Police are watching, videotaping protesters

During protest events at the Democratic National Convention this week a number of police have been spotted videotaping participants, often refusing to identify themselves.

At an anti-war march on Sunday that drew approximately 1,000 people, there were numerous police recording the peaceful protests.

This Denver police officer refused to give his business card to the The Colorado Independent upon request and hid his identifying badge inside is uniform. The last name 'Duran' could be read on this shirt. (Photo/Erin Rosa)
This Denver police officer refused to give his business card to the The Colorado Independent upon request and hid his identifying badge inside is uniform. The last name 'Duran' could be read on this shirt. (Photo/Erin Rosa)

This Denver police officer refused to give his business card to the The Colorado Independent upon request and hid his identifying badge inside is uniform. The last name “Duran” could be read on this shirt. (Photo/Erin Rosa)

Here is the Denver Police Department policy regarding identification:

RR-129 Giving Name and Badge Number

Upon request from any person, officers shall provide their names, badge numbers and unit assignments, either in writing or by presenting a business card, unless such action is likely to jeopardize the successful completion of a police assignment. Business cards are required to be provided, without being asked, to any person an officer has detained in a traffic stop if that person is not cited or arrested.

At first, this man said he wasn't with the police, but when a legal observer asked why he was wearing  a lanyard with a badge identifying him as a Denver police officer the man just shrugged. When asked for his business card, the man said he didn't have any to give out. (Photo/Erin Rosa)
At first, this man said he wasn't with the police, but when a legal observer asked why he was wearing a lanyard with a badge identifying him as a Denver police officer the man just shrugged. When asked for his business card, the man said he didn't have any to give out. (Photo/Erin Rosa)

When asked about the policy and why Denver police were videotaping peaceful activities, law enforcement officials released a statement to The Colorado Independent saying, “There are many entities videotaping the events associated with the Democratic National Convention. We do not discuss the means and methods of how security is carried out.”

Another police officer videotaping protesters at Larimer Street and Speer Boulevard along the city-designated parade route. This time the man's badge was clearly identifiable. (Photo/Erin Rosa)
Another police officer videotaping protesters at Larimer Street and Speer Boulevard along the city-designated parade route. This time the man's badge was clearly identifiable. (Photo/Erin Rosa)

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.

Comments are closed.