Michael Phibbs News Today

An investigation by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), The Sentinel in Aurora and Rocky Mountain Public Media revealed a host of loopholes, mistakes and regulatory blind spots that have kept officers with documented records of abusive conduct in good standing with POST.

An investigation by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), The Sentinel in Aurora and Rocky Mountain Public Media revealed a host of loopholes, mistakes and regulatory blind spots that have kept officers with documented records of abusive conduct in good standing with POST.

An investigation by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), The Sentinel in Aurora and Rocky Mountain Public Media revealed a host of loopholes, mistakes and regulatory blind spots that have kept officers with documented records of abusive conduct in good standing with POST.

An investigation by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), The Sentinel in Aurora and Rocky Mountain Public Media revealed a host of loopholes, mistakes and regulatory blind spots that have kept officers with documented records of abusive conduct in good standing with POST.

“What kind of system allows the certification of an officer who takes pleasure in riddling people with extra bullets?” asks Trish Vigil, mother of the carjacking suspect whose fatal shooting Madrigal’s fellow officers say he gloated over. "That's not police discipline. It's a free pass. And it’s disgusting."

UNDISCIPLINED: Colorado promised transparency around police misconduct, but is still not holding most rogue cops publicly accountable. By Susan Greene, Police officers who have been disciplined in their previous departments still allowed to work despite track record of misconduct

Police often rely on eyewitnesses to identify suspects. But experts say witnessing a crime can be traumatic and the brain is often uncertain on the details. This is especially true when trying to identify suspects with a showup near a crime scene, which usually involves one person versus a group of people in other types of lineups. The misidentification and wrongful arrest of a Black teen led to a grassroots movement in Colorado to change this practice.