Police Actions on Colfax Avenue on 9/29/2001
Written by Vicki Nash, Copwatch, 10/2/2001
On September 29, 2001, participants in a march organized by the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace walked from City Park to the City and County Building in Denver. At the beginning of the march, the organizers told marchers that they (the organizers) had not obtained a permit and that they had advised that the march must stay on the sidewalks and obey traffic signals. The march started at the MLK statue, moved west to York, then south to Colfax, then west toward the City and County Building. When the marchers reached Colfax, marshals (volunteers) directed the crowd to cross Colfax and go west on the sidewalk on the south side of the street. At this point, the march began to break up into segments as marchers stopped for the traffic light at York and Colfax. Between Williams and Gilpin on the south side of the street, at the Big “T” Foods Store, there was a confrontation between Denver Police officers and the marchers which ended with 4 (?) marchers being arrested. A short time later, there was another confrontation between police and marchers at the Office Depot at Pearl and Colfax, during which 4 (?) more arrests were made. Copwatchers took the names and numbers of witnesses at these incidents and at others that occurred that day. The following report is based on those witnesses’ statements.
Most of the witnesses reported that the police targeted a group of people who were wearing black. Some of the witnesses identified this group as the RAIB or the Black Bloc. Most called them “the men/the kids/the people in black/” When reporting their statements, I have tried to remain true to their own words.
When the segment of the Peace March including the RAIB/Black Bloc/marchers in black passed Bit T Foods, the marchers in black were marching in the street, in the E-bound curbside lane. Two witnesses reported that police formed a human barricade across the e-bound lane, blocking the marchers in the street. When this happened, the marchers in the street stepped back onto the sidewalk. One witness described the police behavior as an appropriate and nonviolent way of steering the marchers back onto the sidewalk and the actions of the marchers as peaceful and cooperative. This witness said that everything was going well until, with sudden and purposeful action, the police pushed into the crowd and singled out a young man who was not wearing black. While the police ID’d and searched this young man, the rest of marchers in this segment of the march stood by, observing. One witness reported she was standing right next to the people in black when she observed: The police looked up at the crowd, then began whispering to each other. A marcher said, “They are going to arrest us all.” The marchers, those in black and other marchers, turned away from the parking lot and began to walk west on Colfax. The police then charged into the marchers, attacking them from behind. The police then began grabbing marchers and dragging them out of the march into the parking lot. Multiple witnesses described the suddenness and violence of the police attack. Individuals who were holding on to or standing next to police targets were shoved and sometimes thrown to the ground as the police went after specific individuals. Except for the first individual, the police targeted the marchers wearing black, particularly the marchers wearing masks. In fact, Sgt Gose told Manolo, one of the marshals, that he had orders for that day to ID anyone wearing a mask. He subsequently told a number of people who asked him that he was under orders to target persons in black and wearing masks. However, none of the witnesses at either incident heard the police give any type of order, warning, statement, etc. to the crowd before or during the attack. Several witnesses reported that one of the most shocking elements of the violent and chaotic scene was the silence of the police as they grabbed and shoved the marchers. One of the marchers in black who was dragged out of the crowd and arrested was holding a banner. When another marcher reached to pick up the banner from the ground, a police officer grabbed her, spun her around and shoved her into the crowd.
After speaking with Manolo, Sgt. Gose and the other police left the Big T. Some of the officers took the 4 arrestees a few blocks away and searched them in front of Channel 4 News cameras. The rest of the police officers who had been at Big T drove to Office Depot where they waited in a group of approximately 10 officers beside a storage shed or bin in the parking lot of Office Depot. When the protestors left Bit T, they headed west, on the sidewalk. Multiple witnesses said that the marchers were doing nothing provocative, “not even chanting.” When the marchers approached Office Depot, the police as a group rushed out and again attacked the marchers, once again singling out persons wearing black. Once again, they gave no orders or warnings. Two witnesses do remember a police officer yelling “YOU THREE” to 3 marchers in black. Some marchers were arrested for engaging in solidarity tactics, linking arms/holding hands, however it is clear from witness statements that the true targets of the police action were the persons in black. Multiple witnesses reported they could see by the officers’ facial expressions and body language that they were going after these individuals. Multiple witnesses also reported that the people in black “did nothing” to provoke the police attack. One witness, who ended up being knocked to the ground in the police attack, had grabbed the arm of a marcher in black not because she thought he might be a police target; she was afraid the police attack on the crowd in general would push him out into traffic. At the end of the second incident, one witness overheard Sgt. Gose say to another police officer: “We can go now. We’ve ID’d the people we need to ID.”
All of the witnesses felt that the police had, without cause or provocation, attacked a peaceful march. Most of the witnesses agreed that the people wearing black were specific targets and that they had been targeted in advance. More than one witness remarked that it was as if the police attacks had been planned in advance.
Many of the witnesses also reported that they behavior of the marchers, all of the marchers, was remarkably restrained and well-controlled, given the circumstances. Quite a few noted that when individuals seemed to resisting, it was frequently out of surprise, a reaction to a sudden, unexpected assault. One witness in particular noted that during the most violent police activity at the Big T, he could observe the hands of the people in black and that they were not fighting or making fists. Their hands were open and visible, “clearly showing a non-violent intent.” At the end of the second incident, one witness overheard Sgt JJ Gose say to another police officer “We can go now. We’ve ID’d the people we need to ID.”
Vicki Nash
Copwatch
303-742-9928