560 area officers to assist Denver during Democratic convention

Aurora leads way with 300 as cities work out details

By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Linda McConnell / Special To The Rocky

Bob Wilson, head trainer for the Golden Police Department K-9 unit, works with new recruit Max this week. Golden will lend its K-9 unit resources to the Democratic National Convention security effort.

Police and sheriff's departments around the metro area have committed more than 560 officers to help Denver during August's Democratic National Convention.

The number likely will grow significantly, as some agreements aren't yet in place and officials at several departments refused to disclose anything about their involvement in the convention, citing security concerns.

Denver police administrators are slowly locking up department-by-department commitments that will provide the city with the officers needed to patrol the streets and provide security for the convention, which is expected to draw 50,000 visitors Aug. 25 through 28.

This week, the Aurora and Boulder city councils formally approved contracts to provide officers during the DNC.

Leading the list is Aurora, where Police Chief Dan Oates pledged 300 officers from his force of 618, in part because he believes it will be good experience for them.

Oates pledged the officers last summer, after Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman wrote to every department in the metro area to ask for help.

But it took months to seal the deal. The delay came over questions about who would pay the officers and whether Denver would provide insurance coverage - both for lawsuits and for on-the-job injuries.

In the end, the federal government provided $50 million to cover convention security costs, and Denver agreed to purchase the insurance.

That sparked the flurry of formal agreements.

"We all have the same concerns," Oates said of the suburban police and sheriff's departments.

Other agreements are expected to be approved in the coming weeks.

Officers helping during the convention could end up performing a variety of duties. Some will be on the front lines around the Pepsi Center and in the city - providing crowd control, looking for evidence that someone is planning to disrupt things, conducting security sweeps. Others will work the streets in Denver, patrolling neighborhoods while the city's officers are working on the convention.

The security plan has been the subject of immense secrecy - to the point that the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit to force Denver officials to disclose how they are spending federal grants and other public money on equipment for police officers to use at the convention.

Officials at a number of law enforcement agencies would not reveal the level to which they will participate.

"I know there are some very specific security concerns about providing that number," said Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Virtually every law enforcement agency in the metro area is expected to provide officers for convention security.

And while Aurora may have made the biggest commitment, plenty of small departments are pitching in to help, too.

The Edgewater Police Department, with 15 officers, plans to send five to Denver for the convention.

And Erie Police Chief John Hall, whose department has 20 officers, plans to help. He said Erie's contribution will be at least one officer - and perhaps as many as four.

At each department, officials basically have had to ask themselves the same question.

"Obviously one of the first considerations we made was whether we could staff our own operations first," Brighton police Sgt. John Bradley said.

In many departments, administrators canceled vacations and training around the time of the convention and put virtually all remaining officers on 12-hour shifts.

"You can't sustain that forever, but you can sustain that for six days," said Aurora's Oates.

Oates also took an additional step: Detectives who haven't worked the streets in years will pull their uniforms out of the closet and handle patrol duties.

"That's not a problem, and in some ways it will be a good thing for them," Oates said.

vaughank@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5019

Law enforcement pitches in

Several metro-area law enforcement agencies have confirmed their agreements to loan officers to Denver during the Democratic National Convention Aug. 25-28. Here is a look at departments that have disclosed their commitments:

* Aurora Police Department: 300

* Lakewood Police Department: 130

* Boulder Police Department: 29

* Boulder Sheriff's Department: 25

* Commerce City Police Department: 20 to 25

* Northglenn Police Department: 17 to 19

* Castle Rock Police Department: 10 to 14

* Longmont Police Department: 12, plus one city firefighter in his capacity as a member of a multi-agency bomb squad

* Golden Police Department: 11

* Louisville Police Department: 6

* Edgewater Police Department: 5

* Erie Police Department: 1 to 4

• June 7, 2008

  10:43 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  CHYNAWHITE writes:

  great

• June 8, 2008

  8:59 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  Poor cops..wouldnt want to be them during this fiasco!