2020 was an extraordinary year for the Colorado legislature. COVID-19 forced lawmakers to break halfway through the session. They returned to work in May with a short list of priorities: balance the budget and respond to the pandemic.
But almost immediately, the Capitol became the epicenter of protests over the killings of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police.
The chants of 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� outside the statehouse walls pushed lawmakers to take up the issue of police reform that summer. They ultimately wrote and passed an ambitious bipartisan bill, which included body camera requirements and deadly force use limits. The governor signed it into law within weeks.
looks at what made this major piece of police accountability legislation possible and, along with , examines the law鈥檚 impact in the five years since.
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Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between 萝莉少女 News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish鈥檚 producer is . This episode was edited by and sound designed and engineered by . Our theme music is by Brad Turner. Additional reporting in this episode from and broadcast tape came from NPR and CBS News Colorado. Special thanks to at Fort Lewis College for allowing us to record in their studio.
