![]() We recognize that some mistakes were made. Unfortunately, Denver Police Department officers and other law enforcement officers responding to assist encountered extreme destructive behavior from some agitators among largely peaceful protestors. We were prepared for a worst-case scenario, but we weren't fully prepared for what transpired. Denver police pointed to a statement released by the Department of Public Safety: The Denver protests in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder were unprecedented – the city had never seen that level of sustained violence and destruction before. The office of Mayor Michael Hancock did not return an inquiry for comment. ![]() Packard added, "And it's not really about individual officers, it's about the system that they uphold. The curfew will be in force again May 31. Although many demonstrators had left by 8 p.m., hundreds were still by the State Capitol when law enforcement began dispersing the crowd. In that way the number actually does matter." A third day of protesting in downtown Denver was brought to an early end after Mayor Michael Hancock enacted a curfew to prevent more vandalism and violence. What our rights as protestors, as community members are worth. "It matters because it's such a statement and it's a message to our city of what our safety is worth. She was glad for the jury's acknowledgment. "The way in which they framed is if we were the least bit disruptive that we deserve what happened to us, really proves a point of what the protests were about." "The failure of leadership extended from the highest echelons of the police department all the way down to the front line officers."Įpps said she was upset in court at the way in which the protestors were portrayed by the city's legal counsel. "But to respond in the way that the police did giving discretion to every individual officer to use whatever potentially fatal tool they wanted to use, even if they haven't been trained on it and then to allow them even without the threat of accountability to allow them to retaliate against protestors because the police themselves got angry," he explained, should be a message. Yeah, it's a tough job," said ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein. "Certainly the police have a difficult job policing a protest that has thousands of peaceful, law-abiding protesters and also has a few people that are engaging in vandalism or throwing things at the police. A third day of protesting in downtown Denver was brought to an early end after Mayor Michael Hancock enacted a curfew to prevent more vandalism and violence. Police body camera and other video was used as evidence against the department. None of the twelve plaintiffs was shown to be involved in the violence during the protests. "Now we need to shift the focus back on the community and what we can do to strengthen the community and hold police accountable." When they told me my brain was bleeding I was like, 'Well, I probably won't wake up tomorrow,'" he said. "The injury terrified me, I thought I was going to die. Packard was hit by a projectile and suffered bleeding on the brain, a fractured skull and jaw and two discs in his neck. The greatest award was $3 million to Zachary Packard. But the jury did not find he violated her First Amendment rights. Epps, who was hit in the leg by a projectile as she crossed the street near the Capitol during the protests was awarded $1.25 million, $250,000 of it in a verdict against officer Jonathan Christian for violating her Fourth Amendment rights. It's incredibly validating," said plaintiff Elisabeth Epps. "We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes and I am absolutely thrilled with the verdict.
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