It has been my experience over my 50 years in the law enforcement arena, that in many police departments, especially large departments, there exists a sub-culture of officers who tend to be the cowboys of the organization, doing this the way they want to do them regardless of what the organization says. Those who compose this cowboy sub-culture often cross the line in terms of the physical force they employ to subdue arrestees and deal with physical confrontations. They are the ones who are inclined to make attitude arrests for "contempt of cop" and then after the arrest, find the appropriate violation to put on the summons or booking sheet. They are the ones who receive multiple citizen complaints regarding their attitudes, demeanor, and the force they employ. And when confronted, these sub-culture cowboys most often tend to be deceptive, unwilling to accept any responsibility for their actions and the actions of their cowboy colleagues, and are not prone to change their ways.

Unfortunately, these cowboys exist in most police organizations, but fortunately, they are a significant minority of the total police population. As a command officer and as a chief of police, I have dealt with these sub-cultures and was able to successfully eliminate them. Denver has failed to address this subculture, thereby endorsing it.

Denver rejects the assertion that it has a custom, policy and practice of tolerating excessive force. As such, attorneys for the city/county have filed a motion to be removed as a party of the lawsuit. Replies and rebuttals from both sides followed, and Rathod says "we're now waiting for the judge to rule on this issue" -- a decision he expects to come in the next month or two.

Page down to read motions, depositions and affidavits related to the Denver Diner case and claims of systemic toleration of excessive force in the Denver Police Department.