The proposed plan would also allocate $8.4 million to recruit 188 new police officers. This would increase the size of Denver’s police force by 3% for a total of 1,639 officers. The plan also seeks to decrease training requirements in favor of “on-the-job” training in an attempt to keep more officers on the force. In reality, this on-the-job training means less training before officers hit the streets, resulting in increased police violence.

The Denver police force already suffers from a lack of training. The recent police shooting of Jordan Waddy and 6 bystanders outside of a packed bar in LoDo indicates a lack of training and a poor screening process to root out bloodthirsty killers. The Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) has been fighting for the indictment of the attempted murderers on the force since the shooting in July.

“If the police can’t maintain adequate staffing, curb police brutality, or decrease the level of crime with nearly 40% of the city’s budget, then it’s clear to me that those funds would be better spent virtually anywhere else. And it is a testament to this fact that all these folks have come out today,” said Jonce Palmer, chair of DACAC, during their remarks to the City Council.

Continuing the struggle for justice in the LoDo shooting, about 40 people gathered to voice their opinions that the proposed budget allocates far too much for policing and not enough for the social issues that lead to crime. DACAC also recognizes that the police themselves are committing crimes against those they are supposed to protect. As DACAC member, Kyle Burroughs, says, “If the LoDo shooting had been perpetrated by any other group in the U.S., this would be called domestic terrorism.”

Denver PD has increased their budget steadily over the years, and, despite admitting their failure to reduce crime and police murders, they have requested more in funds for 2023.

DACAC, however, contends that a higher budget won’t lead to justice. “I think that it is irresponsible to put more funds in the hands of a force that was ultimately responsible for the mass shooting that injured Jordan Waddy and six other innocent bystanders,” says DACAC member Cole Hamilton, “Let’s give less money to cops and more money to the people that are harmed by them. We’re fighting to reduce that budget and they won’t listen. What we need is community control over the police. What we need is democratic control over the police budget so that the people can decide what’s good for themselves.”

DACAC plans to continue the struggle for justice for victims of police crime by fighting for community control of the police.

#DenverCO #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DenverAuroraCommunityActionCommitteeDACAC

Denver, CO – About 30 people marched to District Attorney Beth McCann’s office on September 12 to demand the indictment of the police officers involved in the July 17 shooting in downtown Denver. The coalition, led by the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC), also demanded that charges against Jordan Waddy, a 21-year-old Black man and one of the victims of the shooting, be dropped; an investigation independent of the police department to be conducted; the end of Denver Police Department’s participation in the Pentagon 1033 Program; and community control of the police.

The event began at the Colorado State Capitol with folks gathering to make signs saying things like “Black lives matter” and “Money for housing, not police.” People discussed the recent police mass shooting in Denver. The rally started at 4 p.m. with a welcome and chants, “Cops and Klan go hand in hand!” No justice no peace!” and “Hands up don’t shoot!” as folks marched down Colfax Avenue to DA McCann’s office.

The crowd heard speeches from the different groups in the coalition as well as the families of police crimes victims. Ivette Mendez is the sister of Alexis Mendez-Perez, a 16-year-old Chicano who was shot and killed as he fled from off-duty Colorado corrections officer Desmond Manning on April 23, 2020. While Manning was fired from the Colorado Department of Corrections, criminal charges were never filed against him, and the Mendez family was forced to file a wrongful death lawsuit in 2020 in search of some kind of accountability.

Police officers perpetrated the July 17 shooting of Jordan Waddy on the corner of 20th and Larimer as people were exiting a bar late at night. According to Denver Police Department, Waddy pointed a gun at an officer, but bodycam footage contradicts this narrative, showing that Waddy threw his gun on the ground and put his hands up. Police fired into the crowd anyway, injuring seven, including Waddy, who continued to hold his hands up even after being shot. Despite being the victim in this scenario, Waddy was charged by DA McCann with three counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender and one count of third-degree assault. DPD is using these charges to justify their mass shooting.

As DACAC chair, Jonce Palmer, notes, “T is no perfect victim, and DPD is trying to use Waddy as a scapegoat to claim the shooting was necessary. There is no time where it is necessary to shoot bystanders in a crowd. DPD are the ones who escalated the situation.”

The coalition was joined by Denver Students for a Democratic Society, Colorado Young Communist League, We The People 303, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

DACAC, which is working for community control of police, will continue organizing for the DPD mass shooters in uniform to be held accountable for their racist attack.

#DenverCO #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DenverAuroraCommunityActionCommitteeDACAC