Numerous residents grilled city and state leaders at a Saturday community forum about recent fatal encounters between Denver law enforcement and residents, including the shooting of a teenage girl.
“Our lives are endangered just by walking down the street. We are not going to let people get murdered in the street,” Cecelia Rodriguez, 21, said heatedly, referring to minorities.
She was one of dozens of people who questioned Denver Police Chief Robert White; Safety Manager Stephanie O’Malley; and Rep. Rhonda Fields and Sen. Michael Johnston, both Democrats, at Shorter Community AME Church, 3100 Richard Allen Court.
“In light of recent shootings and deaths in our community, we must come together and seek solutions,” said forum moderator Jeff Fard, director of Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center. “I think our pain needs to be translated into policy.”
Much of the questioning was related to the shooting of Monday after police said she drove a stolen car — which was carrying four other teens — toward them.
O’Malley stressed that following the Hernandez shooting, she immediately met with White to speak about a string of four recent instances in which police fired weapons at moving vehicles.
“We’re not against revision, we’re just not,” said O’Malley, explaining that the circumstances of the shooting will undergo meticulous review.
Following a speech in which he invoked the name of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Johnston laid out two measures he said he and Fields intend to propose to the Colorado legislature this session.
One bill will seek funding for community engagement programs between police and citizens, he said. They will also propose in-depth statistical studies on differences between races in the number of arrests made and the served.
Attendees wrote questions on index cards, many of them asking whether Denver does enough to train officers about cultural sensitivity between races.
“Frankly, I think that is why I was hired — to change the culture,” White said.
He said he has sought to raise policing standards. Even in instances where officers are legally justified in using force or firing shots, he wants them to consider whether it is absolutely necessary and if there are alternatives.
O’Malley said part of the problem is that not enough minorities apply for law enforcement jobs.
“We need for you to be partners in identifying people of color who are interested in a career in law enforcement,” she said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, denverpost.com/coldcases or twitter.com/kirkmitchell
