So far, Westword has been unable to speak to any member of Occupy Denver present last night; all three protesters are in jail at this writing, and two of them have bond rates of $10,000 or higher. But according to DPD Sergeant Perry Speelman's statement of events, the situation began at approximately 9:45 last night. That's when Donahue allegedly ran toward Speelman's police vehicle while he was stopped at 14th and Broadway.
Because of Donahue's handful of previous Occupy-related arrests, Speelman recognized him instantly, right before Donahue is alleged to have shouted violent insults and threats. For instance, he's said to have called the officer a "fucking asshole" and yelled, "I will fucking kill you." (In July, Donahue was charged with "fighting words" during an arrest at a Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol meeting.)
When Donahue attempted to reach inside of Speelman's police car, the report says, Speelman removed the suspect's cell phone from his hand and requested back-up from other officers while attempting to leave the area.
Speelman made it to Lincoln before he says that Donahue, now accompanied by Marsden, approached the vehicle again and started to hit his door and the window he had rolled up to protect himself. Again, they are alleged to have threatened violence, at which point Speelman rolled the window down and pepper-sprayed both Donahue and Marsden in the face.
At this point, the events escalated: According to Speelman's report, the two protesters attempted to pull him out of the vehicle and take his OC spray, motivating him to put the pedal to the medal and call again for backup. From here, additional officers searched the park on motorcycles before locating and arresting the two cooks and Stacey. Afterward, the officers evacuated the area, but not before this happened:
"After handcuffing Donahue, we sat him up at which time he continued threatening me by stating, 'It was going to be funny when your families are slaughtered in the street,'" writes Speelman. "He then stated he knew where we all live and our families were going to be slaughtered. I asked Donahue if he was threatening me, and he stated, 'Yeah, so fucking what.'"
Check back for updates on this case and others.
Corey Donahue Patrick Marsden Probable Cause
More from our Occupy Denver archive: "Occupy Denver: Protester Corey Donahue's strangest moments with law enforcement."
