Charles Porter
Back in April of ’08, a sixteen year old kid named Juan “Willie” Vasquez was brutally beaten by the Denver po-lice. Young Willie had been drinking and since we all know how the police do, especially the punk-ass gang po-lice, Willie ran. He was chased down by three gang members, oh I mean police gang members, my bad, I mean Gang Unit officers Charles Porter, Luis Rivera and Cameron Moerman. To stop Vasquez, officer Charles Porter threatened to first shoot Vasquez in the back, then he threw his police issued flashlight so hard that it shattered when it hit Vasquez. The sixteen year old, 5′ 6″, 130 pound teen tripped and fell after encountering another ocifer and was consequently beaten to a pulp by at least three popo. According to a Denver Post article from May ’08, Porter then jumped on the kid’s back, shouting racially charged slurs and accusing Vasquez of breaking the flashlight. At least three pigs then commenced to beat the living shit out of Vasquez, with Porter using a fence to gain leverage and stomp the teen’s back, while taking breaks only to punch him in the face. During the whole incident, Vasquez was not resisting and had his hands behind his back, even while he was being stomped by Porter and kicked repeatedly by two or three other fine officers. These actions are so reminiscent of the sensationalized stories we read involving gang jumping’s, that it’s high fucking time we recognize the police for what they are and that’s a terrorizing gang, that has the backing of the state.
The teen continually begged for his life, as he vomited on himself and screamed that he could not breathe. Vasquez suffered “severe internal injuries, including a lacerated liver, a ruptured spleen, severe bruising of the kidneys, contusions to the head and face and severe bruising of the ribs,” (which later turned out to include several broken ribs) according to the Denver Post. As a result, Willie has permanent injuries, including kidney problems and bowel issues.
Amazingly, Porter was arrested and charged with second-degree felony assault for excessive force. No other officers were charged. Two of the other po-lice that beat Vasquez actually testified against Porter, which is a miracle in itself, considering the “blue wall of silence” and that Denver po can actually be punished internally for testifying against one another. Despite the evidence and witnesses, Porter denied everything and was (unsurprisingly) acquitted, even though Vasquez had earlier received an $885,000 settlement from the city for his egregious injuries.
In the latest development officers, Charles Porter, Luis Rivera and Cameron Moerman were FIRED. Yep, you read it right, these fuckers actually got shitcanned. Now let me put this in perspective.
Since Porter was acquitted back in March of ’09, there has been an ongoing internal investigation into the matter, conducted by Safety Manager Al LaCabe. From March ’09 until just yesterday, this pig Porter sat on his fat ass and received pay from the taxpayers of Denver while the “investigation” continued. Officers Luis Rivera and Cameron Moerman continued to terrorize the streets of Denver as paid brutalizers the whole time.
Mr. LaCabe is retiring this week and if this wasn’t the case, I doubt that these ex-popo would have ever seen any form of discipline. Indeed, Porter may have even been reinstated. However, now that LaCabe knows he will not face internal pressures, punishments or being fired himself, he has been able to go ahead and shitcan these brutal pigs. For once, abusive officers have been taken off the streets. However, how many more remain and how many more incidents of harassment, intimidation, beatings, and murders will occur before this fucking department gets put in check?
West Denver Copwatch 