DENVER (AP) – Denver’s police chief told officers not to intervene but to stand by and watch as protesters threw red paint on a memorial for fallen officers during a weekend march against police brutality.
The stand-down order upset some officers, who said it sends a message that protesters can get away with increasingly brazen actions.
But at a time when some police departments have been criticized for using military-style methods of crowd control against protesters, Denver’s approach of restraint is being shared by agencies across the country as experts say police interference can actually escalate violence and erode trust.
“We have learned that providing route security at a distance and intentionally avoiding direct confrontation prevents injury to officers, limits liability, and minimizes the criminal actions of many protesters,” Denver Police Chief Robert White wrote in the email to officers, adding that police should take “immediate enforcement action” only rarely.
In Saturday’s case, police arrested two protesters for vandalism, but only after the demonstration. The paint was later cleaned up, and people have been leaving flowers, candles and flags at the memorial in a show of support for police.