DENVER — More than a month after a Black man holding a marker was fatally shot by a Denver Police officer, community leaders on Tuesday denounced the shooting and called for changes, including better training in de-escalation tactics.
"In an unarmed altercation with the police, they encountered Brandon Cole, and 42 seconds later, he was fatally shot," said Pastor Del Phillips at a news conference attended by Cole's family members, along with clergy members, NAACP members and community activists. "The 911 call for help to aid and to assist the family turned into a tragic loss of life."
Cole, 36, was shot Aug. 5. According to Denver Police, officers were called to the 2300 block of West Cedar Avenue for a domestic violence report just before 8 p.m. A 911 caller told dispatchers that a man had possibly pushed his wife out of a wheelchair and was "going after" his teenage son.
>The video above is a prior report about the shooting.
An attorney for Cole's family disputed the Denver Police narrative and said Cole's wife was never pushed or dumped out of a wheelchair. Instead, he said Cole had epilepsy and that it and other medical issues contributed to his behavior that evening.
"I can tell you that you have not heard the full story about his medical state that day. I can tell you, I can't get into it, and I won't because that will be for the court," said attorney Bobby DiCello. "But I promise you this was not a case of some evil guy beating his wife and then getting shot because he wanted to hurt himself or someone else. That is not what happened. I wouldn't be here if it was."
According to police, a male and female officer responded to West Cedar Avenue saw a woman propping herself up in a gutter with a wheelchair nearby. The woman told the female officer that she needed an ambulance.
Before one could be called, Cole reached into a vehicle. When he stepped away from the vehicle, he began challenging the male officer, police said.
The female officer, who was behind Cole, said she saw something in Cole's right hand that she believed was a knife. Cole moved toward the male officer, who pulled out his Taser, backed away from Cole and attempted to de-escalate the situation, police said.
Lisa Calderón, a longtime community activist who ran for Denver mayor, said at Tuesday's news conference that de-escalation is a skill and that it takes time.
"Forty-six seconds wasn't de-escalation," Calderón said. "Calling someone's name, when you are in uniform with a gun pointed at you, is not de-escalation. So we need people from our communities who know how to handle and recognize the signs and symptoms of mental distress."
Police said the female officer had moved behind a vehicle to the side. Cole then began coming toward her. The male officer fired his Taser at Cole, but one of the probes did not hit him and was ineffective.
Cole got within a few feet, and the female officer, fearing for her safety, fired two rounds, striking Cole, police said. Cole was hit and died from his injuries.
"I want you all to remember there was not a gun only pointed at him. There was a Taser," DiCello said Tuesday. "And last I checked, you don't bring a Taser to a lethal fight. So one officer saw no lethal threat, and he was going to use a Taser. "
Many of those who spoke Tuesday also said they felt Black people were treated differently than white people by officers. They suggested that white people are given the benefit of the doubt more often.
"Why is it that Black and brown people are always the victims of, 'oops, I thought he had a weapon'?" asked Pastor Reginald Holmes of New Covenant Christian Church "When clearly, when weapons are seen, when weapons are possessed by white perpetrators, that somehow they don't get the same treatment as Black people."
Holmes went on to suggest that Denver Police officers should be better trained in de-escalation, mental health aspects and cultural differences.
"I have not seen the video [of the shooting] But how important is that when we know that the victim did not have a weapon?" he said. "So anything that we want to say, anything that the department wants to say about 'we follow the rules, we follow protocol,' then there is something very imperfect about your protocol and your training. If at the end of the day, an innocent unarmed Black man was killed, there's something wrong with your training."
Calderón said she would like to see the city budget additional funding to policing alternatives instead of simply adding more officers.
"We need to fundamentally and systematically change the way that we define safety in our communities and it is not with more police," she said.
The Denver District Attorney's Office is investigating the shooting.
Denver Police said that because the call was regarding an assault, it required patrol officers to respond.
"Procedurally, the review of this incident by the Denver District Attorney’s Office has not yet been completed," a Denver Police spokesperson wrote about the news conference. "Once the DA completes its review, the involved officers’ conduct will be internally reviewed by the Denver Police Department and Use of Force Review Board to determine whether the officers’ actions were within policy – both reviews are standard practice."
"The Board will also have the opportunity to make recommendations concerning modifications to policy or training, if any, based upon their incident review. DPD is also open to community feedback and has previously met with Mr. Cole’s family and had conversations about this incident with representatives from the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance and NAACP Denver."
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