According to a CNN report on last week “a Boulder police officer observed a man sitting in a partially enclosed patio area directly behind a ‘Private Property’ sign and initiated contact with the man to determine if he was allowed to be on the property,” the department said.”
“After the man said he was a resident of the property and provided ID, the incident continued.”
The incident happened on March 1st. Someone inside the house began video taping the incident after the first officer arrives on the scene, recording for an additional 16+- minutes as more officers are called to the scene.
All told, eight cops responded.
The video is then uploaded to Facebook, then to YouTube, with the added message saying:
“Police Chief Greg Testa started with the usual prepared list of excuse’s for his officers on his watch “This is an extremely concerning issue, and one that we are taking very seriously,” blah blah blah!”
[Video contains strong, NSFW language and may require a sign-in to YouTube to view content.]
On Monday, March 4th, the City of Boulder, CO PD released a statement announcing they were looking into the incident and they had “launched an official internal affairs investigation.”
According to the press release, once the investigation is concluded it will be reviewed by the “Professional Standards Review Panel,” which consists of six community members and six members of the police department, who will then give their recommendations to the police chief, a process that will last 60-90 days.
After “sparking ire in the community,” a Boulder City Council Meeting held the following day on Tuesday was met with “angry and concerned citizens” as the City Council “grilled” BPD police chief Greg Testa, the Colorado Daily reported.
“This is an extremely concerning issue, and one that we are taking very seriously,” Testa said, reading a prepared statement to council Tuesday.”
Testa said the man police confronted did nothing wrong or unlawful. He also confirmed that one officer drew his gun, though he said the officer pointed it at the ground. Based on preliminary information, other officers also wielded a less-lethal shotgun and a shield, he said.
“An internal affairs investigation is ongoing, and the initial responding officer is on administrative leave, he said.”