Several dozen people, some donning shields and helmets, and police clashed at the headquarters of the Denver Police Department on Saturday night.
A small fire is inside the gated area of DPD headquarters. pic.twitter.com/0IAiQ697EF
— adigtv (@AdiGTV) August 23, 2020
A group had organized a protest to start at 8 p.m. in response to an incident earlier this week when police and others clashed as the city removed people experiencing homelessness from a camp near 29th and Glenarm. A flier told people to “bring your gear.”
Sometime before 9 p.m., a van arrived to provide some of the people with shields. As the people marched toward the Denver police headquarters, Denver7 reporters witnessed people with a bat and an ax.
Protestors are pulling shields outside a van.@DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/xMGWvNi3Eu
— adigtv (@AdiGTV) August 23, 2020
The group expressed various motives: defunding or abolishing the police, ending homeless sweeps, stopping racism, justice for Elijah McClain and more, including several who said they were there for vandalism and were done with peaceful protesting, according to crews at the scene.
Around 9 p.m., the group reached the headquarters, and some of the people with shields and umbrellas approached a fence that had been set up toward the entrance of the building and began to shake it.
At one point, police clad in riot gear used nonlethal chemical munitions, including what appeared to be pepper balls and smoke. The protesters were seen throwing several fireworks into the area where the police were set behind the fence.
Full story via Denver7
