Distributed to the Stapleton, Park Hill, Lowry, Montclair, Mayfair, Hale and East Colfax neighborhoods DENVER, COLORADO
FEBRUARY 2015
Making Police and Community One
By Madeline Schroeder he death of unarmed 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and the decision not to indict white officer Darren Wilson, who shot him, has captured national attention. While the exact details of the interaction and subse-
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quent events remain unclear, it is very clear the American public is reacting. The event brings to light a national concern that black lives matter less. Renewed conversations about racial disparities occupy city forums, neighborhood meetings, and family (continued on page 4) dinner tables.
Denver dignitaries lead a crowd of nearly 30,000 people at the 2015 Martin Luther King “Marade” on January 19 in City Park. Improving police-community relationships was one of the issues addressed. Left to right: Albus Brooks, City Councilman, District 8 Anthony Grimes, Pastor Stephanie O’Malley, Executive Director of Safety Robert White, Chief of Denver Police Angela Williams, State Representative, District 7 Elias Diggins, Interim Sheriff
Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator Michael B. Hancock, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Governor, and his son Teddy Wellington Webb, former Denver Mayor Corey Gardner, U.S. Senator Far right, unidentified
Remembering Dearfield: Legislators Face Thorny Black History Is Colorado History State Issues in 2015 By Carol Roberts o better acquaint our readers with their legislators, the Front Porch asked our area’s state senators and representatives to share their knowledge and views on some of the big issues this year. Colorado is the only state where citizens, rather than legislators, vote on
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The town of Dearfield, near Wiggins, Colo., was founded in 1910 by Oliver Toussaint Jackson as an African-American agricultural colony and later abandoned in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl. Read about this almost-forgotten town on page 34.
Willie Matthews at DAM
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Five Businesses at Stanley
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Kids in the Kitchen
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taxes. Regardless of your views on TABOR, taxes or politics, we believe the information here will help you understand the complexity of setting state policies and providing state services without setting taxes. We hope this will help you make an informed decision when you vote. (continued on page 6)
2015 Guide to Summer Camps
New! Front Porch Fitness Guide in March Submit your suggestions for local exercise options: gyms, yoga, dance, exercise classes, walking/running/cycling groups. Give name, contact info. and description. Send to FrontPorch3@gmail.com
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(continued from page 1) 31 Steele Dentistry of Stapleton In Denver, 30,000 people gathered on January 19 at City Trommeter Orthodontics 25 Park for the Martin Luther King “Marade,” one of the largest 19 Williams Family Dentistry turnouts in the city’s history. Many wore shirts that read “Black Design and Best Builders 10 Remodeling Lives Matter.” BluePrint Design & Construction, 25 While Denver has not experienced an event like Ferguson, Inc. the event sends a forlorn message to the African-American Continued Diane Gordon Design 20 Auto 35 Autowash @ Stapleton community of what can happen to their young men. In a 33 Elevation Basements DART Auto 31 roundtable discussion about race relations, Mayor Michael Three Week Kitchens, Baths in a 31 Week Bars 15 Stapleton Tap House Hancock said he prays for his son every day. Anchor Center for Blind Children 23 Events Children's Avid4 Adventure 26 State Representative of District 7, Angela Williams knows Camps 2 Isabella Bird Community School her son has been racially profiled several times. Williams is Bladium Sports and Fitness Center 28 Financial 32 Edward Jones pushing for police reform that includes better training and 18 Thrivent Financial, Ted Kouba 28 CorePower Yoga Stapleton strengthening the current racial profiling law. Denver Zoo 3 Bladium Sports and Fitness Center 17 Fitness “Tensions between police officers and minorities are a time27 Jewish Community Center Jewish Community Center 25 less tale,” says Assistant State Historian Erin Cole. Incidents in 28 Stanley British Primary School Flooring 21 Cross Flooring which black men are killed by white officers, whether it is right Augustana Lutheran Church 32 Churches Health and Colorado Health Foundation 7 Wellness or wrong, continually fuel distrust of the Anglo establishment, Denver Presbyterian Church 25 which law enforcement traditionally has been, she explains. CU Plastic Surgery 18 Park Hill United Methodist 22 Church In the 60s and 70s in Denver, there were protests against IMAGE Research Group 20 Stapleton Fellowship Church 20 police brutality, not much different than the recent protests New Day Acupuncture 12 Community Denver Recycles 5 Organization surrounding deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, Home Builders New Town Builders 20 Interim Sheriff Elias Diggins (far left), Denver Police Chief Robert White (middle) and District 7 State Representative Angela Williams Stapleton Master Community according to Cole. 2 10 Homes Assoc Luther King “Marade” (right) take their places at the beginning of the Martin on January 19 at Parkwood City Park. Officers today are well trained on what they can and cannot Home 34 Dance Classes Dance Institute LLC Rare Finds Warehouse 16 legally do. They almost never break the law but may push the nity presented by Ferguson to lookDental honestly at theAdepartment’s “To say that youFurnishings have officers in a neighborhood who have an Wild Smile Pediatric Dentistry 10 Rocky Mountain Hospital for limits of their power, according to Denver Police Chief Robert relationship with the community and its perception of racial forHospitals the challenges,Children respect and understanding33of 13 Lowry Family Dentistry appreciation White. Number Cleaning be accurate. 18 profiling. the culture of that neighborhood, now1 House that would Housecleaning Quebec Square Family Dentistry 22 “Part of my job as the chief—part of my job in policing altoLandscape “There are no guarantees that there can’t be a Ferguson in That’s not necessarily determined by the color of an officer’s 32 Urban Gardens, Inc. Stapleton Dental 29 Architects gether—is to really raise the bar and officers’ consciousness and any city in America. What I think we can do is minimize the skin.” Steele Dentistry of Stapleton 31 15 Gama Law Firm, LLC say, before you make some of these decisions that are impacting chances of that occurring and we’ve done that by the philosophy District 511Lawyers Lieutenant Robert Wyckoff, who is white, Trommeter Orthodontics 25 Litvak Litvak Mehrtens and 25 people in a negative way, you need to ask yourself, is it really of understanding the police and community are one,” White previously worked in District 2Carlton, whereP.C. he was regularly around 19 Williams Family Dentistry necessary?” says. gang members. Liquor He focused on finding similarities with the Quebec Liquors 32 gang Stores Design and Best Builders 10 An elementary example is a senior citizen who parks on He calls policing the trust business; winning the communimembers—both have families, spend their time in the same Remodeling Medical 12 Advanced Pediatric Associates Doctors Auto Autowash @ Stapleton 35 trust is key to their BluePrint Design & Construction, a street to go to Sunday ty’s community, celebrate the same 25 Inc. Allergy & Asthma Care and DART Auto 31 16 service. She and an officer success. Trust begins with holidays. Going Prevention Center into a community Continued Diane Gordon Design 20 Bars 15 Stapleton Tap House across the parking lot wave exposure. During his that doesn’t know or trust an officer Colorado Institute for Maternal & “...before you make some 9 Elevation Basements 33 Fetal Health Children's Avid4 Adventure 26 to each other as she walks three years as chief, he has makes it a lot more difficult, he Camps theseBaths decisions that are Three Weekof Kitchens, in a 18 Comprehensive Pain Specialists 31 inside. After service, she Week on getting officers says. “If you’re uncooperative with 28 Bladium Sports and Fitness Centerfocused Denver Dermatology 30 impacting people in a returns to her car to find a Events involved in the commu-Anchor Center for Blind Children 23 me, I’m still going to give you the 28 CorePower Yoga Stapleton 29 Foothills Urogynecology, PC Isabella Birdnegative Community School ticket for parking too close way, 2you need nity. Denver officers work benefit of the doubt and say ‘OK, Denver Zoo 3 Med-Fit, PLLCWeight Loss to the intersection. While the hours in the Edward Jones you’re going to go to jail and36I 27 sameFinancial Jewish Community Center Specialist to ask yourself,32 is it really 18 Thrivent Financial, Ted Kouba she was at fault, was this same areas each day and know you don’t want to wear11the 28 Stanley British Primary School Mental Health Center of Denver necessary?” Bladium Sports and Fitness Center 17 Fitness necessary? are required to know a handcuffs, but I’m going to talk Augustana Lutheran Church 32 Churches 35 you Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians Jewish Community Center 25 White says no. The —Police Chief Robert White complete profile of where into them right now.” Denver Presbyterian Church 25 New West Physicians / Ascent Flooring 21 Cross Flooring Family senior citizen may tell her Park Hill United Methodist they The Medicine trust goes both ways,24 22 patrol, such as busiChurch Health and Rose Medical Center don’t trust29 friends about the experinesses and churches. though. If officers their Colorado Health Foundation 7 Stapleton Fellowship Church 20 Wellness Sapphire Pediatrics 34 ence and be less inclined communities, they may act out of fear, which can be interpreted District 11 City Councilman Chris Community Denver Recycles 5 CU Plastic Surgery 18 Organization St Joseph Hospital Certified expert in to call the police in the as racism, according to Dr. John Nicoletti, a -national Herndon says officers in his district 5 Nurse-Midwives IMAGE Research Group 20 Stapleton Master Community future—two strikes against 2 Police and Public Safety Psychology. He has worked with23the are proactive community members. Assoc Stapleton Pediatrics New Day Acupuncture 12 the police. While continuing Denver Police Department since 1976 and been a part of33several 34 There has been a lot of national Dance Classes Dance Institute LLC Stapleton Women's Health, PC New Town Builders Home Builders 20 City Councilmen Chris Herndon, District 11, (left) and Alto educate about the law, high profile investigations, including the Columbine High talk whether officers need to reflect Dental A Wild Smile Pediatric Dentistry 10 12 The Reid Clinic bus Brooks, District 8, (right) attended the MLK “Marade” 10 Parkwood Homes White wants young cops School and the Virginia Tech shootings. the community they patrol. Should a 13 Lowry Family wore Dentistry Museum 18 History Colorado Center in City Park. Like many in the crowd, Brooks a Home Rare Finds Warehouse 16 to understand the culture black community Nicoletti says people don’t think of cops as humans who Furnishingshave all black offi22 Quebec Family Dentistry “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt, as part of the Square movement that Music Lessons Swallow Hill Music Association 35 he is trying to create at the cers? Should a Latino community have mistakes. “They have families too, and they can get Rocky Mountain Hospitalmake for began after the grand jury declinedStapleton to indict Ferguson, Hospitals 33 Dental 29 Children Opticians 24 Stapleton Family Eye Center Denver Police Department. Mo. officer for shooting and killing unarmed African-Afri- all Latino officers? “It’s not practical, nervous,” Nicoletti says, citing the volume of threats against 31 Steele Dentistry of Stapleton 18 Housecleaning Number 1 House Cleaning 33 He has taken the opportunor do I think it’s right,” White says. Denver officers Painting since Ferguson.Ciechanowicz Painting can teenager Michael Brown. Trommeter Orthodontics 25
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Right, participants began at the MLK statue in City Park and marched to the State Capitol.
Often, encounters between an officer and a citizen are fused with adrenaline. One is in control and the other is “being punished,” according to Steve Charbonneau, executive director of Find Solutions. Find Solutions is a private mediation company that contracts with police departments in Denver, Boulder, and Douglas counties, as well as Aurora and Colorado Springs. They receive the majority of citizen complaints filed to the Department of Internal Affairs, including discourteous, unprofessional, failure-to-communicate, and racial profiling complaints. They average 200 complaints a year. Denver is one of few U.S. cities that use a mediation service for complaints against officers. The officer and citizen meet with a professional mediator and discuss what happened and how each party felt. After removing the adrenaline of the initial encounter, officers and citizens are able to discuss the incident civilly and see the other side. Officers learn how they’re being perceived from the racial profiling perspective and the community member learns there is a lot more involved than their race or gender. “Whether you’re the officer or the community member, those [complaints] are largely based upon perception by either of the parties and so it’s most helpful for people to sit down and talk about that,” Charbonneau says. Officers are significantly less likely to have complaints against them for the same reason after doing mediation. To hold officers accountable and provide better evidence in situations like that in Ferguson, the Denver Police Department is currently seeking funds to purchase body cameras. Some research suggests body cameras decrease the number of complaints against officers and
A personalized nurse-midwife experience at Denver’s newest baby hospital.
decrease the use of force by officers. When officers do make mistakes, they need to have the courage to admit it, according to Lieutenant Wyckoff. “We need to get out in front of the story before it takes on a life of its own. So many “negative” stories can be prevented by courageous leaders who admit to the mistakes we sometimes make. The overwhelming majority of contact our Denver officers have with the public is positive in nature, but if we screw up, we admit to it, involve the community by listening and understanding, correct the problem through discipline and training, and we move forward.” Share your comments at FrontPorchStapleton.com
Certified Nurse-Midwives at the New Saint Joseph Hospital Saint Joseph Hospital’s certified nurse-midwives offer personalized care, outstanding outcomes and a wide range of pregnancy care options for expecting families. At the new Saint Joseph Hospital, which was designed for mother and baby care, families can take full advantage of the nurse-midwife approach to childbirth.
Denver Composts is Expanding in parts of Stapleton and Park Hill. Did you know that more than 50% of what Denver residents throw in the trash could be composted and kept out of the landfill?
DO YOUR PART. ORDER YOUR GREEN CART TODAY.
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Personalized Care Backed by Denver’s Top Baby Experts Nurse-midwives at Saint Joseph Hospital offer: • Emotional, physical and spiritual support for mom and baby throughout pregnancy and childbirth. • Some of Colorado’s lowest C-section and preterm labor rates. • Access to board certified doctors and top specialists. • Centering PregnancyTM groups. All the amenities and experience of Saint Joseph Hospital, Colorado’s top baby hospital. Two Convenient Locations in Stapleton and Uptown • 2807 Roslyn Street in Stapleton • 1960 Ogden Street, Suite 320 in Uptown
To find out if service is available at your home, to sign-up for service, or to just learn more about the program visit DenverGov.org/DenverRecycles or call 311 (720-913-1311)
Call 303-318-2620 to learn more or to schedule an appointment.
The compost expansion is only available in portions of Park Hill and Stapleton. Not all Denver Solid Waste Management customers are eligible for service in 2015. Denver Composts is a fee-based service.
saintjosephdenver.org/midwife
Stapleton Front Porch 5
February 2015