Tag Archives: Million Mask March

Denver judge dismisses case against masked marcher who knew his rights

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DENVER, COLORADO – US veteran cryptologist Jordan McDuffie was detained after last year’s Million Mask March and charged with two counts, Obstruction and Pedestrian-in-the-roadway, for stepping unto Lincoln Avenue west of the capitol steps when DPD says the Anon- masked protester they believe to have been Jordan ought not have. Before his May 24 jury trial could begin and after offering increasingly favorable plea deals, the city motioned to dismiss the charges.

Jordan, age 26, is a recently discharged vet. He was arrested at the march held every year in Denver on Guy Fawkes Day, Nov5. On November 5, 2016, after meandering about Denver’s pedestrian mall, keeping to the sidewalk as small demonstrations are wont to do, about ten masked protesters stood on northbound Lincoln for less than a minute until cops arrived and the protesters left the street. One masked standee, not Jordan, was chased by officers up and down Capitol Hill but no contact or arrest was made. That marked the end of the otherwise uneventful, nonviolent 2016 march.

An hour later, after a calm rally of speeches and singing, when everyone had left, Jordan and two vet friends were walking to their car and were jumped by Metro SWAT. Jordan and friends were pushed to the ground by approx twelve officers. One friend had his phone knocked out of his hands as he tried to video Jordan’s arrest. Jordan cried out that the officers were injuring his war wound for which he was discharged but the brutalization continued.

Two blocks away another participant, African American Kris Randolph, 32, was similarly arrested, in front of his mom. Both he and Jordan were jailed overnight. Without being told he didn’t have to, Kris gave a videotaped interview while in detention. The two were released the next day on $100 PR bonds.

Kris and Jordan were given Colorado state case numbers (16M10457 & 16M10458) which were transferred sixty days later to municipal cases (17GS000146 & 17GS000195), no reason given, except their 90-day speedy trial clocks started only thereafter. Both were assigned to Division 3H with Judge Kerri Lombardi.

Kris, a roofer, father of four, with a minor criminal record, qualified for a public defender. Kris kept a number of court dates but eventually FTA’d at an April disposition hearing. Hopefully Kris can get back on track in view of how Jordan was able to resolve his case.

Jordan represented himself Pro Se through several hearings. Right from the start Jordan submitted multiple motions, one asserting his First Amendment right to assemble in the street etc, another demanding expanded discovery to include the DPD “After Action Report” (AAR) for Nov 5, 2016. An AAR erroneously disclosed in a previous case revealed that 27 undercover officers had been deployed at the 73-attendee 2015 Million Mask March. Judge Lombardi did not agree with Jordan’s assertion that he didn’t need a permit to be in the street, but granted his discovery request. She commanded the city lawyers to inquire about an AAR.

At a March hearing, prosecutors produced an AAR, but it was incomplete, missing the “Staffing detail” pages. The added pages were referenced because there were insufficient lines on the AAR form, but not provided. Jordan complained to the judge that he was seeking a list of all the officers who were on the scene of his alleged offense, including “Shadow Teams” if any, to know whose reports he was entitled to see. Jordan explained that he was not fishing for confidential information, he would be satisfied with the judge performing an In Camera review, so long as he could be assured that the city was discovering all the witness testimony evidence, ie. “Brady Material” relevant to his case. The prosecuting attorney assured the judge that there was no more information to provide.

At the May 8 trial date, the prosecutors declared ready, but pulling him aside in the hall they pushed hard for Jordan to take a plea. They offered Jordan one year probation with deferred sentence, then six months probation, then six months without even having to make a plea. Jordan refused.

After Jordan refused their offers, the city announced it was not ready. They motioned for a continuance because the HALO-cam operator they needed to call as their key witness was suddenly not available that day. Indeed all the probable cause statements cite HALO footage as being the evidence against Jordan and so the city explained they needed the camera operator to testify. A continuance was granted.

One day before his May 24 trial date, Jordan received a notice from the prosecution, seeking to endorse a new witness. Detective Michael Timmerman, badge # P00086, was supposed to be an eyewitness to Jordan’s alleged offense. Not knowing how to properly object, Jordan drafted three motions: 1) to exclude the witness based on the untimely endorsement; 2) to dismiss the charges based on the implication that the state might be withholding evidence of other witnesses whose testimonies could exhonorate him; and 3) to show cause why the city and DPD weren’t in contempt of the court’s order to produce exactly this kind of evidence when asked.

Of course the Timmerman development was a win/win. His being allowed to testify would create grounds to appeal, and his taking the stand would mean being able to ask him under oath about the other Shadow Teams present and what were they assigned to do. Were they, for example, walking into the street, trying to get authentic participants into trouble? Who knows what they were doing and how they planned to differentiate masked offenders from innocents.

Judge Lombardi avoided ruling on Jordan’s three motions by instead deciding not to allow the city to endorse witness Timmerman. Lombardi argued that her continuance had only been granted to allow the HALO operator a second trial date at which to appear.

The city argued that since the last trial date and after closer inspection, the HALO footage was deemed too grainy and inconclusive. The prosecutor even walked up and played it on his laptop for the judge. The city argued they no longer believed that their operator’s testimony would lead to a conviction. The city explained that after much back and forth communication with DPD in the interim, at the eleventh hour, the police agreed to reveal the identity of one of their shadow officers to testify against Jordan, such was the importance to the DPD of pursuing Jordan’s conviction. Without Detective Timmerman as a witness the city said it would not be able to proceed to trial.

Judge Lombardi declined the city’s endorsement, the city motioned to dismiss, and defendant McDuffie was thanked by the judge for his always polite and respectful decorum.

NOW when Kris proceeds with his case, there will be another chance to bring the elusive Detective Timmerman to the stand. What can a DPD shadow officer reveal to everyone under oath?

 

Mistakenly released DPD After Action Report reveals 27 officers on “shadow operations” at Denver 100 Mask March

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DENVER, COLORADO- Hidden deep in the evidence against one of nine protesters arrested at last year’s Guy Fawkes’ Day march in Denver, was an “AFTER ACTION REPORT” never encountered before in discovery evidence available to previous Denver activism defendants. This report has provided the first public mention of “Shadow Teams” deployed on “Shadow Operations” against peaceful demonstrators. Most remarkable was that 27 officers were mobilized for shadow operations, among a total of 169, clocking a total of 1379 man hours, against a rally and march that numbered “around 100” at its peak, to quote the report.

The report was presented to Denver municipal judge Beth Faragher on Monday before the trial of one of the Anonymous arrestees. The judge was asked why discovery evidence didn’t include reports from the “Shadow Teams” detailing, for example, what their shadow operations were. Judge Faragher agreed to continue the trial until September to allow city attorneys to come up with some answers.

One defendant’s lawyer was also provided the Denver Police Department’s Crowd Management Manual, an earlier edition of which was leaked last year by Denver’s Unicorn Riot. The current manual does not differ on this subject and defines Shadow Team as: “A team of officers assigned to identify Persons of Interest as being involved in possible criminal activity based on Reasonable Suspicion.”

There is no disagreement that shadow operations involve undercover officers following targeted activists. The question is what were they doing to maintain their cover? You can’t surveil moving marches from under storefront awnings or hotel windows. To mingle with protesters who have to march with them. To ingratiate yourself with hosts you have to participate. To impress leaders you have to delegate. So what actions were the shadow offices mimicking?

The title “Million Mask March” means to aggregate all the actions across the world demonstrating on Guy Fawkes’ Day, every 5th of November. Individual marches are ridiculed for being mere fractions of a million, in Denver for example, marshalling only a hundred or so. Now, even more humiliating for Denver may be the revelation that up to a quarter of the marchers were undercover cops.

Denver activists are accustomed to infiltrators, such have been photographed and outed regularly, but 27 officers operating in “shadow teams” is news. It may rewrite the last several years of arrest incidents. Arrests of Denver protesters have appeared sporatic and haphazard. Now it seems the targeting may have been restricted to actual protesters, because their shadow companions were not arrestible, by virtue of being cops.

Although Shadow Teams are mentioned in the DPD manual, this After Action Report is the first to itemize their deployment.

Here’s the command structure which list the names of three officers whom lawyers may be able to depose: a Commander Fountain, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Jimenez. Defense lawyers are now considering deposing these officers to learn more about what their operations entail.

Unfortunately the narrative provided in the 4-page after action report does not detail the “shadow” activity. It does however mention the number of anonymous activists which Denver was mobilizing against. From 20 building up to 100 tops. Here’s the full narrative:

Denver Police Department AFTER ACTION REPORT

NARRATIVE OF INCIDENT (Chronological log, if applicable, to be attached)

On 11-05-2015 members of the Denver Police Department were assigned to various locations throughout downtown Denver to monitor the Million Mask March. Response personnel consisted primarily of District SCAT teams, DMU, Metro/Swat and Gang Bureau officers. The MAP Team was staged at 14th and Delaware to facilitate arrest processing. On-duty traffic resources and DPD special units assisted as well. District Six Commander Tony Lopez acted as the Operations Chief and managed activity in the field. The Command Post was maintained at the Denver Crime Lab with representatives from RTD, DSD, DFD, CSP and DHPD.

By 1130 hours about 10 protestors gathered in the 1400 block of Lincoln on the west side of the Capitol. The participants were primarily dressed in black clothing and many were wearing masks. By 1245 hours the crowd grew to over 40 people. They demonstrated peacefully by holding signs and banners. On November 4th the protest group announced a planned march between the hours of 4 – 5 pm. The morning crowds and noon marches that took place in 2013 and 2014 did not occur this year.

Afternoon March

At 1420 hours some group members were observed making signs with spray paint. By 1545 the crowd grew to around 60. At 1640 hours Sergeant Cervera 680 contacted security at the World Trade Center (1625-1675 Broadway) in anticipation of protest activity there (Ben Buthe 720-499-2292 or CP 303-595-7049). DPD was advised that the WTC Plaza closes at 1800 hours.

At approximately 1650 hours officers contacted occupants of a suspicious dark truck NY GMY4295 parked on the elevated lot just east of DPD HQ (1400 blk of Cherokee). The incident checked clear.

At 1700 hours, two individuals wearing Guy Fawkes masks were observed walking southbound in the 1300 block of Delaware and then eastbound on W. 13th Avenue past the south side of DPD HQ.

At 1704 hours the group left northbound on Lincoln from the Capitol. They turned left on the 16th Street Mall but appeared to stay on the east sidewalk. The group turned south on Court Place but quickly crossed the street and walked back toward the Mall. At 1714 hours, some members walked in the street upon being encouraged by an individual with a bullhorn. This action interrupted the RTD Shuttle Service. The entire group then continued their march by walking down the center of the Mall. The Federal Reserve Security office was notified.

At 1725 hours the group rallied a short time at Stout Street and then turned around to march back toward Broadway. They turned west on California and walked toward 15th Street, where they remained on the sidewalk. The group turned right on 15th Street and started an unpermitted march in the street shortly thereafter. DMU officers responded to encourage the protestors back on the sidewalk. Verbal orders were given as well.

The group turned east on Stout and then north on the 16th Street Mall. They rallied for a short time at the Federal Reserve Building at 16th and Arapahoe and then continued northbound on the Mall. The group appeared to number around 100 at this time.

At 1750 hours the demonstrators turned right on Lawrence and marched primarily on the sidewalk toward 17th Street. They stopped momentarily midblock in front of the Westin Hotel then continued outbound on Lawrence. The group turned south on 18th Street where some of the members walked in the street. At 1757 hours, most of the crowd began an unpermitted march in the street 1700 block of Arapahoe. Demonstrators were advised to get out of the street and back on the sidewalk. After refusals to comply, four parties were arrested for the continued violations. Traffic officers diverted vehicular traffic at 18th Street for safety and opened the street at 1805 hours. At 1803 hours a female victim contacted 724A Officer Gates and stated she was assaulted by one of the protestors. District 6 officers were dispatched for the report and an ambulance was called.

The demonstrators continued their march on the sidewalk on Arapahoe toward 16th Street, then turned left on the Mall. They turned west on Curtis and marched across 15th to 14th Street. At 1817 hours an individual wearing a grey backpack with a metal baton attached to the back appeared to be trying to incite a disturbance. The group turned south on 14th and walked toward Champa where they stopped and blocked traffic. At 1820 hours a white male wearing all black with a military-type vest and carrying a backpack with white lettering was advised by police to get out of the street at 14th and Champa.

At 1825 hours the group continued to march south on 14th Street. They crossed California, Welton and Glenarm and then turned east on Tremont. At 1835 hours some members attempted to march in the streets again at 15th and Tremont. DMU officers once again responded to order and marshal the violators back on the sidewalk. The group continued south on 15th Street toward Colfax Avenue. The group marched unpermitted in the streets again on Colfax Avenue eastbound toward Broadway.

At 1844 hours a protestor pushed over DPD Lieutenant Mike Wyatt and bicycle officer Tab Davis at Colfax and Broadway. The suspect was arrested shortly thereafter. A second arrest was made after an individual attempted to “unarrest” the first suspect. At 1858 hours Sergeant Horton reported a felony drug arrest. Once again, traffic and DMU personnel assisted with traffic control in order to maintain a safe environment. Two additional protestors were arrested for disobedience. The protestors ultimately gathered back at the State Capitol and dissipated by around 1930 hours.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, multiple announcements were made by police for the demonstrators to get out of the street. Three Use of Force reports were completed in association with the arrests and three officers suffered injuries. One of the three officers (Cash) was transported to DHMC with a knee injury related to an arrest. Except for those officers involved in an arrest, all units were released by 2000 hours.