EDITORIAL: Tricky first case for monitor
Denver Post
Nov 18, 2005. pg. B.06
Conflicting accounts about how a Denver man who had a confrontation with police on Nov. 11 was injured are fast becoming a jumble that the city's new independent police monitor will have to help untangle.
Following the incident, the police chief quickly approved his officers' actions, and the victim's brother almost as quickly claimed police brutality, heightening the tension for police monitor Richard Rosenthal's first high-profile assignment.
Rosenthal's office officially opened on Aug. 1. The monitor is part of sweeping police reforms adopted after fatal police shootings of mentally handicapped teen Paul Childs in July 2003 and Frank Lobato as he sat in bed in July 2004.
Thomas Charles Armstrong, 37, a brother of longtime police critic Earl Armstrong, was taken to University of Colorado Hospital with critical injuries after a 1 a.m. altercation with officers on Nov. 11. By Wednesday, Armstrong had improved and was transferred to Denver Health Medical Center.
There are varying versions of what happened. Police say an officer who stopped to question Thomas Armstrong about suspicious behavior was attacked. Chief Gerry Whitman says it appears officers 'did exactly what they were supposed to do.'
Earl Armstrong, who wasn't present, counters that cops beat his brother in retaliation for Earl Armstrong's criticism of police, and at a Wednesday news conference produced two witnesses who generally supported his view.
But a neighborhood resident claims she saw the incident from her kitchen window and that the victim fought with somebody else before police arrived.
Given the murkiness surrounding the incident, it's fortunate that the investigation is being scrutinized by an additional set of eyes from the beginning.
Rosenthal said he was notified of the incident at 2:14 a.m. Nov. 11 and arrived at the scene, at East 11th Avenue and Xenia Street, within an hour. The monitor spoke with crime-scene analysts and also watched detectives interview two civilians and four officers via closed-circuit television.
As the police department's investigations progress, Rosenthal will review reports, confer with internal affairs officers on a possible additional investigation, and then make a recommendation to the chief and manager of safety. If he's not satisfied, he can do his own investigation.
There will be a public report, Rosenthal said, because transparency is an important part of the monitor system. We hope the monitor can peel away the veils of secrecy that sometimes have obscured facts of serious police incidents, and it looks like he has his work cut out for him on his first big case.