“DPD acted with honor, integrity, courage,” the union’s president said.
DENVER — Three days after a jury awarded $14 million to 12 protesters who accused Denver Police of excessive force, the president of the Denver Police union fired back.
“We all witnessed the chaos, destruction, and abhorrent criminal behavior of this rampage,” said Nick Rogers, president of the Denver Police Protective Association. “If the men and women of the Denver Police Department had not held the line for those five days, there would not be a downtown Denver.”
During the three-week long trial, the plaintiffs said they were protesting peacefully, exercising their first amendment rights, and did not nothing to deserve what they got from Denver police, specifically: sprayed with tear gas and shot with pepperballs.
Reading from a written statement, but refusing to answer questions, Rogers described the chaos of the protests in late May and early June 2020, the injuries suffered by more than 70 officers and the necessity of the police response.
“The Denver Police Department acted with nothing less than honor, integrity, courage, bravery, and unwavering commitment to stand there and push back those who engaged in anarchy,” Rogers said.
“Whoever wrote that statement obviously was not there at the trial to see the evidence,” said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, which represented seven of the 12 plaintiffs.
Silverstein said, after considering all the evidence and listening to all the testimony, the jury clearly reached the right decision. He said he was disappointed to hear the police union president essentially deny the verdict’s validity.
“Whoever wrote that statement is really not going to be part of the solution that Denver residents need and demand,” Silverstein said.
