A Westword staff member took photographs before and after a woman was struck by a police officer during an August 26 protest near Civic Center Park; They can be seen below.
In an August 27 Rocky Mountain News' report on the story, which includes a video that is also viewable by clicking "More," the officer in question isn't identified. However, an enhanced version of the photo seen here clearly shows the name on the officer's uniform to be "Stewart." It also includes the number "0520."
Bert Ross, a veteran of Westword's sales department who also happens to be an accomplished photographer, was driving in the Civic Center area when he saw what looked to be an impending confrontation between a large group of protesters and a sizable contingent of police officers -- so he hurriedly parked his car, grabbed a camera and rushed to the scene. "The people were coming out of the park, and the police were saying, 'Get back. Get back,'" Ross recalls. "I got out and started snapping." Shortly thereafter, he saw the aforementioned officer face off against a woman identified in the Rocky article as Alicia Forrest, 24, a member of CodePink, an anti-war organization that advocates non-violent protest. "He was coming forward and she wasn't backing up," he notes, adding that although obscenities were flying, he can't say for certain if any of them came from Forrest.
The officer "was directing all of his attention at her, and he was getting worked up," Ross says. "You could see him gritting his teeth. And then he corked her, and down she went." Afterward, "a lot of people swarmed around her and she got shuffled off" -- and apparently, so did the officer. According to Ross, the contingent of police dispersed within minutes amidst shouts from protesters about"fascist pigs."
Rob Savoye, co-founder of a group called the Colorado Legal Eagles, confirms that his associates are currently seeking out more information about the incident, which, he says, seems to be "very serious."
The following photographs appear in the sequence Ross took them. The Rocky video is beneath them. -- Michael Roberts
