38 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2017 P eople always ask why police and community leaders can’t work together to make things better for cops and citizens alike. In Denver the answer ap- pears to be irreconcilable differences. According to a recent article from the Denver Post, Denver police officers have walked out of a project where police and citizens were working together to update use of force poli- cies. According to the Post: “The sole officer who re- mained on the advisory committee that was formed in April dropped out Tues- day after sending a letter to the police chief tendering his resignation from the group.” The last man standing was Tyson Worrell. He’s the treasurer of the Denver Police Protective Associa- tion. In his letter to the chief he said he’d tried his best but there was just no way he could continue with the effort. Worrell said the ideas and proposals coming from those outside of law en- forcement do not reflect the type of policy all Denver citizens expect from police. Furthermore, it puts officers at risk in the performance of their duties,Worrell’s letter said. “Therefore, I cannot continue to participate nor does the draft reflect any of the input I have provided. I cannot endorse it.” Worrell held out longer than most. Other officers, includ- ing trainers from the department’s academy, bolted much earlier. Some commit- tee members said it appears that the police left the working group in attempt to fos- ter the idea that changes to the use- of-force policy are being forced on them by outsid- ers. “We have no one from the police department who is participating in this process,” said committee member Robert Davis, vice president of social justice for the Greater Den- ver Ministerial Alliance. “That’s ultimately going to present a problem.” Denver PD Deputy Chief Matt Murray apparently still attends the group’s weekly meetings. However, he says he’s just there to answer tech- nical questions about po- licing and isn’t interested in offering any opinions about changes to standing policy. Last cop walks from UOF project Prosecutor decision is coming According to recent re- porting from the Associ- ated Press, a prosecutor in Minnesota says he will decide by the end of the year whether to charge the Minneapolis police officer that fatally shot Justine Damond, who had called 911 about a possible sexual assault in her neighbor- hood. Hennepin County At- torney Mike Freeman re- leased a statement to the media saying his office has gotten a ton of public pres- sure recently – not to indict the officer but simply to de- cide whether or not charges should be brought. TheshootingofDamond, a 40-year-old Australian native killed by Officer Mohamed Noor, became international news over- night. Damond had called police to report a possible assault and met officers in an alley behind her home where Noor shot her for unknown reasons. Noor has refused to be inter- viewed about the incident and has not commented publicly about what hap- pened. “We have received some e-mails and phone calls from members of the com- munity demanding that we charge the officer im- mediately and ascribing all kinds of nefarious reasons as to why we haven’t done so,” Freeman said. “The truth is, we are fol- lowing the same procedure we have with the three previous officer-involved shootings.” Don’t miss the heart-warming (even if it’s lacking some details because it’s from Facebook) tale of the cop that made a kid’s birthday wish come true on page 6. “The soul is healed by being with children.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky