Undercover cops were among the unruly at DNC

Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
November 7, 2008

When a Jefferson County deputy deployed pepper spray into a crowd during the first night of the Democratic National Convention, he did not know that his targets were undercover Denver police officers.

During a melee that occurred Aug. 25 between protesters, police and bystanders near Civic Center Park, undercover Denver detectives staged a struggle with a police commander in order to get out of the crowd undetected.

A Jefferson County deputy, unaware of the presence of undercover police, thought that the commander was being attacked and deployed the pepper spray, according to a police use-of-force report obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

The report does not say whether the pepper spray used on the undercover police officers was the first deployment or whether the melee already was underway.

About 106 people were arrested during the incident that took place at 15th Street and Court Place.

Denver police have testified during court trials that they deployed officers to the area that night because they had gathered intelligence that anarchists had planned to gather in Civic Center Park, then move toward the 16th Street Mall to wreak havoc at delegate hotels and other businesses during the DNC.

Read article