Welcome

Welcome to the Colorado Peace Officers' Coalition web site.  This vision was born over three years ago during a conversation between Mike Mosco of the Denver Police and Mike Violette of Longmont over how to best secure basic labor rights for law enforcement in Colorado.  Peace officers everywhere are family in an occupation which is unique to say the least.  There is a closeness and unity in our profession that is difficult to describe.  We are the "thin blue line" and stand tall separating society from anarchy and chaos.   We enforce the rules and laws of the land.   We are frequently criticized by the media, or treated with indifference or contempt.  We are rarely thanked for the job we do.  We accept that and serve proudly knowing we do make a difference. 

CPOC is a coalition of Colorado police labor associations and organizations whose common interest is promoting the law enforcement profession and obtaining statewide legislation to improve the working conditions and benefits of law enforcement officers in Colorado.  Our member organizations represent over 7,500 law enforcement officers in Colorado, and that number is growing.  Eventually CPOC will represent nearly every law enforcement officer in Colorado.  Politically those are huge numbers.

The Colorado Peace Officers’ Coalition is the unified voice of all peace officers employed in Colorado. Although the organization is new, the concept is not.  Three Front Range Metro police officers from three different police labor organizations have worked together for nearly three years to bring this vision together, and it has happened.  Mike Mosco President of the Denver Police Protective Association, Mike Violette Labor Services Chairman Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, and Dave Hoover President Lakewood Police Union (IUPA) were instrumental in making CPOC a reality. 

Since our first organizational meeting which was held on March 25th of 2006, we have been contacted by numerous law enforcement organizations who want to become part of what is fast becoming the strongest statewide voice of law enforcement Colorado has ever seen.  Denver, Colorado Springs, Lakewood, Aurora, Arvada, Greeley, Boulder, Delta and all Colorado Fraternal Order of Police Lodges in Colorado are member organizations.  CPOC member organizations total over 7,500 law enforcement officers in Colorado.  We have several other organizations and associations preparing to join.   If you are a member of any of these organizations or their subordinate organizations then you are automatically a member of CPOC and enjoy full representation in the coalition.

CPOC was born out of a desire to unite Colorado Law Enforcement. Much thought and energy has been devoted to seeing that officers across our state are heard and represented equally.  CPOC is an organization devoted to representing the interests of law enforcement officers regardless of where you work or the size of your department. The vision has been and continues to be that no one organization will have a greater influence or vote than another. Initiatives will be addressed in a collaborative manner with input and consideration from each organization given equal weight. This is not an organization built to serve the needs of the largest organizations it is an organization constructed with the sole purpose of furthering the law enforcement profession.

Regardless of the size of your department, your geographical location in the State of Colorado there are certain issues that impact every law enforcement official in our great state. Some of those are fair and equitable treatment during an Internal Investigation, fair and consistent treatment throughout the disciplinary process and a consistent wage and benefit packages. Until the formation of the CPOC it was basically each organization for themselves. Now that we have united we have the opportunity and ability to change the future of law enforcement in Colorado.

Historically, due process or the rights provided in an Officers Bill of rights were what an employer said they were. We can change that and push to have legislation enacted which will provide a statewide Peace Officers' Bill of Rights.  Colorado is one of thirteen states that does not provide a state wide bill of rights for its law enforcement officials. This is no longer acceptable and we must see that we are no longer inclusive of the thirteen states which do not provide legislation which help guarantee due process rights for law enforcement.

Working conditions, work hours, salary and benefit packages continue to be scattered across the board as well. Today as you read this there are Colorado Law Enforcement Officers who qualify for welfare!  This is simply unacceptable. There are no other professions in which you have the ability to arrest, to legally use deadly force, give your life to save the life of another, and be expected to support your family at below poverty levels. CPOC hopes to establish a statewide collective bargaining statute which will allow law enforcement officers to collectively bargain with their respective employers over working conditions, work hours, pay and benefits. The vision all of us have is to allow each jurisdiction to bargain independently while taking into account the economic status of the employer.

CPOC is not an organization governed by the largest organization, it is an organization developed to allow each member agency to maintain local control of their affairs and to address issues of state wide importance. In short CPOC was designed to represent every officer in Colorado regardless of association affiliation. CPOC, like lady liberty, is blind to association affiliation and will operate by independent by-laws and will be governed by an independent board of directors elected by CPOC members, and not by the boards of directors of member associations.    

History

Law enforcement officers are a distinctive group in public employment. The nature of our work, our place of work, and our traditions set us apart from other public employees.  Law enforcement is the most highly organized of public employees, and our representative organizations are among the oldest in public employment. The general public, too, regards us as a special breed. Our services affect each citizen and are considered the most essential of all public services. It is therefore not surprising that labor relations for law enforcement often have unique aspects in public sector employment matters.

Law enforcement officers strongly believe in their duty to serve and protect, and are committed to the citizens they are sworn to serve.  The nature of police work requires officers to regularly be placed in situations that could cost them their lives or well-being.  They proudly accept that responsibility.  In no other profession in this country, other than fire fighting and military duty, do governments expect their employees to lay down their lives if necessary to protect its citizens.  This is not a melodramatic statement; it is a fact of life.  That fact by itself places law enforcement officers in a class separate from other public employees, and demands officers be compensated fairly and accordingly.

Police labor organizations have been around for years in Colorado.  They vary in size and organizational structure.  They all have two things in common, improving the policing profession and protecting their members’ rights.  Nearly three years ago officers from different front-range police departments began sharing ideas about organizing all Colorado law enforcement labor organizations into a coalition that would unify the voice of police labor in the state.  They knew that if such a coalition could be brought together to represent the common and shared interests of all, that it would be a political force in the state such as police labor has never seen before.

They knew the task ahead was easier said than done.  Organizational rivalries and differences between various associations and organizations had been festering for years.  Each of these officers each belonged to a rival group of the other.  They knew the problems that existed and the differences of the past that would have to be overcome to make this a reality.  Nevertheless they went to work making this happen. 

The concept of a coalition of law enforcement labor organizations and associations grouped for the mutual benefit of all is not unique.  It exists in several states.  The officers who organized this coalition understand that the time has come to put aside the individual organizational differences of the past, and move forward with an effort that will ultimately benefit not only every law enforcement labor organization in the state, but every peace officer.  Strong support exists throughout Colorado to create a coalition of law enforcement organizations which speaks for all law enforcement employees in this state on matters of mutual interest to all.  Police organizations across Colorado were invited to join.  CPPA was invited and was the only state law enforcement organization that did not respond.  CPPA remains the only state organization not participating in this coalition. 

On Saturday, March 25, 2006 representatives of law enforcement associations and organizations from across Colorado met and began the process of forming the Colorado Peace Officers’ Coalition. Several front-range PPA’s, independent police unions, Colorado FOP, and IUPA were in attendance.  This was the first meeting of this statewide law enforcement coalition formed to give a strong, meaningful and unified voice to all law enforcement employees across Colorado.  CPOC’s goal is to provide that opportunity.