Krieger: Broncos' reward a start at solving real problem

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 11, 2007 at midnight

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Let's start with the good news.

Amid the deafening silence from prominent athletes and political leaders on the Denver gang violence that took Darrent Williams' life 11 days ago, the Broncos on Wednesday became the first prominent actor in the drama to step to the plate.

Three top officials from the team's business and administrative side met with the Rev. Leon Kelly, who runs a starving local anti-gang program, for about 90 minutes Wednesday morning. Kelly, as he often does, made an impassioned plea for help fighting a gang problem that is expanding from traditional outposts in Northeast Denver and Aurora into downtown clubs. Williams was murdered leaving a downtown club.

A few hours after that meeting, the Broncos announced a $100,000 reward for "information that leads to the arrest and filing of murder charges against a suspect or suspects" involved in Williams' killing.

Because, you know, that $2,000 Crimestoppers reward just might not convince someone to risk his or her life by talking to police about known gang members.

"We know who did this," Kelly told me. "They're looking for him. But even if they bring him in, as they say, 'We have suspects but no witnesses.' People are not willing to step up and say, 'This is what I saw, this is why I know that these guys did it.' "

In fact, you can see Kelly's counsel in the wording of the Broncos' reward. The traditional "arrest and conviction" language suggests court testimony.

That's what Kallonniann Louisa Clark-James was getting ready to provide against alleged Crips leader Brian Hicks when she was gunned down in December. That's a powerful disincentive for potential witnesses.

So the Broncos' reward requires only arrest and the filing of murder charges. Even at that, $100,000 might not be enough - how much is your life worth? - but it has a better chance than $2,000, which, as Kelly pointed out, "wouldn't even take care of your funeral."

Whenever I talk to Kelly about Williams, he mentions his "other DW" - 18-year-old Derrek Ward, gunned down in Aurora in December. That crime got almost no attention, but it, too, remains unsolved, and for the same reasons. As Kelly was trying to persuade potential witnesses to come forward in that case, Clark-James was murdered.

But Wednesday's meeting was about more than solving the Williams murder. It was about a Denver gang problem that political and business leaders won't acknowledge because . . . well . . . it probably wouldn't help bring the Democratic convention to town. It probably wouldn't convince you to go to a downtown club.

In short, it probably wouldn't be good for business.

"A lot of these gangsters are claiming certain clubs as theirs - 'This is where we get to go hang out,' " Kelly said. "We've been having a number of assaults, a number of shootings at our clubs down here. And for some people, it's a business. They don't want folks to know that this type of activity is taking place in these clubs."

So the Broncos deserve credit for acknowledging the problem, although they made no commitments to Kelly.

"We are, as an organization, still grieving about this," said a Broncos official who asked not to be identified.

"A lot of people are having a really hard time with it. So we're dealing with that issue.

"We're dealing with, and have been dealing with, taking care of Mrs. Williams and the needs that she had to bury her child. We have been dealing with setting up a fund to make sure that Darrent's kids are taken care of.

"Now we're dealing with how we're going to address taking care of our own players and people in our organization to get them to understand what this is all about, some of the things they need to look out for to avoid getting into these situations.

"Those are the issues that we have to put at the forefront. In terms of what else we can do in the community, we met with the Reverend this morning for the first time on this particular issue. He's reaching out, we recognize we've got to do something to help, so that we can benefit at-risk kids and provide positive, safe environments that allow them to make positive choices. We just don't know what that is right now."

In fairness, the Broncos already underwrite the Boys & Girls Club branch in Montbello that bears their name. That's not in Kelly's gang territory, but it's important work.

They put about as much into that every year as Kelly's entire budget to run his Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives program.

"It was very productive dialogue, and (Kelly) spoke from the heart," the Broncos official said. "He's a straight shooter. There are a lot of guys doing stuff like that who have their own agenda. That's not his deal.

"I think we've got to figure out a way. But I don't think we can solve this ourselves. I don't think we can be asked to solve this ourselves. And he doesn't, either."

Said Kelly afterward: "We talked, and it looks real good. But, you know, we'll see."

This is the voice of experience talking. Once the television lights move on to the next story, Kelly finds out who's serious.

But the Broncos, at least, have been heard from, and Kelly gives them props for that.

How about anybody else? Anybody heard from the mayor on this?

"The mayor's called a couple of times to offer his condolences," said the Broncos official. "I don't know what behind-the-scenes discussions they're having. But I will say this: The Denver police are doing all they can. They've been in constant contact with us. We've been very grateful for and admiring of all they've been doing.

"We need a lot more than the Denver Broncos to help out The Rev. and this problem."

Do we ever.

kriegerd@RockyMountainNews.com

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