Denver’s police chief has asked parents to talk with their kids about the contents of a video about bystandership in racist attacks shown at Denver South High School this week that included a tip that people don’t call police unless the victim requests it.

Police Chief Paul Pazen said he recognizes not everyone is comfortable contacting police, and urged students to tell a trusted adult or anonymously report any concerns or threats to authorities through Colorado’s Safe2Tell program. But he was dismayed at the video’s instruction not to call police, especially as a product of Denver Public Schools himself.

“At a time that we have high levels of violence, how in the world does advancing an ideology [like this] advance public safety?” Pazen told The Denver Gazette.

Denver South Principal Rachel Goss didn’t respond to an interview request. The Denver Gazette also has not received information requested from a district spokesperson about why the school showed the video to students and any policy on calling police in an incident. Some hate-based acts may have implications for mandatory reporting, which requires certain professionals to report suspected child abuse, neglect or exploitation.

“Armed police presence often escalates, rather than reduces, the risk of violence in a situation,” says the narrator of the video, which was posted by the New York City-based Barnard Center for Research on Women. “Because police have been trained to see people of color, gender non-conforming folks and Muslims as criminals, they often treat victims as perpetrators of violence.”

That last part has drawn resounding criticism from Denver’s law enforcement leaders, who took issue with the implication that bias is an overt part of their training.

The video, titled “Don’t be a Bystander: 6 Tips for Responding to Racist Attacks,” was shown on Tuesday, the first day of the new school, to students inside a gym.

The narrator adds: “So, if the victim hasn’t asked you to call the police, do not – I repeat – do not call the police.”

Goss posted a message to the school’s website saying the video “offers suggestions for possible interventions that do not include contacting law enforcement.”

“I am writing this note to emphasize that the intention behind the video was to provide empowerment for people who may witness these types of attacks, not to have any sort of negative impact on the longstanding relationship between the Denver Public Schools and the Denver Police Department,” Goss wrote.

The video, and response from Goss, drew mixed reactions from students and parents who spoke to The Denver Gazette.

“From a teenage point of view, there is only so much you can do before you take matters into your own hands, because the police don’t handle it well,” said one student.

“It was a well-intentioned video that was not well thought-out. The school did not mean any malice by it; they just did not consider how all the pieces (of the video) would be taken,” said a mother.

Another mother said the school sent an explanation that it did not intend the message to be police should not be called, but to give information about other options.

“They said in the email that they still liked working with the Denver police,” she said.

In a letter sent to the Denver school board, Colorado’s law enforcement professional associations representing Colorado’s law enforcement officers said their organizations are prepared to work with the district to improve relationships between students, educators and law enforcement. They requested the board communicate “accurate” information to district families about handling potentially violent situations and the best ways to engage law enforcement.

“The need for progress exists in every system that our communities depend on — including both criminal justice and our public schools,” reads the letter signed by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, the County Sheriffs of Colorado, and the Denver and Colorado Police Protective Associations.

“We must work together constructively to identify and implement solutions.”

He then drove up to Highlands Ranch, where he is accused of committing an armed robbery before heading up to Denver, where he was arrested.

Now, some of the state’s top law enforcement officers are saying this alleged crime spree — spanning four communities and more than 100 miles this past April — further demonstrates a lack of consequences for criminals in the court system.

“It sure would have been nice if this individual stayed in jail so there wasn’t future victims of crime,” Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen told Denver7 Investigates. “It was a very dangerous situation.”

Public records obtained by Denver7 Investigates describe Sandoval as a “career criminal,” “violent offender” and a “known gang member.” His record includes multiple felonies committed prior to the series of crimes in April.

Court records show that two days before his alleged crime spree, a magistrate in Pueblo County granted Sandoval his first of two PR bonds. A letter from Denver’s District Attorney’s Office, written to Denver7 Investigates, said the second PR bond was granted because the judge in the case did not find probable cause.

“Sadly, what has happened is this system is breaking down, and it’s telling the victims of crime you are not important,” Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said.

Sandoval’s criminal record also showed a history of failing to appear in court. However, his $50,000 cash-only bond has kept him in jail since his latest offenses. He is due back in court on Monday.

Sandoval is not alone in failing to appear for court dates. A previous Denver7 investigation showed that nearly one-third of suspects given PR bonds in Denver County Court failed to appear for a future court hearing.

Court officials in Denver declined to comment on their decisions regarding PR bonds.

“People deserve to be safe in their community,” Pazen said. “When you have repeat offenders that are getting multiple PR bonds throughout the entire state, we’ve got issues.”

Reprinted from  Man accused in Colorado crime spree given two PR bonds (thedenverchannel.com)

At the intersection of politics and the Rule of Law lies injustice. That injustice discredits our justice system and must be identified and rooted out.

Just after — and as a result of — the George Floyd murder and Elijah McClain’s death, the legislature passed a sweeping law enforcement reform bill. The new law, C.R.S 24-31-113, states in part:

“It is unlawful for any governmental authority…to engage in a pattern or practice…that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities… protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States or the State of Colorado.”

The bill charged the attorney general to take action to eliminate the pattern and practice whenever he had mere “reasonable cause” to believe it existed. Colorado’s AG Phil We iser has interpreted that broad language to empower him with limitless discretion to initiate an investigation of his choosing based upon whatever evidence he chooses to rely on.

On Aug. 11, 2020, Weiser revealed his unprecedented investigation of the “patterns and practices” of the Aurora Police Department, using the controversial oversight powers bestowed upon him by the progressive-led legislature and progressive Gov. Jared Polis less than two months before.

More than 13 months later, on Sept. 15, 2021, Weiser announced that Aurora PD had “a pattern and practice of race-based policing” based upon a report using selective data and outcome-driven analysis to arrive at the incendiary conclusion that the men and women of the Aurora PD engage in “a consistent pattern of illegal behavior.”

That dubious analysis involved the rudimentary comparison of the proportion of Aurora PD’s contacts and arrests of a racial group to that same group’s proportion of the population of Aurora.

The result of that taxpayer-funded debacle of a report was a coerced “consent decree” between the Aurora PD and the criminal justice-inexperienced Weiser’s AG office. That consent was compelled by the legislative-empowerment of the AG to use “a civil action (to) obtain all appropriate relief to eliminate the pattern and practice.” Aurora PD will operate under ongoing and mandated oversight for years.

Using the same logical fallacy — that“percentage of population” supports a finding of racially disparate patterns and practices — the proportion of Blacks cited, summonsed and arrested by Boulder police and sheriff’s deputies was 600% higher than their proportion in the general population of Boulder. Boulder is where Weiser spent years as a law professor and where Gov. Polis and his family make their home.

Of course, Weiser pursued no investigation of Boulder law enforcement for a racial disparity far greater than that claimed in Aurora.

On July 7, 2022, a report was released by the Vera Institute, an organization self-described as “working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all.”

The report was an Aurora-style analysis of statistics of racial disparities resulting from the Boulder DA’s prosecutions.

The numbers are damning.

The report found that the “Latinx/ White Prison Incarceration Disparity” from Boulder’s prosecutions more than doubled the national average. Although Black people comprise about 1% of Boulder’s population in 208/2019, they made up 5% of criminal defendants in Boulder. Black adults in Boulder had a felony case filing rate 7.5 times that of non-Hispanic Whites. That is 750% more than Whites. Additionally, “Black and Hispanic/Latinx people are disproportionately sentenced to prison.”

Despite making up only one in 25 of the Boulder DA’s cases, Blacks make up one in 12 of those sentenced to prison from Boulder.

Let me be clear: Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty — who I have known and worked with for many years — is as far from racially biased as any prosecutor in America. He is a good man who seeks to do justice for all in his community, even if we disagree about how best to do that. Despite our occasional disagreements and his max-out political contributions to Weiser, I would gladly work alongside Dougherty.

None of that should be relevant according to Weiser. The statistics and analysis speak for themselves. The racially disparate numbers from Boulder police, sheriffs and DA eclipse those of Aurora. Yet, for Polis’ home city, one that provides significant voter support for Weiser — there is nothing. No investigation. No consent decree. Nothing.

The only logical conclusion Colorado can draw is that the exercise of these broad AG super powers is politically motivated.

The woke, social-justice warriors — an outspoken and powerful base for Democrats — demanded action after the George Floyd and Elijah McClain incidents, and Weiser acceded to those demands. In Boulder, where progressive Democrats reign supreme, there is no comment from our state’s Democratic AG. Politics and the rule of law should not intersect. Here, they run on top of each other — and that is an injustice.

The lesson here is that what is good for Aurora is good for Boulder. Then again, maybe it isn’t good for either of them.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts The George Brauchler Show on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.

The racially disparate numbers from Boulder police, sheriffs and DA eclipse those of Aurora. Yet, for Polis’ home city, one that provides significant voter support for Weiser — there is nothing. No investigation. No consent decree. Nothing.

Consider this observation by Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen about Colorado’s dubious distinction as the No. 1 state for auto theft:

“When I speak to community groups and I ask if they’ve had their car stolen, (or) if they know somebody who’s had their car stolen, you just see arms going up … (and people) saying, ‘Well, I’ve had my car stolen twice.’ This is not OK.”

No, it’s not. That’s why Gazette editors Vince Bzdek and Luige Del Puerto sat down the other day with Pazen in our latest Colorado Conversation, “The State of the Streets,” an hourlong discussion in which Pazen details Colorado’s most alarming crime variables.

Here are some noteworthy takeaways from this enlightening interview:

Coloradans must speak up

Pazen implores people to join neighborhood watches and to let elected officials know how crime is affecting their communities.

“An engaged community is a strong community, and a strong community is a safe community. … (Express) ‘Hey, we’re not OK with the issues we’re seeing.’ ”

Minorities, poor are hit hardest

Denver’s murder rate alone has nearly quadrupled since 2010, doubled since 2015 and even spiked 20% from 2020 to 2021 as lenient criminal-justice “reforms” have overtaken the state. Pazen was dismayed to share that 85% of murder victims in Denver are “persons of color” — African Americans, Latinos and Asians.

As Pazen said, “these are families, people, destroyed” — most recently, a 14-year-old homicide victim in Denver.

“We’re often talking about (demographic) disparities, (but) when we’re talking about homicide, when we’re talking about people’s lives, we need to dig in to figure out what’s really going on here.”

Pazen said unprecedented car-theft numbers harm the working class most because “families are losing their source of transportation.” Pazen said compounding the problem is state law that has “decategorized” stolen automobiles worth less financially, even sometimes down to a misdemeanor, versus a higher-class felony for more expensive vehicles. Does this potentially incentivize thieves to take cheaper cars when they’re looking for the anonymity Pazen said a stolen vehicle provides?

Pazen said the “missing side of the equation” is ensuring violent offenders can’t harm their own communities “time after time,” adding consequences that need to be more severe and improving parole, probation, supervision and pretrial services.

Reforms have limits

Pazen was unflinching in asserting that reforms and alternative-policing methods shouldn’t replace evidence-based solutions. Rather, they complement. He said the state must “hit the pause button” and use data to gauge what’s not working as Colorado crime compounds.

Pazen was blunt about how the “decarceration” movement has helped fuel the state’s crime problem. When you combine the repeat nature of offenders, a 50% average recidivism rate within three years and a reduction of nearly 8,000 prisoners in the state’s system since 2008, the result is the current chaos across Colorado.

As for strategies like the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, Pazen said that though it gets a lot of attention and can “distract” from crime issues, a recent Stanford study confirms STAR is not a crime-prevention or reduction strategy “in any sense of the word.”

“We’ve had STAR more than two years yet continue to see increases in crime. … It may produce better outcomes for individuals in crisis — and that should be good enough for all of us. This isn’t a panacea, ‘ throw out a bunch of STAR vans and alternative response and crime goes down.’ You (must) address the criminal behavior.”