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Denver Police Union Writes Open Letter To Citizens Of Colorado

DENVER (CBS4)- The Denver Police Union has written an open letter to the citizens of Colorado urging that action needs to be taken in what they claim is the "demonstrated lack of leadership" by Denver Police Chief Robert White.

The letter was distributed Thursday evening.

WEB EXTRA: Exclusive Video Of Protesters Vandalizing DPD Memorial

Last weekend's vandalism to the Denver Police Fallen Officers Memorial during a protest and the inaction of officers directly attributed to White.

"Sadly, this crime was allowed to be committed in the presence of Denver police officers who were under orders from Chief Robert White to take no action. Not only did Chief White prevent officers from protecting the memorial as it was being damaged, he also failed to take reasonable preventative steps such as posting officers around it to preserve the sanctity of this place of remembrance for the families and friends of these Colorado heroes. Chief White should have anticipated this vandalism to this Colorado monument as the State Capital was vandalized in a previous protest. Common sense dictates that targets such as the State Capital and Denver Police Memorial Wall be protected during an anti-police demonstration."

dpd memorial vandalism
A protester pours red paint over the DPD fallen officers memorial (credit: CBS)

The letter goes on to address what is called "White's poor leadership" and those actions "cast doubt on Chief White's ability to effectively lead the 1,400 officers of the Denver Police Department."

This is the latest in a series of allegations against White that officers were prohibited from stopping the protesters from vandalizing the memorial.

Matthew Goldberg, 23, and Robert Guerrero, 25
Robert Guerrero and Matthew Goldberg (credit: Denver Police Department)

After the protest, police arrested two men, Matthew Goldberg and Robert Guerrero in connection with the vandalism of the police memorial.

There has been no response to the letter from Chief White.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Open Letter To Citizens Of Colorado

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