'I'm Proud Of The Demonstrations': Denver Mayor Michael Hancock Marches With Protesters Downtown
DENVER (CBS4)- Denver Mayor Michael Hancock joined protesters in downtown Denver on Wednesday evening as hundreds gathered first at the state Capitol and then moved on to the streets.
This marks several days in a row of protests, including several violent nights where Denver police deployed tear gas to break up unruly crowds that were throwing projectiles at police.
Officers dressed in riot gear and the mayor declared a curfew in Denver over the weekend that lasted several nights to keep crowds from getting out of control.
On Wednesday, the marchers were peaceful as they made their way along the 16th Street Mall.
"This is an amazing, peaceful, successful demonstration of raising the voices around freedom and justice and togetherness. I'm proud of the demonstrations going on here tonight," said Hancock.
I'm honored that the organizers of this evening's #GeorgeFloyd protest asked me to join them. I'm in awe of the work they are doing to bring light to this very important issue of injustice across the nation. pic.twitter.com/msSTs705qk
— Michael B. Hancock (@MayorHancock) June 4, 2020
On Wednesday, hundreds of people were seen lying on their stomachs with their hands held behind their backs for several minutes in front of the state Capitol to honor George Floyd who died while in custody of Minneapolis police.
Hancock later addressed hundreds, if not thousands, at the Greek Amphitheatre. Organizers introduced him noting they did not invite him for superficial reasons.
"The person I'm bringing up right now, I'm not bringing up for photo op. I'm not bringing him up here so that we can take pictures and say he talked to the crowd and that he can go hide back in his ivory tower," the speaker said.
Hancock thanked protest organizers and praised long-time civil rights activist Alvertis Simmons. He then addressed the need for action after all of the current dialogue.
"We want to be successful, we want our voices heard," he said. "The real success of this movement is when it's over. That you're willing to say 'here am I, send me' I'll show up in the room. I'll sit in the planning sessions. We'll sit in on Zoom. We'll figure this out. We're all tired of talking, yes. It's time to get to work."
Wednesday evening is the same day the Denver Police Department hosted a virtual town hall to get feedback from the community on what is working and what is not among the neighborhoods.