With riots and looting in our streets, the importance of balancing law and order with racial justice is at the forefront of people’s minds. 

American police, tasked with the difficult and dangerous job of maintaining law and order in an ever-changing environment, may not always act perfectly, but as an agency, they are regarded as one of the finest in the world, striving to do even better to avoid being stuck in the past. 

Fortunately, the City of Boulder, our own Athen’s of the west, is on the cutting edge of this exploration and is fully committed to reform, as evidenced by the fact that Boulder recently hired Maris Harold as our first female Chief of Police with decades of experience in social work and policing. Since every coin has two sides, Boulder also hired Joseph Lipari, a police oversight professional with more than 14 years of experience in Chicago and New York, as our first Independent Police Monitor.

The third leg of this triangle is an informed and involved citizenry that starts by giving thanks for the great job our police are doing and volunteers to help improve it even further.

Wearing an impressive combination of a badge, a gun and a mask, Chief Harold is out talking to folks and getting to know our town, its history and power structure. Last week, City Club was fortunate to host Chief Harold for a tour and chat over a vegan lunch, so we could get to know her and she could hear from us.

We plan to invite Chief Harold back to meet with all interested club members as soon as the virus leaves us, and we can safely congregate in large groups. More importantly, we hope City Club can act as a Securus Locus for all interested parties to gather and discuss good ideas for Police Reform.