Police

Police brutality: Denver department tolerates "cowboy sub-culture," documents claim

The long-running lawsuits over an alleged police brutality incident at the Denver Diner in 2009 has entered a new and potentially game-changing phase. Attorneys for four women who say they were roughed up by police have named the City and County of Denver in the case, for allegedly tolerating excess ... More >>

Jess Vigil named to new Department of Safety position to oversee police discipline

In an attempt to improve the public's trust in the police and the department's disciplinary review system, Manager of Safety Alex Martinez announced the creation of a new position within his office. Former district and country judge Jess Vigil will join the police review process as the deputy manage ... More >>

ACLU wants Department of Justice to investigate Denver Police

The December news that Richard Rosenthal, Denver's Independent Monitor, would be leaving the post for a similar job in British Columbia, was greeted with enthusiasm by some law-enforcement types, who saw him as anti-cop. And their delight wasn't tempered by his office's final scathing report, on vie ... More >>

The Boy Scouts' Police Problem

Dozens of teenage Explorers have been sexually abused by cops. Should the Scouts share the blame?

Occupy Denver: Belongings lost during protests treated as "found and abandoned property"

​During the two days of police-attended demonstrations last weekend, the last thing most people at Occupy Denver were thinking about was their stuff. A week later, this has created confusion among many who lost their belongings, which were later collected by the Colorado State Patrol while off ... More >>

Shane Boor, busted for flipping the bird at state trooper, to be defended by ACLU

​During a recent drive to work, Shane Boor indulged in one of America's favorite pastimes: He flipped someone the bird. Trouble is, the person he aimed it at was a Colorado State Patrol officer so unamused that he had a fellow trooper track Boor down and give him a criminal summons. Enter the ... More >>

Independent Monitor Richard Rosenthal keeps a close eye on the Denver police

Mayor McCheese takes a bite out of crime in England

​In the village of West Yorkshire, England, a police force of extraordinary magnitude is taking shape -- the shape of burgers. Due to budget cuts, the town's police force has been pared down to a bare minimum -- so local merchants have decided to use "street marshals" to help in the fight a ... More >>

ACLU settles suit over Denver police complaint records

​On the eve of going to court in its effort to protect internal investigations records of police officers from public scrutiny, the City of Denver has agreed to settle a lawsuit by forking over many of the documents sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

Eric Winfield: Artist beaten by Denver cops gets cash, no apology

Eric Winfield, shortly after his 2007 encounter with three Denver police officers in LoDo.​On Monday night, the Denver City Council approved a $40,000 settlement for Eric Winfield, the Denver artist severely beaten by three police officers as he was making his way through the LoDo crowds after ... More >>

Hae C. Park, No. 85: Man allegedly killed by business partner Joong Rhee -- but no body found

Joong Rhee: No body, but big problem.​An unusual announcement moments ago from the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Police Department: A murder charge has been filed even though the body of the victim has yet to be located. Hae C. Park, 64, has been missing since March 27, whe ... More >>

Francis Hernandez: Guilty verdict in ice cream shop crash that killed three celebrated by Aurora Police

Francis Hernandez is bound for a long spell in stir.​As the Darrent Williams murder trial is getting underway, another high-profile trial has come to an end. A jury has found Francis Hernandez responsible for the deaths of three people in a 2008 crash at a Baskin Robbins. Among the victims: t ... More >>

Narima Dzhulfayeva, Mile High Murder No. 75: Woman allegedly killed by Roberto Silva, who later committed suicide while in custody

This is presumably the last photo ever taken of Roberto Silva.​Two people are dead as a result of a thoroughly unromantic incident that took place on Valentine's Day in Glendale -- Narima Dzhulfayeva, who was allegedly murdered by Roberto Silva, and Silva himself, who subsequently killed himse ... More >>

Timothy McGlothin, accused Hoppin Hooded Bandit, gets busted

Hoodies are probably in short supply where Timothy McGlothin is cooling his heels.​That didn't take long. Yesterday, we told you about the search for Timothy McGlothin, who authorities (and members of a grand jury) believe was part of bank-robbery group dubbed the Hoppin Hooded Bandits, for t ... More >>

Have you been pulled over by the worst police impersonator ever?

Not a photo of the actual impersonation suspect (we're pretty sure).​How convincing a cop was a 24-year-old Colorado Springs man currently being held on felony police-impersonation charges? Well, the vehicle he used was a gray 1995 Cadillac sedan, the sort of car preferred by eighty-year-old r ... More >>

Boulder Police on why they want to reign in the Mall Crawl and Naked Pumpkin Run

Once upon a time on Halloween, the Pearl Street Mall crawled like this.​The Facebook campaign to resurrect the Boulder Mall Crawl, a Halloween tradition that was put down in 1991 because crowds in the tens of thousands got a wee bit too rowdy, is dead -- if it was ever alive. On Wednesday, Rya ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 37: Christopher Camack killed on 3200 block of Albion Street

Christopher Camack.​More bloodshed, more death. What a way to start the week. On Friday, a man now identified as Christopher Camack was found shot on the front lawn of a home on the 3200 block of Albion Street, an area captured in a graphic below (if you have problems seeing the image, click ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 36: Homicide victim found in motel on 9200 block of East Colfax in Aurora

View Larger Map A grisly find this morning at a motel on the 9200 block of East Colfax, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). Aurora Police Department reps found a dead man whose upper body showed such clear signs of trauma that the c ... More >>

Shaggy Bandit spills all about bank-robbing spree

Shaggy in action.​Michael A. Kincade, dubbed the Shaggy Bandit, must not take that whole you-have-the-right-to-remain-silent thing very seriously. Shortly after he and an accomplice, the nickname-challenged Christopher Lee Richardson, were captured last week, Kincade gave a jailhouse interview ... More >>

Ruh-roh! The Shaggy Bandit caught without Mystery Machine

A surveillance shot of the Shaggy bandit.​In an August 20 blog, our own Joel Warner told us about the Shaggy Bandit, a scofflaw wanted for numerous bank heists. Shaggy's memorable name came courtesy of the FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, whose members understand that reporters te ... More >>

Here's something those new CU cops can do with their time

​With students returning to the University of Colorado at Boulder campus for the fall semester, the Boulder Police Department is stepping up DUI patrols -- and the CU cops will be out in greater force, too. The university department has added six more officers as part of an overall plan to red ... More >>

Denver Police Department just discovers it's on Twitter

​Members of the local media are seldom effusive about the timeliness and responsiveness of the Denver Police Department's public-information office -- and a release issued today exemplifies its effectiveness. or lack thereof. "The Denver Police Department would like the community to know they ... More >>

Mile High Murder: Friends and family seek to solve Billy Ortiz's killing

The late Billy Oritz.​As noted in a recent blog, local media seems to care more when white people are shot, and often provides comparatively little coverage when Hispanics or African-Americans like those who dominate a list of Denver homicide victims during the first half of 2009 are slain. Th ... More >>

Sonia Sotomayor could declare martial law on Kevin Orcutt's nunchaku

Video: Westword writer takes a beating from police nunchaku. Don't tell Sonia Sotomayor!

The writer tries to stick it to the man. Click "Continue" to see the video.​Writing can be painful sometimes. This is particularly true while putting together a feature article about a little-known weapon used by police departments across the country called an Orcutt Police Nunchaku. Nearly thirty ... More >>

July 4: What you can blow up and where

A Flickr photo So you want to set some shit off this weekend? Because different jurisdictions have different rules, fireworks that may be perfectly lawful on one block may be illegal on the next. Most items that neither explode nor leave the ground are permissible in Colorado. But in Wheat Ridge, a ... More >>

Hector Esparza identified as man who died in officer-involved shooting at 4503 Fillmore Street

View Larger Map Early this morning, Denver Police officers responded to a disturbance call at 4503 Fillmore Street, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). According to the DPD, the man, who's just been identified by the Denver Coroner ... More >>

Possible homicide on the 3100 block of South Dale Court in Sheridan

View Larger Map The Mile High Murder ticker may move upward again today, as the Sheridan Police Department is investigating what it describes as a "possible homicide." Yesterday, a body was discovered in a car parked on the 3100 block of South Dale Court, an area captured in the graphic above (if y ... More >>

Colorado Crimes: Epic brawl at Overland High School

"I wish I'd gotten a piece of that action...." Plenty of metro-area schools have shut down for the summer -- but there was plenty of action at Overland High School this afternoon. According to the Aurora Police Department, more than fifty high-school age folks took part in at least three separate f ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: JonBenét Ramsey and 1990s nostalgia

As the awful economic news keeps pouring out (Agile Group, anyone?), you can understand the urge to look back at the good old days. Even the bad crimes of the good old days. And so yesterday, the new Boulder District Attorney and the old Boulder Police Chief held a joint press conference to announ ... More >>

Driving while shmucked up

Denver cops' new ride -- pedicabs?

Denver cops' new ride -- pedicabs?

Cease and Desist, Denver Police

We brake for any diversions – even the DPD.

Glendale Prostitution Sting Has Fringe Benefits

What was blown besides this cop's cover?

A Bulky Blue Line

Some police find the lure of strength-enhancing drugs impossible to ignore.

Where the Wilding Things Are

Denver tries to corral the chaos of LoDo at Let Out.

True Blue

The lives of cops form the core for a peek behind the stereotype.

Tape Worms

The camera doesn't lie -- but every picture tells more than one story.

The Siege

The new sheriff vowed to clean up the town of San Luis. For many locals, the price was too high.

A State of Denial

Denver's legal team takes a beating in a police-brutality case.

Sad But True

And God said Ha! (Can you blame Him?)

The Beat Goes On

End-of-School Sale

How a mad dash to a Wyoming arms dealer helped Boulder quell its riots.

Strange but True

Strange but True

She Fired, They Fired

The city doggedly presses its case against a deputy dismissed after a shooting incident.

The Dunlap Subplot

While Nathan was being convicted, his family huddled with the police.

MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT BEAT

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT GOES LOCAL IN NORTHWEST DENVER.

LIFE ON THE EDGE

IN QUIRKY EDGEWATER, THE CIRCUS IS ALWAYS IN TOWN.OUR TOWN IN EDGEWATER, THE JUDGE IS A CONVICTED FELON. THAT'S JUST FOR STARTERS.