Outside Hayter's & Co. at 1920 Blake Street, off-duty Denver Police Department Officer Adam Glasby, who was working security, saw a group of men fighting in front of the bar and wound up slamming one of them onto the pavement, knocking the individual unconscious. The Denver DA charged Glasby with felony assault on Thursday, July 27.
A block away, at 20th and Market streets, a suspected drug-related dispute led to ten people being shot in the early morning of June 13. While none of the victims died, several had to be hospitalized — and the incident served as another example of why some fear going downtown.
But looking at the area's crime stats tells a different story.
In lower downtown, crime has actually fallen 19 percent year-to-date in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the DPD, despite what many people think. “DPD is continuously monitoring crime trends and adjusting resources to help address trends and reduce crime, such as our efforts during the weekend out-crowd, as an example,” the department says through a spokesperson.
At a press conference following the June 13 shooting, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said that the intersection of 20th and Market had become known for its potential for violence, particularly when nearby bars let out. The DPD has worked to address the presence of guns and drugs in the area, stationed extra officers there, and implemented additional crowd-control training in an attempt to combat the problem.
The DPD’s Public Crime Map, which tracks National Incident-Based Reporting System data, currently shows a few hot spots downtown — including the area of 20th and Market — but department efforts seem to be working.
Jarrod Perrott, who has owned 5280 Custom Framing at 1528 15th Street, on the edge of LoDo, since 2009, says the area might be busier than ever now, and crime isn’t a big factor. “There's a lot of talk about some issues on the 16th Street Mall, and there's a lot of issues behind Union Station, but by and large, I think LoDo overall has fared very well,” he says.
Currently, there are only two crime categories with double-digit incidents behind Union Station: public disorder, with eighteen; and drugs and alcohol, with twelve. Everything else has been in the single digits, with five aggravated assaults taking place so far this year
In the Ballpark district, which has slightly blurry boundaries — Coors Field didn’t exist in 1988, when many official Denver neighborhood designations were made — public disorder represents the most common crime, with 98 instances.
To get these stats, Ballpark was measured from 20th Street to Broadway, between Blake and Arapahoe streets. In that area, there have been more than 85 motor vehicle break-ins this year. There’s also a cluster of crime on Lawrence Street between 22nd Street and Park Avenue, with thirty instances of larceny and 21 instances of other crimes.
At 24th and Blake, there's a smaller cluster of various crimes, with 24 reported instances.
The River North Art District — which includes parts of Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, Cole and Five Points — is a larger area than what's behind Union Station or Ballpark, so there are more instances of lawlessness, but no hot spots like the ones seen elsewhere in downtown Denver.
"'Hot spots' are fluid and fluctuate regularly based on reported crime data," the DPD says.
Theft of items from a motor vehicle is currently the top crime in RiNo, with auto theft a close second. There has been one murder in the area this year: A woman killed a resident at a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless building at 3440 Park Avenue.
In LoDo itself — an area that runs from Cherry Creek to 20th Street, between Wynkoop Street and the alley between Market and Larimer streets — there have been two murders in 2023. One occurred in the 1900 block of Market, and the other in the 1600 block of Wazee.
In all of these downtown neighborhoods combined, those were the only three murders so far this year.
As in the area behind Union Station, larceny is the most common crime in LoDo, with 95 instances. However, public disorder is nearly as high, with 83 reports. There have been 51 aggravated assaults and 32 auto thefts. Generally, 20th and Market has a high concentration of varying incidents related to larceny, drugs and alcohol, and other “crimes against persons.”
Perrott has a bit of distance from that hot spot, but he says that any altercations that happen at clubs or bars during the night don’t seem to be dampening activity during the day. “Knocking on wood when I say this, but there seem to be less issues now than we have had in the past,” he tells Westword, noting that his framing business fared well during the pandemic because people were putting more time into restoring their homes.
He says he did notice more people seeming to need access to mental health resources — and an uptick in those experiencing homelessness who were looking for places to charge their phones — but those aren’t crimes, and he says they did not factor into the safety of his business.
Twentieth and Market isn’t the only place with a concentration of crime. The intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway, right at the edge of downtown at Civic Center Park, is a much more active crime cluster than any other spot in downtown Denver, according to the DPD crime map.
According to Perrott, proclamations overstating the dangers of LoDo have hurt businesses as much as the purported dangers would have. He cites a February 2022 story in the Denver Post about restaurant owners moving their businesses to the suburbs in which one chef infamously said that downtown is dead as a particularly irking moment.
“Who wants to go downtown?” pastry chef Julien Renaut, who owns La Belle French Bakery, asked in the story.
According to Perrott's ledgers, plenty of residents want to spend time there. “People seem to focus on if there's one bad experience instead of many, many good ones,” he says. “There's a lot of destination businesses down here that offer great services, great dining experiences, great nightlife, a great atmosphere.”
LoDo can often be a scapegoat for when bad things happen in the city, Perrott points out, with people focusing on incidents like those on June 12 and 13 instead of looking at the bigger picture.
“In my view, LoDo’s incredibly safe, and it's been incredibly safe,” he contends.
But there are exceptions, and some of them make headlines. On July 22 of 2022, six people were shot at 20th and Larimer streets as the bars let out for the evening, and police responded to a report of an altercation. When a suspect dropped a gun, three officers fired; the suspect was injured, as were six bystanders. After a grand jury investigation, Officer Brandon Ramos was charged with numerous counts of second- and third-degree assault. His case is pending, as is that of the suspect, Jordan Waddy.
Less than a year later came the incidents after the Nuggets win.
On July 27, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced that Glasby had been charged with a felony count of second-degree assault for his actions on June 12.
Jarrod Perrott, who has owned 5280 Custom Framing at 1528 15th Street, on the edge of LoDo, since 2009, says the area might be busier than ever now, and crime isn’t a big factor. “There's a lot of talk about some issues on the 16th Street Mall, and there's a lot of issues behind Union Station, but by and large, I think LoDo overall has fared very well,” he says.
Behind Union Station, from Wewatta to Little Raven streets — between 15th and 19th streets — larceny has been the crime with the highest occurrence since the start of 2023, with 54 incidents. In particular, there's a cluster of larceny reports at 17th and Wewatta streets, where there is a parking garage with a Whole Foods on top of it, and apartments on top of that.
Currently, there are only two crime categories with double-digit incidents behind Union Station: public disorder, with eighteen; and drugs and alcohol, with twelve. Everything else has been in the single digits, with five aggravated assaults taking place so far this year
In the Ballpark district, which has slightly blurry boundaries — Coors Field didn’t exist in 1988, when many official Denver neighborhood designations were made — public disorder represents the most common crime, with 98 instances.
To get these stats, Ballpark was measured from 20th Street to Broadway, between Blake and Arapahoe streets. In that area, there have been more than 85 motor vehicle break-ins this year. There’s also a cluster of crime on Lawrence Street between 22nd Street and Park Avenue, with thirty instances of larceny and 21 instances of other crimes.
At 24th and Blake, there's a smaller cluster of various crimes, with 24 reported instances.
The River North Art District — which includes parts of Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, Cole and Five Points — is a larger area than what's behind Union Station or Ballpark, so there are more instances of lawlessness, but no hot spots like the ones seen elsewhere in downtown Denver.
"'Hot spots' are fluid and fluctuate regularly based on reported crime data," the DPD says.
Theft of items from a motor vehicle is currently the top crime in RiNo, with auto theft a close second. There has been one murder in the area this year: A woman killed a resident at a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless building at 3440 Park Avenue.
In LoDo itself — an area that runs from Cherry Creek to 20th Street, between Wynkoop Street and the alley between Market and Larimer streets — there have been two murders in 2023. One occurred in the 1900 block of Market, and the other in the 1600 block of Wazee.
In all of these downtown neighborhoods combined, those were the only three murders so far this year.
As in the area behind Union Station, larceny is the most common crime in LoDo, with 95 instances. However, public disorder is nearly as high, with 83 reports. There have been 51 aggravated assaults and 32 auto thefts. Generally, 20th and Market has a high concentration of varying incidents related to larceny, drugs and alcohol, and other “crimes against persons.”
Perrott has a bit of distance from that hot spot, but he says that any altercations that happen at clubs or bars during the night don’t seem to be dampening activity during the day. “Knocking on wood when I say this, but there seem to be less issues now than we have had in the past,” he tells Westword, noting that his framing business fared well during the pandemic because people were putting more time into restoring their homes.
He says he did notice more people seeming to need access to mental health resources — and an uptick in those experiencing homelessness who were looking for places to charge their phones — but those aren’t crimes, and he says they did not factor into the safety of his business.
Twentieth and Market isn’t the only place with a concentration of crime. The intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway, right at the edge of downtown at Civic Center Park, is a much more active crime cluster than any other spot in downtown Denver, according to the DPD crime map.
According to Perrott, proclamations overstating the dangers of LoDo have hurt businesses as much as the purported dangers would have. He cites a February 2022 story in the Denver Post about restaurant owners moving their businesses to the suburbs in which one chef infamously said that downtown is dead as a particularly irking moment.
“Who wants to go downtown?” pastry chef Julien Renaut, who owns La Belle French Bakery, asked in the story.
According to Perrott's ledgers, plenty of residents want to spend time there. “People seem to focus on if there's one bad experience instead of many, many good ones,” he says. “There's a lot of destination businesses down here that offer great services, great dining experiences, great nightlife, a great atmosphere.”
LoDo can often be a scapegoat for when bad things happen in the city, Perrott points out, with people focusing on incidents like those on June 12 and 13 instead of looking at the bigger picture.
“In my view, LoDo’s incredibly safe, and it's been incredibly safe,” he contends.
But there are exceptions, and some of them make headlines. On July 22 of 2022, six people were shot at 20th and Larimer streets as the bars let out for the evening, and police responded to a report of an altercation. When a suspect dropped a gun, three officers fired; the suspect was injured, as were six bystanders. After a grand jury investigation, Officer Brandon Ramos was charged with numerous counts of second- and third-degree assault. His case is pending, as is that of the suspect, Jordan Waddy.
Less than a year later came the incidents after the Nuggets win.
On July 27, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced that Glasby had been charged with a felony count of second-degree assault for his actions on June 12.
“Out of respect for the legal process, the Denver Police Department will not comment on the Second Degree Assault charge filed against Officer Glasby,” the DPD says in a statement.
However, the department does share that it had already opened an internal investigation regarding the incident and placed Glasby on a non-patrol assignment. Now that the felony charge is filed, the officer has been suspended without pay until the legal proceedings are over.
