Denver police Chief Paul Pazen linked arms with protesters, many of them black, Monday evening and walked past the City and County Building as demonstrators began the fifth day of protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.
Chiefs and police officers in other cities have mingled with protesters, including holding signs and kneeling, but this was Pazen’s first time meeting face-to-face with demonstrators. The images of the chief in his regular uniform and only wearing a cloth mask to protect him from the novel coronavirus provided a contrast to images of Denver police officers in riot gearing firing tear gas at people during previous protests.
Seventeen-year-old Ashira Campbell said she walked with Pazen, telling him, “I’m tired, chief.”
“This needs to go out to all police departments,” Campbell said. “Justice needs to be served to all lives. Right now, black people are targeted. Enough is enough.”
Campbell, who was on her third day of protesting, attended with her mom, Porshai Campbell. On previous days, she challenged officers by asking them, “Are you here for my protection or are you here to kill me?” But seeing the chief on the streets and watching other officers joining him “was very encouraging.”
As on the previous days, Monday’s demonstrations began peacefully with people assembling outside the Colorado Capitol. For eight minutes and 45 seconds — the amount of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck — hundreds knelt in silence on the state house lawn.
But the tension increased as night fell and a curfew approached. Mayor Michael Hancock extended a curfew he imposed on Saturday, but changed the time to 9 p.m. nightly through Friday.
Just as the clock struck 9 Monday, an estimated 1,000 protesters marched along Welton Street shouting, “We want justice!” and “(expletive) your curfew!” But police were not obviously visible. On Sunday, police held off until more than an hour after the curfew passed.
More than two hours after curfew passed, several hundred people continued to march, pausing to lie face down in the street with hands behind their backs. An occasional firework would burst overhead, and a recording, aired over a loudspeaker, warned people against violating curfew. Still, police kept away.
Finally, around midnight, Denver police fired tear gas at the remaining protesters, sending them scurrying through the streets. Most appeared to be heading home.
Still, some veterans of the five-days of unrest said that Monday felt more peaceful and less tense than other days. There appeared to be very little vandalism. They were not sure why.
Sade Dixon, 25, of Denver, used her black Chevrolet Suburban to distribute water and snacks to participants. In past days, it’s also been used to ferry away people who were injured or choking on tear gas and the SUV has been hit multiple times with projectiles fired by police, she said.
“Today’s crowd is really peaceful,” Dixon said. “Everybody has each other’s backs. I haven’t seen anything like this in the history of my life.”
Protests over Floyd’s death began Thursday night in Denver and brought days of unrest as thousands chanted and marched over the deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcement. But the demonstrations also have erupted into violence with police officers firing tear gas and foam bullets at protesters as people vandalized businesses and government buildings, including setting fires. Some protesters have lobbed rocks and bottles toward police, and Mayor Michael Hancock said during a Monday morning interview on Colorado Public Radio’s Colorado Matters talk show that police have confiscated many weapons, including assault rifles and Molatov cocktails. He insisted that officers only responded with force after protesters became aggressive toward them. People on the streets have disagreed with that take.
Since protests began on Thursday, Denver police have arrested 284 people, including 170 who were cited on Sunday. Violations have ranged from assault on a peace officer to burglary and arson to a curfew violations.
Many organizers have urged fellow protesters to remain peaceful, and volunteers have cleaned graffiti off monuments and buildings even as others were shouting and marching.
Lucas Simonis was among those who tried to change the tenor of protests. He went on Facebook and asked people to bring flowers to place along police barricades. He figured only a few close friends would participate but hundreds latched onto the idea.
“This is meant to be a way to keep things positive and calm and to make sure everyone knows we’re unified in a goal of nonviolence and earnest desire for change,” Simonis said.
Taroya Hawthorne brought her 11-year-old and 7-year-old to the Capitol Monday morning to get a sense of the mood and to listen to others. She’s married to a veteran police officer in Alabama. She understands why people are mad and even though she does not condone violence, said, “It’s been going on for too long. When you do it peacefully, it’s like you’re not getting heard.”
