DENVER – A judge is limiting police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other nonlethal weapons against people protesting against police brutality in Denver.
In a temporary restraining order issued Friday night, U.S. District Judge Brooke Jackson said four people who filed a class action lawsuit against the city accusing police of using the weapons to assert dominance and suppress their right to protest had made a strong case the police had used excessive force.
Jackson said police often have a “thankless job” and should be able to defend themselves. However, he said they have failed to police themselves at the protests and said an on-scene supervisor with the rank of captain or above must approve the use of any chemical weapons and projectiles.
He also ordered police not to aim the nonlethal weapons at people’s heads and groins, as the plaintiffs alleged had been done, and to use body cameras.
The plaintiffs presented videos of police firing pepper spray at protesters who were speaking or yelling at police but not acting violently and of police firing projectiles at a person serving as a protest medic who was helping an unconscious person.
“Those videos show that the officers had ample time for reflection and were not dealing with dangerous conditions. Named plaintiffs were attacked with rubber bullets, tear gas, etc., allegedly solely on the basis of their presence at the demonstrations, their viewpoint or their attempts to render treatment to injured protesters,” Jackson wrote.
Denver police said it would comply with the order, which it said was largely in line with its policy but would ask Jackson to make some changes given limitations on staffing and body cameras.
