Last nights Mayoral Forum was well attended and copwatch was there in force. The most positive component that we took from the event was the fact that issues related to excessive force and police brutality hit the main stream. That said, the event was a clear example of political posturing and the ridiculousness behind electoral politics. The candidates knew who their targeted audience was and catered their responses appropriately. And guess what, we’d didn’t buy into it. Past mayors have made promises of reform and have failed to deliver and it is safe to say that the next mayor of Denver will do much of the same.
There was a consensus amongst the candidates that Chief Whitman will no longer be the grand wizard of the DPD, however no satisfactory alternatives were explored. The current system is so entrenched in brutality that it is safe to assume that no matter who the mayor is or who the new Chief will be people are still going to be brutalized by police, simply put there is no way around it. Sorry to be so grim, but that is the reality. Until communities take the matters into their own hands these atrocities will continue.
If interested, check out full coverage from the forum here