Posted on 03/06/2019 5:48:56 PM PST by BulletBobCo
Audience members at the Boulder City Council meeting Tuesday held aloft trash grabbers and clacked them as Police Chief Greg Testa briefed council members about an incident in which officers confronted a black man who was picking up trash at his own house.
On Friday morning, a Boulder police officer asked the man, who was sitting in a partially enclosed patio area, if he was allowed to be there. The man told the officer he lived and worked in the building. He gave the officer his school identification card, but the officer detained the man to investigate further.
The officer then made a request over the radio for additional assistance to respond, saying the man was uncooperative and unwilling to put down a blunt object. Several other officers, including a supervisor, responded. Police found the object the man was holding is a device used to pick up trash.
"This is an extremely concerning issue, and one that we are taking very seriously," Testa said, reading a prepared statement to council Tuesday.
An internal affairs investigation is ongoing, and the initial responding officer is on administrative leave, he said.
Testa said the man police confronted did nothing wrong or unlawful. He also confirmed that one officer drew his gun, though he said the officer pointed it at the ground. Based on preliminary information, other officers also wielded a less-lethal shotgun and a shield, he said.
Council members grilled Testa about the unfolding internal affairs investigation and what information would be publicly available from it; the ways in which the department would learn from the incident; and the status of the department's examination of bias issues.
Councilwoman Lisa Morzel asked what policy dictates officers drawing weapons, and Testa replied that when officer perceive a threat that could result in serious bodily injury or death, it is reasonable for them to unholster their guns. An officer might hold it in a downward position, he said.
"Right, but they still have their hand on an unholstered pistol, correct?" Morzel said
She also asked about what policy governs the number of officers that respond. In a video of the incident posted to social media, the man taking the video can be heard saying eight officers responded to the scene.
"I can only assert that given the information that was there, that was why the number of officers arrived," Testa said. "I don't want to make an assumption because an investigation is ongoing."
Councilman Aaron Brockett asked about the status of data the department is collecting in a review of bias issues.
Testa said a report, based on the past 12 months worth of data collection, is due to be published next month.
The incident also was the subject discussion during the open comment period. Charles Lief, president of Naropa University, of which the man who was confronted by officers is a student, told council members the incident is "by far the most difficult one for us to address with respect to our relationships in the city of Boulder"
He added the man has expressed through his family he is not interested in becoming a symbol of an issue within the city.
"I do not want to underestimate the amount of trauma that was experienced by our student, who was the victim in this situation," Lief said.
He said the city needs to take charge in addressing racism, and he offered conversations with Naropa as part of that process.
"Students, staff and faculty of color at Naropa, and other institutions, have all experienced various degrees of racism living in this community," he said.
Council members were receptive to that and said there needed to be discussion about racism in the community. City Manager Jane Brautigam said the city is taking a deep dive right now in understanding structural racism.
In another open comment, Sammie Lawrence told council that as a young black man from Sacramento who has closely followed the case of Stephon Clark — a young black man who last year was fatally shot by Sacramento police officers — this incident was terrifying. He implored council to take it seriously.
"This is terrifying," he said. "This is very scary. ... I really hope you take this seriously, because I deserve peace of mind as part of this community."
Stormtroopers gotta be Stormtroopers.
bean bag or rubber bullet.
Liberals want YOU to love minorities. They personally don’t know why they have to put up with them. “Why can’t they just cut the yard and clean the house quietly?”
Cop’s were out of line an escalated the problem on the guys own property “private property”.
Good thing the guy didn’t have a dog for them to shoot.
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