Posted on 07/23/2020 11:15:49 PM PDT by MarvinStinson
The head of the Denver police union has confirmed that Democratic leaders in the city ordered officers to “stand-down” during a rally supportive of officers that was attended by conservative author and pundit Michelle Malkin.
According to Denver Police Protective Association Nick Rogers, not all officers complied with the instruction, adding that one lieutenant defied the order, Fox News reported.
The “Back the Blue” event at Civic Center Park on Sunday was disrupted by Black Lives Matter and others wearing black-bloc who were armed with collapsible batons and attacked some attendees of the rally. Malkin further identified them in online posts as Antifa.
The Denver Post reported that police “attempted to form a line around the two groups, but could not completely separate them.” The newspaper added that Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen asked the group “to reschedule or move the pro-police rally.”
Malkin responded online after the incident, “Denver Police Chief Pazen, who marched with BLM last month, let pro-police patriots get beaten and silenced.”
That’s correct, according to Rogers.
“Basically, what she described is exactly what happened,” Rogers told the “Peter Boyles Show” on 710 KNUS. “Once I figured that out, I reached out and said … someone has to apologize. Someone from the police side has to apologize.”
After investigating the incident, Rogers said that the stand-down order was given by the on-scene incident commander, adding that one lieutenant refused it and directed his officers to remain at the rally.
“That’s the only reason this thing didn’t get worse because somebody broke rank and decided to not retreat,” Rogers told Boyles. “And they stayed so they could provide some assistance.”
The talk show host asked Rogers who specifically gave the stand-down order, but he refused to identify the incident commander.
The event was advertised by the Pro Police Rally Colorado Facebook as the sixth annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, Fox News reported.
An attorney who helped organize the event, Randy Corporon, confirmed that Pazen requested that he either reschedule the event or move the gathering from its regular location, claiming that officers could be placed in danger by BLM counter-demonstrators.
“He was agitated that we’re going to get his officers hurt,” Corporon told the Denver Post. “My response to him was that he should allow his officers to do their job and if people are down there breaking the law, to stop them. Because they’ll have nothing to fear from us.”
In addition to BLM and Antifa, counter-demonstrators with groups identified as the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Afro-Liberation Front were also on hand, KMGH-TV reported.
The outlet reported that counter-protesters were “armed with pots and pans, whistles, hand-held sirens and other noise-making gear,” and that they “crashed the Pro-Police rally and drowned out those trying to speak.”
They do not want certain people protected from lawlessness.
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
The Supreme Court found more than 30 years ago that the police have zero duty to protect anyone. They have continued to uphold it.
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Wrong here because this is a civil rights case, where the city is deliberately refusing to protect people exercising their civil rights. No different from an old south sheriff telling the police to stand down while the Klan was attacking blacks trying to vote. This was not a judgment call about which robbery the cops need to investigate first.
That has also been answered before. The courts have said over and over that there is no responsibility to do so and they cannot be held responsible.
To be completely explicit, the courts have said the police do not need to protect anyone from any crime in progress. Period. Even if the crime is occurring right in front of them, the police do not have to do anything.
For two of the more notorious cases that spell this out, Google Castle Rock v Gonzalez and Warren v District of Columbia.
The former case had Scalia specifically saying that the police do not have to come arrest someone subject to a restraining order at the time he was breaking the law, only that the person would be subject to arrest later. Even though he was killing children, the police were found to not be required to come arrest him.
Warren v. DC is almost worse.
The police commissioners are elected in most places. Guess what? They’re part of the people willfully issuing these orders.
When Warren v. DC and all related cases are reversed and they’re held responsible.
Warren v. DC and Castle Rock v. Gonzales, among other cases, says that their duty *isn’t* to arrest people breaking the law in front of them. No joke.
Then WE need a “police force” to protect us! D@mn this crap pisses me off.
The GOP has done nothing about it since 1981. Interesting, no?
Never failing to be part of the problem are they!
They are called “the stupid party” for a reason.
The DemonRats have all but officially announced that they are enemies of the people, the rule of law and law enforcement.
At this point anyone who needs an official document to that effect to believe it is an idiot.
The Democrat Party has been working on that goal for 200 years.
They should have been stopped a long time ago.
This is the first time I have heard of a cop refusing an order to quit.
Good.
Though I imagine the blow back on him will be bad. We need to support this officer when he is forced out.
I’m sure he’ll respond that he couldn’t obey an unlawful order. It might cause more police to grow spines.
There is no such standard in law enforcement.
They are civilians, not military. They can quit.
This is different. The office DID NOT quit. I don’t know what process is, but he refused an command and can be held accountable for it.
Like I said, we need to support him.
Then why give them guns?
You make it sound like the police are just a featherbedding operation designed to employ and pay them without them having to actually do anything.
If they have no obligation to protect and serve, then take away their guns and let them be administrators.
-PJ
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a WWP offshoot linked to ANSWER; they were active in the George Floyd protests and related actions. Afro-Liberation Front (ALF) is a Denver-based partner of Black Lives Matter which emphasizes BLM's gay rights agenda.
Ping.
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