Law Enforcement Liability – More Police Reform in Colorado: House Bill 24-1372 Establishes New Restrictions and Requirements for Use of Prone Restraint
The 2024 Colorado legislative session included additional bills addressing law enforcement operations. Prominent among the bills passed is House Bill 24-1372 (also, “HB 1372” or “the Bill”), which establishes new restrictions and requirements for use of prone restraint.
Read the CIRSA Blog Post, written by Jonathan Abramson and Julie Nikolaevskaya of the law firm SGR, LLC, for a summary of the key requirements of the Bill, which is now the law in Colorado. CIRSA member law enforcement agencies will want to ensure they are familiar with the bill’s requirements and are taking the steps needed to ensure compliance.
Law Enforcement Liability Resources – Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) September 2024 Report
15 Principles for Reducing the Risk of Restraint-Related Death
As you know from CIRSA’s recent Blog Post, written by Jonathan Abramson and Julie Nikolaevskaya of the law firm SGR, LLC, the Colorado Legislature recently adopted House Bill 24-1372 (the “Bill”) establishing new restrictions and policy and training requirements regarding the use of prone restraints by law enforcement. Among other requirements, the Bill requires law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies and procedures concerning officers’ use of the prone position and prone restraint by no later than July 1, 2025. Also, beginning on or before July 1, 2026, each agency required to adopt policies and procedures must implement and train its officers on the provisions of the policies and procedures.
In the wake of high-profile incidents around the county, legislative and media attention on the use of the prone position and prone restraint has increased, both in Colorado and around the county. But, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) recently observed, “much of the public discourse on the subject has focused on the terminology that is used to describe these incidents” with these “public debates about language ‘avoid[ing] the harder issue of how police, EMS, and others can improve their response to medical-behavioral emergencies.’” To address this gap, PERF, in September 2024, published a report titled 15 Principles for Reducing the Risk of Restraint-Related Death, intended to provide guidance on how to handle situations that may necessitate restraint but also could pose a heightened risk to the individual being restrained. While the PERF Report is not intended for direct adoption by law enforcement agencies, it provides guiding principles that may be a useful resource for members’ law enforcement policymakers who are involved in the development of written policies and procedures pursuant to the Bill. A copy of the report can be accessed at the above link.
Factors Affecting 2024 Contributions & The CIRSA Rating Methodology
If you keep up with the news, whether locally, nationally, or globally, you already know the biggest drivers of insurance costs for the coming year: (1) police liability, (2) wind, hail, and tornado risks, and (3) wildfire risks.
Read the full Blog Post to review the factors affecting the 2024 contributions and the methodology used to allocate costs for the upcoming year fairly among all members.
Workers’ Compensation Alert – New Injury Notice Requirements
Currently, the Colorado Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) requires an injured employee or someone with knowledge of the injury to notify the employer within 4 days after the occurrence of an on-the-job injury. The Act also authorizes a reduction in compensation to the injured employee for a failure to notify the employer in a timely manner, and tolls the 4-day period if the employer has failed to post a notice specifying the injured employee’s notification deadline. This will all soon be changing.
Governor Polis recently signed House Bill 22-1112, which implements changes to the notice requirements for workers’ compensation injuries. Those changes go into effect on August 10, 2022, and will affect CIRSA’s workers’ compensation pool members.
Read the full Blog Post for an outline of the key changes in notice requirements made under House Bill 22-1112. The Blog also provides suggestions regarding best practices to ensure compliance with the new provisions.
A shipment of posters will be going out to all CIRSA WC Members next week. Contact membership@cirsa.org to find out how to receive your updated poster for your workplace.
Blog Post
Colorado’s New Legislation Addressing Claims of Sexual Misconduct Against Minors
If your entity operates or manages youth-related activities or programs, you no doubt are aware of the special risks that can come with running such programs, including the risk of claims of sexual abuse and molestation (SAM). While municipalities, in general, have tended to be on the periphery of the public discussion of SAM claims, claims against municipalities arising from incidents of alleged sexual abuse and molestation do occur. And, with the Colorado Legislature’s passage of Senate Bills 21-088 and 21-073, which took effect January 1, 2022, an increase in SAM claims can be expected. Thus, the time is right to review your entity’s risk management practices to ensure you are properly addressing this risk exposure.
Read the full Blog Post for more information about Colorado’s new legislation addressing claims of sexual misconduct against minors.