Denver City Council members are calling for an investigation into the city’s police department after officers injured bystanders, protesters and journalists in recent days as thousands gathered to call for racial justice and systemic changes in policing throughout the country.
The killing of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked massive protests nationwide. In many cases — including in Denver — the protests have turned violent, especially during the evening hours, leading to the damage of public and private property alike.
Even so, complaints continue to flood in that law enforcement officers are targeting peaceful protesters, onlookers and clearly identified journalists with pepper balls, chemical sprays and nonlethal projectiles. Photos and videos quickly tore through social media showing people at the protest with bloody faces, bruised bodies and teary faces covered with milk, which is used to calm chemical irritants.
Denver Police Department officials fired a police officer Tuesday for writing “Let’s start a riot” as a caption to a photo he posted on Instagram of himself and two other officers in riot gear.
Earlier in the day, Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca requested that Denver Public Safety Manager Murphy Robinson and Nick Mitchell, the city’s independent monitor, investigate.
“Protests against police abuse should not result in more police abuse,” CdeBaca wrote in an email to Robinson and Mitchell. “It appears that once the decision was made to shut down the protests, everyone present was targeted with the same level of violence, resulting in injuries, some requiring emergency care.”
“At the very least, the excessive police response has caused trauma to an already traumatized and grieving community,” she continued.
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen had already committed to investigating all allegations of force against peaceful people, but CdeBaca is calling for more.
CdeBaca asked Robinson and Mitchell to investigate the use of pepper spray, rubber bullets and tear gas as well as the use of military vehicles. The councilwoman also asked for a report on civilian injuries and an explanation as to why journalists were targeted by police.
Robinson did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Reports from the protest also concerned council members Paul Kashmann and Jamie Torres, leaders of the group’s Safety Committee, who said they support CdeBaca’s request.
Kashmann also asked Robinson and Chief Paul Pazen to address the committee.
“We don’t need the whole department painted with a broad brush unless you have the type of investigation and evaluation we’re looking for,” Kashmann said. “That’s the only way you can get down to what happened and if there’s a problem, how broad is it?”
An investigation and committee discussion should be able to address the council’s concerns and could direct the city’s next steps, Torres said.
“Did police follow the proper procedure? Perhaps they did,” Torres said. “But do we have the proper procedure?”
The department rolled out a new use-of-force policy in 2018 that took 19 months to write and involved significant public input.
Kashmann said Robinson and Pazen are open to a discussion with the committee and should appear before the group in the coming weeks.
