Yes, Denver police used excessive force
BY PEYTON GARCIA | @CITYCASTDENVER
DENVER POLICE USED EXCESSIVE FORCE AGAINST PROTESTERS
That’s the conclusion a federal jury came to on Friday.
The jury’s decision will result in a $14 million payout from the city of Denver to the plaintiffs: 12 protesters who claimed their constitutional rights were violated when they were injured by officers while participating in local police brutality protests in the spring of 2020.
The trial lasted three weeks with officers, protesters, and witnesses taking turns on the stand. While other cases revolving around the 2020 protests are ongoing around the country, this one is reported to be the first in the country to go before a federal jury, potentially setting a new precedent for criminal justice nationwide.
“Hopefully what [other] police departments will take from this is that a jury of regular citizens took these rights very seriously,” said Tim Macdonald, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “And they’re prepared to tell the police what they did to peaceful protestors is not acceptable.”
The jury only deliberated about five hours. Each plaintiff will be awarded between $750,000 and $4 million. Denver has already paid more than $3 million in settlements to 2020 protesters.
Ultimately, the jury found that the Denver Police Department failed to train its officers on how to properly respond to the protests, resulting in officers unlawfully using pepper balls and tear gas on peaceful demonstrators. The plaintiffs in this case said police actions left them with serious, long-lasting physical and psychological damage.
City attorneys, as well as DPD officials who took the stand, tried to convince the jury that in responding to the protests, it was too difficult to discern the peaceful demonstrators from the agitators. They asked the jury to consider the crowd’s behavior as a whole, which they claim was mostly violent and destructive. But in the end, the defense was unable to produce evidence that the 12 plaintiffs were acting in a way that warranted such use of force.
After the verdict was announced, the city officials stated, “We recognize that some mistakes were made.”
[👉 Read more: Denverite; Denver Post; City Cast Denver]
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