Market Street Shooting Shows Limits of Denver's Downtown Safety Plan

On April 7, Mayor Michael Hancock and other city boosters staged a press event in advance of the Colorado Rockies' first home series of the year, to celebrate downtown and tout efforts to "ensure a safe and welcoming experience in the heart of the city." But these tactics failed to prevent a shooting during the early-morning hours on the 2000 block of Market Street, in one of the busiest parts of the Mile High City's entertainment district.

The victim survived the shooting. But the timing and location of the incident demonstrate the challenges for authorities hoping to change the narrative about safety in downtown Denver.

The focus of enforcement efforts in the area has been the Union Station neighborhood. Following outcries about crime around the iconic location voiced by the union representing RTD workers and echoed by Hancock late last year, the Denver Police Department increased its presence at the site in a big way. Then, on February 3, Hancock's administration announced what was dubbed its 2022 Public Safety Action Plan, which boasts the following bullet points:

Preventing Crime and Improving Policing

• Adding three new place-based, precision policing “Hot Spots” to the five established in 2021
• Deploying DPD Community Outreach Teams in high-crime areas
• Focusing enforcement efforts in the downtown core, including the 16th Street Mall and Denver Union Station
• Granting sheriff deputies the authority to file criminal charges, allowing police officers to spend more time on the street addressing and preventing crime
• Deploying two Street Enforcement Teams to address lower level crimes and freeing up police officers for more crime-prevention work
• Utilizing federal recovery dollars for police overtime, security grants for businesses, demolition of abandoned buildings, improved street lighting and community outreach
• Improving customer service and communication with the public
• Strengthening youth-violence prevention programming with Aurora

Addressing the Proliferation of Illegal Guns

• Focusing on removing illegal firearms and “ghost” guns from our streets, in partnership with regional, state and federal authorities
• Implementing a conceal-carry ban in city-owned facilities

Behavioral Health & Alternatives to Police Response

• Establishing an Assessment Intake Diversion (AID) Center that will operate 24/7/365 to connect those in need of mental health and drug-addiction services with resources
• Expanding STAR and co-responder programs to cover more areas of the city
• Expanding partnerships to provide intensive mandatory mental health treatment for qualifying criminal offenders in jail
• Adding a second Wellness Winnie to enhance community outreach
• Improving supports and transition services from city jails and the Solution Center so that inmates and clients don’t return to the streets

Police Recruitment & Retention

• Recruiting 144 new cadets to join the Denver Police Department, plus 40 lateral officers, budgeted for nearly $10 million
• Hiring a civilian academic director to bolster DPD training and educational opportunities for law officers
• Opening a professional policing and leadership center in partnership with a local university that can be a resource for enhanced training across the region
• Increasing recruitment of women officers to 30 percent by 2030, known as the 30x30 initiative

State Partnerships

• Monitoring multiple legislative bills, including those relating to personal recognizance bonds, fentanyl distribution and possession, catalytic converter theft, and mandatory mental-health treatment

On April 6, as the Rockies' home opener neared, RTD revealed that it would ratchet up security around Union Station's bus concourse, light-rail platforms and pavilions.

The next day, April 7, Hancock portrayed the various security measures as part of a plan to reimagine downtown as a neighborhood rather than simply a central business district. In his words, "Downtown is the heart of our city, and it’s phenomenal to see people back and enjoying the space with their friends and families. This is an opportunity to breathe new life into our downtown and take a neighborhood approach to help the area come back stronger and more resilient" in the wake of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, on April 8, the DPD tweeted the following message under the all-caps heading "HELP PROTECT HOME:" "Home Opener today, we are reminding residents who live in the area or who will be enjoying the day's events, to remain vigilant — report suspicious activity, take proactive steps to protect your home, car & valuables, and commute responsibly."

Problems were few at the game itself, beyond the Rockies losing by a 5-3 score. But at 12:57 a.m. on April 9, Denver Police issued a far more problematic Twitter alert about "a shooting in the 2000 block of Larimer Street" that had resulted in "one male victim...being transported to the hospital with unknown extent of injuries." In a 10:59 a.m. followup, the DPD corrected the address, noting that "this incident occurred in the 2000 block of Market Street" and noting that the victim was in stable condition. The department also pointed out that the investigation into the shooting was "ongoing."

The location of the shooting is just steps away from the 1900 block of Blake Street, the stretch where much of the downtown violence last summer took place. Although some of the more problematic clubs have closed, the problems remain.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7567. Click to read the Denver 2022 Public Safety Action Plan.