Commerce City Police Investigating Complaint Against Officers
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) – Police in Commerce City are investigating a complaint filed last week against three of its officers.
A Hispanic woman says she was bullied by the policemen for an hour in her car in front of her home.
The woman, who agreed to an interview with CBS4 but asked to remain anonymous, says she parked her car in front of her home and began making a phone call when three Commerce City police cars pulled up and the officers asked her for identification.
"After several exchanges they threatened to arrest me because I wouldn't give them my ID right away," she said.
Commander Dennis Moon from Commerce City police says the officers were sent to the address.
"The officers were responding to a dispatched call and sent there because a neighbor did see something suspicious which is what we want neighbors to do," said Moon.
The woman says the words escalated when she asked the officers for their cards and they said not until they were done.
Then her black 19-year-old daughter came outside.
"(An officer) told her she needed to listen to me because I was the worst example of a mother he had ever seen," said the woman.
She says she told the officers that neighbors have treated her poorly because of race.
"Then I was told that I was whiter than them so how dare I bring up the race card," she said.
She claims the officers were harassing her. They asked about a syringe she had in the car which she explained was a dosing device for a dog.
"It's too early to tell if there was any wrongdoing on the part of the officers. That is what the internal investigation is for," said Moon.
She feels it was a case of a single woman being harassed by three male officers. Police are still investigating the complaint.
The woman filed the complaint and called the department immediately after the incident.
She got a call back acknowledging it, but there was no call to interview her until after CBS4 contacted the department Tuesday.
