By Jessica Schneider, Editor
February 28, 2025
Editor’s Note: When I published the article on on Feb. 21 around 11:30 pm, planned to release an update the following day. Instead, I have spent the past week continuing to uncover a giant web of information needed to understand the allegations made by the Chief of Police against Councilor Erin Black, the implications of conflicting “facts,” and the myriad issues facing Loveland that this conflict is bringing to the surface.
What I have found is more information than can be covered in one article, or even one timeline. I will be sharing what I have learned by posting new updates to this series on a regular basis in the coming days and weeks. Each new post will add to the story as it unfolds, and the timeline will grow as well.
All of it is “your business,” Loveland. Let’s get into it.
This is Part 2 of: There are Victims Here: Policing in Loveland from The Loveland Voice.
Read Part 1: BREAKING NEWS: Loveland Police Chief Compares Himself to Karen Garner During Alleged Open Meeting Law Violation
Open Meetings Law Broken?
Former City Councilor, attorney Troy Krenning, says the December 2 meeting of trhe Police Citizen Advisory Board (PCAB) violated Open Meeting Laws. In an email, Krenning, who is representing Councilor Black, called Doran’s allegations of religious harassment, “a completely fabricated lie.”
“… I made a CORA request for the illegal meeting Tim Doran had with the Loveland Police Citizen Advisory Board in December. It was an outright violation of the Colorado Open Meeting Law, and Doran had been cautioned by the City Attorney regarding having such a meeting,” said Krenning.
“The Open Meeting Law is not a suggestion for public officials, it is a State Statute and Doran violated it. The City has acknowledged that Doran violated the law by releasing the recording of the illegal meeting to me pursuant to CORA.”
In the released audio recording of the December 2 Executive Session with the Police Citizen Advisory Board (PCAB), Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran said, “I have no objection discussing like a perspective maybe even a timeline that has been released so everything is out there… But not everyone here in this room is aware of this stuff.
I called Chief Doran for comment on Feb 21st before publishing Part 1 of this series. In response to my questions phone and email questions, LPD shared this statement the following day:
“The Police Citizens Advisory Board (PCAB) requested to hold an executive session on December 2nd, 2024, to have Chief Doran answer questions pertaining to the internal investigation of former Detective Zack Merson, as well as address several allegations raised by Councilor Erin Black.
The mission of PCAB is to advise both City Council and the Chief of Police; in order to fulfill this dual purpose, board members felt the need to receive accurate information from the source, rather than newspapers and social media.
The Acting City Manager and City Attorney were both aware of this request. PCAB members sought clarification concerning Councilor Black’s statements, which claimed the only reason Chief Doran filed a harassment complaint against her was due to her requesting the public release of the internal investigation involving Merson.
It should be noted that the City Council members were notified of the internal affairs (IA) report of Merson on June 23rd, 2024, three days after the Chief had filed his harassment complaint. His notification to City Council was due to a media request for Merson’s report; therefore, he wanted city leadership to be aware in case a story was written.
The wording of the motion for moving into an executive session was made in consultation with the City Attorney’s Office. Councilor Black was not in attendance at this meeting; however, former Councilor Krenning was, and he informed the Chairperson of PCAB that he would not be attending the executive session.
In the interest of transparency, the City released the recording of the Executive Session, and it’s recommended everyone listen for themselves, before drawing conclusions from a soundbite taken out of context. In the last few minutes of the meeting a comparison was made, in which Chief Doran mentioned Karen Garner, and her tragic incident with former officers of the Loveland Police Department nearly five years ago. The Chief’s comparison is specifically referencing what happens when responsible parties refuse to address inappropriate behavior in a timely manner.
Ms. Garner’s incident was an atrocity for our department, the community, and especially the Garner family, to which we all have an obligation to learn from and ensure never happens again.”
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Portions of the above statement from LPD appear to contradict timestamped emails and other verifiable information acquired during the fact-checking process, including this one:
“It should be noted that the City Council members were notified of the internal affairs (IA) report of Merson on June 23rd, 2024, three days after the Chief had filed his harassment complaint.” - LPD PIO Chris Padgett, Feb. 22, 2025
According to the sources, Chief Doran informed Council on May 31st via email about the existence and potential release of the IA investigation report, weeks before his complaint was filed June 20th.
Black responded to the email with questions the same day, and continued to follow up requesting the IA report before and after the religious harassment complaint was filed June 20. More information is available on this timeline below. (Download the PDF version for links to source documents).
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