The inappropriate and disrespectful text messages that officers were sending each other during the Occupy Denver protests are just one more measure of the bad atmospherics at the city’s police department.
Professional law enforcement officers should not call members of the public “turds,” “grungy hippies” or the “usual Civic Center yahoos.”
Still, this inflammatory talk wasn’t enough to persuade a federal judge that police were unfairly targeting Occupy Denver protesters and hindering their First Amendment rights.
An order issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn said protesters presented no evidence of police retaliating to suppress the free speech rights of demonstrators.
But the 31 pages of car-to-car text messages that surfaced as a result of the court proceedings succeeded in painting a picture of police officers who seemed to have little hesitation in expressing — at least to each other — their disgust for protesters.
“I’m hoping these turds will occupy Englewood tomorrow…”
“Hey bro, do you have any xtra pepper balls I can have for later?”
Police officials on Wednesday expressed regret for these statements, and well they should.
That sort of talk isn’t befitting a large, professional police department serving the diverse population that makes up Denver.
We agree with Mayor Michael Hancock, who said the messages displayed poor judgment on the part of a handful of officers.
And we also agree with Hancock’s assessment that the federal court ruling is an affirmation of the approach the city has taken in handling the Occupy protests.
In taking their grievances to federal court, protesters alleged the city selectively enforced four ordinances against them in retaliation for their exercise of free speech and assembly rights. They asked the judge to put an end to the alleged selective enforcement.
In his ruling, Blackburn said, in no uncertain terms, that lawyers for the protesters did not prove their case.
What it means, in all likelihood, is that a hardy band of protesters will remain perched on the edge of Civic Center, swaddled in sleeping bags and tarps, and taxpayers will continue to pay for security to ensure protests don’t get out of hand and protesters don’t take up residence in the park.
While we respect the right of the Occupy folks to say their piece and we give them credit for igniting public debate about issues such as income inequality, we think they are hurting their own cause at this point.
Nevertheless, police need to be respectful of all citizens, including Occupy protesters, even when officers think they’re having a private conversation.
That reminder, as embarrassing as it might be for the many respectful police officers on the force, may be the most important lesson to come out of the Occupy legal wrangling.
