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Police, protesters clash in Denver at DNC
By Daniel J. Chacon
The Rocky Mountain News
DENVER — Banker Arthur Costas is counting on the horde of police to keep people safe during the Democratic National Convention.
“This type of thing attracts all kinds of crazies,” said Costas, a 48-year-old Florida delegate who has attended two other Democratic conventions.
Drayfus Trotter, an evangelical minister from Los Angeles, thanked God for the police.
“We’re here to nominate a candidate for president of the United States. Could you imagine what would happen if something happened and the police weren’t here?” Trotter said.
The men’s outlook on the heavy police presence in Denver this week represents one of two perspectives, said Howard Markman, a psychology professor at the University of Denver.
“One on hand, it’s very reassuring in terms of knowing that when we need a police presence, it’s there,” he said. “So, for example, if there were to be riots in town or God forbid a terrorist attack or other things that are security related, it’s kind of like our own version of homeland security.”
But on the other hand, local residents, especially crime victims, will wonder why they didn’t get the same level of protection when they were in need, he said.
“If there’s anything on the negative side, it’s kind of the sense of, ‘Hummm, we have all these bigwigs in town, where were you when I needed you?’” he said.
Others think the influx of police is “ridiculously oppressive.”
“It makes everyone scared,” protester Andy Newman said as he smoked the stub of a marijuana cigarette on the crowded 16th Street Mall Wednesday.
“I don’t know what its purpose is,” said Newman, 20, of Los Angeles. “Is it supposed to make us feel safe (but) it doesn’t.”
Denver is fraught with cops — on foot, bicycles, motorcycles, horseback and SUVs equipped with running boards for a cluster of officers to stand on.
The city doubled its force of 1,500 for the DNC and established a separate command structure to handle the logistics of moving and coordinating so many cops.
DNC-related calls are dispatched from a separate 911 call center. In the field, commanders are assigned groups of officers. Several command posts have been set up geographically to monitor resources and the movement of officers. At a separate Multi Agency Communications Center, representatives from 62 local, state and federal agencies maintain overall command control and work together to better coordinate security efforts.
“I think we have it well handled,” Denver police Lt. Ron Saunier said.
The city’s marketing director, Steve Sander, said people expect an increased level of security at an event of this magnitude, especially in a post-9/11 world.
Images broadcast worldwide of police in riot gear and carrying large pepperball guns isn’t Sander’s “first choice” to show what’s happening in Denver, he said.
But “it’s a small price to pay for hosting a tremendously big important event that is the center of the world’s attention,” he said.
The influx of heavily armed police isn’t “going to conjure the image of the city being one step away from a fascist state,” said Norman Provizer, a political science professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
“You have to prepare for the worst ... and breathe a sigh of relief if in fact in looks like you were overstaffed,” he said.
Copyright 2008 The Rocky Mountain News
Gwin Johnston, chief executive and founder of JohnstonWells, a local public relations firm, said Denver will be seen as a city that looks out for public safety.
“When there are images of riot squads, I don’t think that reflects poorly on Denver,” she said. “I think it reflects that this is a city prepared for the worst and that we’re here to protect both the visitors and the citizens.”