Polis’s “comprehensive public safety” press conference was a comprehensive disaster

DENVER, CO – Governor Polis’s “comprehensive public safety” press conference today was a comprehensive disaster.

The press conference was boycotted by several notable Democrats including Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, and replete with mixed messages about how the state plans to address Colorado’s historic crimewave.

One press conference participant actually went so far as to credit Polis for opposing getting “tough on crime,” a rather odd message for a press conference ostensibly about “public safety.”

The message was also an explicit rebuke of three of the state’s largest law enforcement groups who announced earlier they were withholding their support for the plan, in part due to the Governor’s refusal to acknowledge how bills he signed into law have contributed to a surge in crime and a shortage of law enforcement officers.

“We ask that elected officials, such as yourself and state legislators, recognize how recent legislation and policy changes have directly contributed to rising crime rates and struggles to recruit and retain officers,” said the letter signed by Gregory Knott, president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Stephen Schulz, president of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police and Amy Nichols, executive director of County Sheriffs of Colorado.

Polis’s prepared remarks also contained no mention of Colorado’s fentanyl epidemic or a 2019 bill he signed into law which downgraded possession a host of dangerous drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Denver Chief of Police Paul Pazen recently criticized the 2019 law for increasing deaths and overdoses.

What the event did include however was some rather humiliating advance work on the part of Governor Polis.

If you are covering Polis’s comprehensive public safety press conference, please consider the following statement from Compass Colorado.

“Jared Polis’s ‘comprehensive public safety’ press conference was a comprehensive disaster,” said Compass Colorado Executive Director Kyle Kohli

“Colorado is less safe today because of Polis and his soft on crime record. The Governor’s refusal to take responsibility for his contributions to Colorado’s historic crimewave exhibited a stunning lack of leadership,” Kohli continued.

“If the Governor really wants to address public safety, he needs to acknowledge his administration’s mistakes and introduce reforms that keep dangerous criminals in prison and allow law enforcement to do their jobs.”

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