An officer with the Denver Police Department has filed an ethics complaint against City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca over an incident on Aug. 19.
According to the complaint, filed on Sept. 4, officer Mallory Lutkin was near 2900 Glenarm Place responding to a disturbance where “officers were arresting an armed party and officers had been assaulted."
Lutkin was told to hold a perimeter post and secure the scene as a large crowd was gathering, according to the document.
CdeBaca later arrived and demanded to speak with a supervisor, according to the complaint.
"CdeBaca approached Ofc. Wallace Sam and I," Lutkin wrote in the complaint. "CdeBaca pointed at Officer Sam (who is Black) and stated, ‘You should be ashamed.’ CdeBaca then pointed at me (I am white) and said ‘You, I would expect this from you.’ CdeBaca went on to tell us to look up the laws pertaining to slavery. When CdeBaca made these statements toward me, I felt she was bringing my race into the issue she had with officers being called to this area. The statement directed at me instated I am racist because I am white.
CdeBaca had no comment on the complaint when reached by our news partners 9News.
“The comments made by Councilwoman CdeBaca were meant to dehumanize and humiliate officers on scene in front of prospectors,” according to the complaint. “Her comments incited other protestors to demean officers and encourage them to continue to verbally abuse officers.
“Some of these protestors were peaceful and some clearly had violent intentions as (two) officers were assaulted in this event, with one officer having his body worn camera stolen.
"One officer was kicked in the face while trying to arrest a party armed with a handgun (this gun was later found to be an identical replica) and that officer received [four] fractured teeth."
The complaint was forwarded to the Denver City Council, the Denver Mayor’s Office and the Denver Ethics Board.
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