Attorney Resigns From Use of Force Committee After Being Shot, Gassed by Denver
Police
While police nationwide have been escalating violence against protesters,
Denver law enforcement appear to be some of the worst offenders.
by Alan Macleod
June 03rd, 2020
By Alan Macleod
Elisabeth Epps, a Colorado-based attorney and bail activist, publicly resigned
from the Denver Police Department’s Use of Force Committee last night after
being shot and tear gassed by the same force she was trying to regulate.
“Plenty of Black folks will shuck & jive for ya, it just can’t be me anymore,”
Epps said via Twitter, sharing pictures of the welts across her body and legs
from police gunshots.
elisabeth epps is tired.
@elisabeth
Dear @DenverPolice,
After 3 years working on your Use of Force committee, I hereby resign.
We met last Thursday with Chief Pazen. Hours later, you gassed me. You shot my
back and legs up—from behind.
Plenty of Black folks will shuck & jive for ya, it just can’t be me anymore.
View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
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She had recently been on a conference call with the committee that included the
local chief. Just hours later she saw in the flesh the police violate their own
policies. “I can’t even write the words to say how disheartening it was,” she
said. Referring to the incident, she added, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a
fascist, or antifa, or a kid that throws a water bottle or a rock,” she said.
“What in the world makes it proportional to gas an entire hillside of people?”
“I never felt like a token. I truly thought my input mattered. I was naive and
I was wrong” Epps told the Denver Post’s Elise Schmelzer. Schmelzer herself has
been the target of violence, police firing pepper bullets at her while she was
wearing a reflective vest that read “press.” While police nationwide have been
escalating the violence, Denver law enforcement appear to have been some of the
worst offenders. Photographer Hyoung Chang, also of the Denver Post, was twice
aimed and fired at by police, injuring his arm. Chang is adamant that the
actions were deliberate: “If it was one shot, I can say it was an accident,” he
said. “I’m very sure it was the same guy twice. I’m very sure he pointed at
me.” Denver police also threw a reporter into a burning fire while he was
trying to take a picture of them. The incident was caught on live television.
Local officer Thomas McClay was fired from his job yesterday after sharing a
photo of himself and other officers in full riot gear with the caption “Let’s
start a riot.”
Big T
@tessrmalle
#denver police caught on camera throwing a reporter into a fire for trying to
take a picture of the scene #DenverRiots #BlackLivesMatter #FTP
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Epps herself is a longtime prison abolition activist. In 2018 she founded the
Colorado Freedom Fund, a community bail fund that aims to help poor people who
cannot make bail and would otherwise be forced into the prison system. Last
year she was sentenced to 90 days in jail for obstructing the police arrest of
a man going through a mental health crisis. For much of her sentence, she was
allowed out on day release, leading to the bizarre situation where she was
released from her cell only to stay in jail, bailing others out in her role
with the Freedom Fund, subsequently returning to her cell.
Solomon Georgio
✔
@solomongeorgio
Imagine living in a country that it took months to respond to a pandemic and
seconds to militarize the police against its citizens
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Thousands of Americans would appreciate the services of a bail fund right now.
According to an Associated Press tracker, over 9,300 people have been arrested
during the George Floyd protests, which were sparked after a Minneapolis police
officer was filmed killing an unarmed and handcuffed black man on May 25.
Denver has seen the seventh most arrests of any U.S. city, with 284 as of June
3. Spontaneous demonstrations have broken out at over 100 locations and in
every state across the country. A Morning Consult poll published Monday found
that 54 percent of Americans support the protests, with 22 percent opposed.
Even Republicans were evenly split on the question. 61 percent of the public
agree that “white people do not recognize the real advantages they have.” Only
four percent of black Americans oppose the protests. However, public support
for protest in general dips considerably depending on the race of those
protesting. 54 percent of the public agreed that “When Americans speak up and
protest injustice in the U.S., it always makes the country better,” but that
number dropped to 46 percent when the qualifier “black” was added before
“Americans.”
President Trump has responded with considerable force, deploying the National
Guard in 24 states and suggesting sending in the army, a possibly
unconstitutional move. He also suggested that “looters” and “thugs” should be
shot on the spot. Consequently, it is unlikely that Epps will be the last
protestor attacked by security forces.
