On July 5, the Laramie City Council unanimously approved the creation of a police advisory board. It’s slated to be up and running within three to six months.
The City Council first began discussions on how to improve community/police relations in 2020, following the death of George Floyd. Soon after, in 2021, the council created an ad-hoc working group that recommended several strategies to help solve issues surrounding the Laramie Police Department, including a use-of-force review board and a community/police relations board, which was eventually accepted.
Councilor Andi Summerville said that the advisory board’s goal is to “make sure that the Laramie Police Department is in the best position it can be, that we're really using best practices, and that we're really trying to be reflective of, not just the community in general, but of what the community needs are.”
The proposal for the advisory board went through three readings, during which significant changes were made, such as the board's planned membership. In earlier versions of the board, both the City Manager and the Chief of Police were slated to have a full seat on the advisory board. Ultimately, though, it was decided that they would have seats but would not be able to cast votes, instead acting more as liaisons between the community and their respective institutions.
The board did not receive unanimous approval until the final vote. Previously, Councilors Joe Shumway and Brandon Newman were voting in opposition to the board.
Shumway said that was because “the purpose of this vote was for us to say that ‘we were not doing our job,’ and that someone else had to come in to supplement that. I don't have any problem with having people come to us with ideas…that they think need to have our attention. I just don't want to give the responsibility that we've been given as elected officials to do that ourselves.”
Ultimately, though, Shumway said he will support the board.
“Once the decision is made, then we need to put ourselves behind the decision made by the council and work together to make the very best results that we can of that decision,” Shumway said.
Summerville said that while previous versions of the board concerned multiple stakeholders who were worried about the amount of oversight the board would have, this final version seems to appease all parties.
“What we ended up with at the end of the day was an advisory board that was recommended by, not everybody, but a large majority of our stakeholders,” she said. “And so we feel like we've really kind of coalesced around an option to keep it as inclusive as possible.”
The board will be composed of five Laramie residents — one of whom will be a retired police officer — in addition to the City Manager and the Chief of Police who will be non-voting members.
“It's pretty much open to everybody,” said Summerville. “So regardless of where you fall on a particular issue, or your position in the community, we're going to encourage residents that are interested in this discussion to apply to the board.”
The board will act as a place for the community to hold discussions around policing, after which it can vote to bring certain recommendations to the City Council. However, it cannot review use-of-force complaints or recommend certain officers be terminated.
After the City Council approves the board’s bylaws, it will begin the process of selecting its members. Those members will then undergo 40 hours of training on police procedures before beginning their activities. That entire process is estimated to take three to six months.
