Occupy Denver: Police text messages rip protesters as "pathetic"

Categories: Occupy Denver

lieutenant matt murray.JPG
Lt. Matt Murray.
At around the same time an Occupy Denver request for a temporary restraining order against the City and County of Denver was denied, the Denver Police Department released a slew of car-to-car text messages pertaining to the movement.

Even Denver Police spokesman Lieutenant Matt Murray concedes that some of them are unprofessional.

The document is on view below, but here are some examples. Check out this exchange from October 1:

"They're supporting the same BS protests that are going on on Wall Street. The typical 'Tax the Rich' 'Eff the Cops' anarchist crap."

"Denver protesters are too pathetic for us to have anything like that."

"lol, that might not be a bad thing... at least we aren't in the media ;) -- for now that is."

Here's another back and forth, from October 17:

"i'm listening to peter boyles and how the protesters are peaceful and calm... these guys got one of the protesters who had a dozen homemade weapons on an rtd bus. machetes, shivs, nunchuks, throwing stars."

"all kinds of stuff to shank cops if they grabbed him."

"If you think about it, large scale protests are a good way to waste city money and possibly cripple the system."

"If you had 5000ish people that went berserk, it would bankrupt the city so fast, with jailing everyone and paying cops. I sure wouldn't work for free."

And this one, from October 30:

"it is nuts down here i have costume freaks yelling at protesters who are yelling at police who are yelling at transients."

"and i take it you were protesting today instead of coming in early you treehugger animal activist."

"I donated a few hours last night because of the protest and we had a bunch of calls from all over the country with pissed off people watching some videos on the internet."

"Sunday the stoners got so stoned, so no motivation to protest today."

"in the last two days no less than one hundred people, at protest and other places, have screamed obscenities and directed demeaning remarks at me, and i am not allowed to respond in any way. what a great system."

This last comment forms the subtext of spokesman Murray's statement about the text messages, which have been released, he notes, in the interest of transparency.

In Murray's words, "a few communications between individual officers through a car-to-car text system have not met the standard of professionalism expected by the Denver Police Department and the citizens of Denver in regards to the Occupy Denver protests. We recognize this and have already taken steps to address the behavior and to remind all officers of our expectations. The Denver Police Department regrets the tenor and tone of some of these texts."

Murray adds that "while not a defense for inappropriate behavior, many Denver Police Officers have now endured months of having to leave their families to come into work early, giving up their days off, and silently tolerating hours of taunting and abusive actions by some protestors.

"It is common for employees in any line of work to vent their frustrations to co-workers. But more important, is the fact that the actions of the Denver Police Department and its Officers have reflected the City's commitment to protect free speech. These are the words of a very few officers over a thirteen week period."

With that introduction, check out the entire DPD text message release.

Denver Police Text Messages About Occupy Denver

More from our Occupy Denver archive: "Occupy Denver timeline: Two-and-a-half months that have shaken the city."

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19 comments
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concerned citizen
concerned citizen

I fully support the police and they should be allowed to vent to each other as any normal person would do when under that kind of stress and strain.  Cops are people too!  We can't expect them to be superhuman and not have any feelings or opinions when they are being yelled at and called every kind on name by people who have nothing better to do.

Mike
Mike

Vent on your own time with your own phone! Use police time and equipment for business!

Philo99
Philo99

When did the cops turn into a punch of weak, kneed nancies? Are they really going to appolgize for the PC weak ass comments they made over texts?

The cops, and the mayor need to wake up and listen to the public, they need to listen to the real 99% who get up every morning and go to work to put food on the table. The real 99% is sick of this conglamoration of pond scum pretending they represent the working man. These pathetic losers, sleep on the sidewalk, urinate in the park and have been responsible for multiple assaults, drug dealing, thefts and even sexual attacks. They deserve no repect from the police or anyone else. They are low lifes and America is sick and tired of them destroying our public parks and costing the taxpayers millions of dollars that could be spent on our schools. They don't speak for anyone but their own selfish interests, looking for an endless supply of free government cheese.

Go occupy a shower and a job. The pondscum should be happy the police are there to protect them from the public.

Concerned Denverite
Concerned Denverite

The fact that the police, and people in society, are attacking OCCUPY for spending money makes me laugh. The protestors have not become violent until police mace, pepper spray, and hit them with riot batons. Of course the mainstream news will not show the violence the police use but they will say it was because of the movement. Does DPD really need to have 6 cars sitting in the park 24-7. To me it says that the force is a joke and cannot call for backup if it is needed. I have also witnessed individuals requiring police assistance and being denied for being in the vicinity of OCCUPY. They are spending the money willingly. They are harassing and inciting people to speak and act against them. They brought in over 200 armed riot police to throw peoples personal possessions and food into a dump truck. I watched a women, who was collecting her things, as was everyone else who had been told to leave, get shoved back with a riot stick and her belonging trashed because it was not removed "fast enough" for the officers. Whether you agree with OCCUPY or not, that is fascist, military police harassment. Open your eyes, if you haven't already, and see that the police are lying to you so that they can gain more control over peoples lives and actions. If the DPD had it their way, no one would be walking down the street unless they had a special piece of material on their clothing that stated who they were and what they believe in.

Guest
Guest

Cops are allowed to have opinions. Just as people are allowed to protest. I'm confused why this matters.

NCalConservativ
NCalConservativ

The cat is out of the bag.  These OWS'ers are pathetic, and the cops know it, the people know it, and they're finding out that they are the 10%.  They're tools of the left, and if it hasn't sunken in yet, it should soon.  Every society has its small percentage of cancer cancer cells lurking below the surface, trying to destroy it from within.  Like skin lesions, it will erupt occasionally. Then it goes back below the surface.

Eric
Eric

Probably not, numb nuts.

There's no putting this genie back.

I doubt you're in that 1% of the population that these activists aren't representing, and it's highly unlikely.........make that most likely....... you ever will be.

While it's true that the message and mission was not smoothly articulated in the beginning, these "cancer cells" as you call them, are fighting your battle.........and mine for that matter. They're shining hard light on the excesses and greed of a very small part of our society that has bankrupted the monetary system, wrecked the economy, and shipped 45,000 factories...........and millions of jobs......... overseas. They represent the ''99'ers, the 23% of the population that lives below the poverty line, the elderly on entitlements, the students, every single one of us that's getting gouged by bank fees we have no control over,small business owners submarined by predators like Walmart, the veterans whose jobs were given away while overseas......despite the best efforts of the VA and the current administration to prevent that, those same GI's that lost their homes to foreclosure..while deployed in combat during the Bush years, and educated young people that are qualified but unemployed because there are so few jobs to be had due to outsourcing.

No, asshole, you're the cancer. The idiot that's in the same boat as the rest of America, just too stupid to see it.

Time for you to slither back into the hole you crawled out of.

Sharpshooter
Sharpshooter

What no one seems to understand is this: While these jerkoff cops were sitting around in their cruisers, texting each other like a bunch of thirteen year old girls who just got their first period, they were ALSO going before city council trying to beg more money off the backs of the taxpayers while using the OWS movement as an excuse for their financial malaise AND making excuses for delayed responses to actual crimes, usually putting off their poor response times on, you guessed it, OWS. Well, we know different now. These pusillanimous douches were just sitting in their patrol cars, eating up bucks while masturbating each other on their cell phones. Baseball beatings in Capitol Hill? Oh, we can't respond to that, we're too busy FIGHTING CRIME! My ass! You shitstains were sitting around BSing with each other and drawing overtime for it. I especially like the one Tweet where the responder says, "Sorry, was playing a game." Yeah, that sounds like a good use of taxpayer money. At least now we know where our $100K in overime went, along with the cell phone bills that we pay for. Fuck that. From now on, if these punks want phones, let 'em pay for them themselves. Along with their guns, ammo, body armor, pepper balls, tanks, riot gear, etc. DPD ain't worth a pisshole drilled in a snowbank, and we have the texts to prove it!

Brendanwood78
Brendanwood78

You people want to complain about everything. You jerks have no idea what the police have to put up with.

Your movment has failed now live with it.

Maybe next we could bring back the fire hoses of the 60's and wash them out.

HotPants
HotPants

Did your feeling get hurt officer?  If ya can't stand the heat, maybe it's time to get out of the kitchen!  What a wussy!

Brendanwood78
Brendanwood78

Hey hog pant, yes hog....I'm not a cop. I was clearly brought up better than yourself and know to respect the they do.

I pray that when you actually need them they disregard you and you suffer horribly.

Lastly, if you have the nerve to post, have the ball to put your real name....douche

Shaggy
Shaggy

(sniff-sniff)  Do you smell bacon?  'Cause I definitely smell bacon....

Guest
Guest

Ol' "Doublechin" Murray is at it again. I used to wonder where the contents of my colon ended up. Now I know it goes right into the ears of the Denver Police!

KaDargo
KaDargo

Lt. Matt Murry is a lair.  I watched him on the news being interviewed stating that the cop on the motorcycle that was pushed over "had had the motorcycle knocked over onto him." and "he is lucky that he wasn't hurt".  In the same segment, the YouTube video showed that the cop was off the bike long before it hit the ground.  But then, why would we be surprised that cops lie?  It's legal for them to do so.  It's part of their job.

Brandt Hardin
Brandt Hardin

When will we start holding officers accountable for theirbrutality and excessive use of force?  Evictingprotesters is Unconstitutional and endangers the basic rights of EVERY lastAmerican.  Is this the country we wereraised in, were men and women are beaten, gassed, pepper-sprayed and arrestedfor their disapproval of the government? We have to be careful to protect our Constitutional Rights!  Raise awareness and do your part with thesefree posters I designed for the movement on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot...

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