Denver, CO – After Mayor Michael Hancock released a statement on Saturday, December 10th, about a supposed policy change to the confiscations of people’s survival gear including blankets and tents, over twenty five news outlets have praised him for this apparent temporary winter-month “end” to…
Denver, CO – On Saturday December 10th, 2016, Mayor Michael Hancock “announced a cold-weather adjustment to enforcement of the city’s unauthorized camping ordinance.” After much public outcry from local residents and civil rights attorneys, including a letter from the ACLU, the mayor has finally taken…
Denver, CO – As of November 15th, city-wide sweeps targeting people without housing in Denver have intensified again, under explicit direction from Mayor Hancock. Citing the “Urban Camping Ban“, put into effect by Denver city council in April of 2012, Denver Police officers and Public…
Denver, CO – On Thursday evening, along with many cities across the United States, including Minneapolis (with simultaneous live Unicorn Riot broadcasts), Los Angeles, and Portland protesters came together to rally against President-elect Donald Trump. An event was called to meet at the Colorado State…
Denver, CO – The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition has been hosting District Attorney Candidate Forums, designed to offer the communities directly impacted by the District Attorney’s office, an opportunity to ask questions relevant to their most pressing issues.
“The District Attorney is arguably the…
Denver, CO – On Wednesday, October 12th, 2016, Judge Craig B. Shaffer’s court room was packed during the first hearing in the class-action lawsuit against the city and county of Denver for violating the human rights of people without housing.
Attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed the…
Denver, CO – Since August 27th, Denver Police Department (DPD) officers have shot and killed two individuals in separate incidents.
In both officer-involved shootings, police visited a home attempting to pick up someone with warrants. When the individual tried to flee, police responded by escalating…
Denver, CO – The afternoon of Tuesday, August 16, Denver Police announced via Twitter that an officer had shot someone in the vicinity of 10th St. & Federal Blvd. on the north side of the city.
ALERT (1/2): #DPD responding to 10th & Federal, report…
Monday, August 15 – Denver, CO
The Denver Justice Project and a crowd of supporters gathered at the Denver City and County building for a city council hearing regarding the status of the Office of the Independent Monitor. The Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM),…
Denver, CO – On Friday, August 12th, 2016, the office of Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey released a statement announcing that no criminal charges would be filed against Denver Police Technician Jeff Motz, who shot and killed Dion Avila Damon during a police ambush.
Damon…
Denver, CO – On Monday, August 1st, 2016 the case against Josie Valadez Fraire was dismissed. The 22-year-old Indigenous woman was detained and ticketed for burning sage at a counter-Trump protest in July.
“The police told me I disobeyed a lawful order to put out…
July 20th Denver, CO – Members of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Denver locked down in front of the Denver Police Headquarter Administration Building to protest police violence and in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Four SURJ members locked themselves arm to arm in…
Denver, CO – Since the murders of Alton Sterling on July 5th, 2016 and of Philando Castile on July 6th, 2016 at the hands of police officers, protests and rallies have erupted all across the United States. In Denver, CO, the local organization Black Lives…
Denver, CO – When Donald Trump arrived in Denver to speak at the Western Conservative Summit on July 1st, 2016, various groups converged to show their support or opposition. An event listed as “Manda a Trump a la Chingada! // Send Trump to Hell!” hosted…
Denver, CO – Early in the afternoon of Monday, May 9, 2016, Denver Police announced via twitter that a “possible officer-involved shooting” had occurred on East Colfax in Denver, near the neighboring city of Aurora.
BREAKING: #DPD in the 8400 block of Colfax on possible…
Denver, CO – On March 22, 2016, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock issued a statement that a student painting hung in the Wellington Webb city building had been taken down. The painting in question, which was part of a Denver Public Schools (DPS) display, depicts a…
Denver, CO – One year ago today, protesters in Denver took the streets in solidarity with the uprising taking place in Baltimore in response to the police killing of Freddie Gray. The Denver Police Department (DPD) forcefully repressed the march as soon as it began,…
Denver, CO – April 26, 2016
At around 6 PM, friends and family as well as concerned community members gathered in the 1300 block of Bannock Street outside the Denver Art Museum, just feet from where Dion Avila Damon was killed on April 12th, 2016.…
Denver Police Technician Jeffrey Motz was identified in a police press conference as having shot unarmed Dion Avila Damon seven times through the windshield of a car on Tuesday, April 12. While most media coverage in Denver focused on Dion’s alleged criminal history, no reports…
April 23, 2016
Denver, CO – Shortly after 4 pm on Friday, April 22, the twitter account for ‘New World Hackers’ (NWH), a hacktivist crew associated with several Anonymous operations, announced a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack against DenverGov.org, the official website for the City…
Denver, CO – On the afternoon of April 14th, DA Mitch Morrissey announced that the charges against 15-year old Ashanti (Shani) Mills had been dismissed. His announcement came after a 6 month struggle by Shani and her family to fight for justice in what they…
UPDATE (4/18/16) – Today we received a letter from the Custodian of Records for the Department of Safety informing us that our open records request for the footage of the shooting has been denied. We plan to appeal the denial.
UPDATE (4/13/16) – In a…
Denver, CO – After filing a request under the Colorado Open Records Act, Unicorn Riot has received a list of all twitter accounts that have been blocked by the official @DenverPolice twitter handle.
According to Mary Dulacki, records custodian for Denver’s Department of Safety, no…
Denver, CO – On the morning of Monday, February 15, the Denver Police tweeted that an act of vandalism had occurred outside the police headquarters at 13th & Cherokee:
Media Alert: Chief White will talk to media about Police Memorial Vandalism today at 10:00 a.m.…
Denver, CO – Thursday night, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock spoke at a “Diversity and Leadership Summit” held by Regis University. He specifically mentioned the need to have “uncomfortable conversations” about racism in America. An uncomfortable conversation soon took place as the Mayor’s speech was interrupted…
Last week, after filing a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, Unicorn Riot received a heavily redacted copy of the Denver Police Crowd Control Manual. Most sections of the manual relevant to the policing of protests (our primary interest) were redacted. One redaction was 15…
Denver, CO
A banner stating “Cops are Killing Us for Sport” was dropped on the Highland Bridge over Interstate 25 in Denver today. The 20-foot long message, designed in Bronco team colors, was visible on the primary route fans used to travel to the New…
The Denver Police Department’s Crowd Control Manual, as well as Department Directive 11-07 to which it is attached, have, as far as we know, not been available to the public until today. After requesting these documents under the Colorado Open Records Act, we received a…
Denver, CO – In the early morning of December 15th, Denver police forced dozens of homeless community members of Resurrection Village into blizzard conditions. Since their tiny homes action on Oct. 24th, Resurrection Village members have been sleeping near various unused empty lots owned by…