Denver’s police chief says he’s disappointed that Denver South High School showed a video to its students instructing them to “avoid the police” because “police have been trained to see people of color, gender non-conforming folks and Muslims as criminals, they often treat victims as perpetrators of violence.”
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen responded to the video’s showing by saying, “That training doesn’t exist. That training doesn’t exist in this department. It doesn’t exist in any police training that I’m aware of in this state or this country.” He adds that “rhetoric” in the video does not reflect the realities in Denver.
The principal allegedly sent a letter to parents about the video “Don’t be a Bystander: 6 Tips for Responding to Racist Attacks” saying it was to empower people who witness such attacks.
A spokesman for Denver Public Schools tells WANE that the video was not fully vetted before being shown to the student body during an assembly Tuesday morning.
The video was produced by the Barnard Center for Research on Women in New York.
