Despite a 2019 state statute requiring the public disclosure of police internal affairs files in Colorado, the town of Ouray for months released only heavily blacked-out copies of records concerning excessive-force allegations against officers.

It took the involvement of an attorney, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition president Steve Zansberg, for the Ouray County Plaindealer to finally obtain less-redacted documents that could be understood when read.

The dispute began last spring when the newspaper asked for records about allegations Ouray police had acted improperly when arresting a 14-year-old boy in June 2023. The city provided a 10-page citizen complaint and a nine-page internal investigation report showing the department had been cleared of misconduct, but the “substance and details” of what occurred remained secret because of the extensive redactions, the Plaindealer reported.