaching consequences and sets a terrible precedent.鈥�
Ana Karina Casas Ibarra, who represented on the selection committee, expressed grave disappointment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 heartbreaking to see the vote of some of the councilmembers who I thought supported our community,鈥� Casas Ibarra told Boulder Reporting Lab. 鈥淚t always turns out this way for our community. We鈥檙e used to it.鈥�
She said she lives in North Boulder and frequently sees police in her neighborhood. She said her husband was recently stopped by police while walking their dog. She was considering seeking a spot on the Police Oversight Panel one day, she added.
鈥淏ut seeing what is happening, What is the point?鈥� Casas Ibarra said. 鈥淟ook at what they did to this white woman from Boulder. Think about what they would do to me.鈥�
Boulder Reporting Lab is a nonprofit newsroom serving Boulder County.