Hundreds Gather To Honor Desecrated Police Memorial

DENVER (CBS4) - In response to an anti-police protest last Saturday, hundreds of people honored Denver police this Saturday who died in the line of duty.

Demonstrators dumped red paint on the memorial to fallen officers at police headquarters last weekend. Since that protest, supporters of police have been leaving flowers, candles and flags at the memorial.

"I've never been so proud in my life to be a cop than today," said Nick Rogers.

It was an emotional gathering on Saturday as people remembered the fallen, "Captain Charles A. Holly, end of watch, Friday January 16th, 1891. Detective George P. Schneider, end of watch, Saturday February 11th, 1933."

Those at the rally cheered and hoped for, "Cool heads, stout hearts, hard punches."

The memorial of fallen officers is now covered in flowers and signs of support a week after protesters drenched it in red paint.

"The police should have stepped right in right away to let the public know that you cannot break the law," said one police supporter, Gail Martinez, of last weekend's anti-police protest.

Outraged by the department's restraint during that act of vandalism, Denver Police Union President Nick Rogers remains strong in his demand for DPD Chief Robert White to step down.

"We're not going anywhere.  We're going to stand tall, we're going to stay out in the community, we're going to stay out in the neighborhoods, and we're going to make these streets better and safer than they've ever been before," he said.

Earlier this week, Chief White defended DPD's policy, stating, "I'm going to make sure that the men and women of our department understand exactly what happened that weekend, exactly what decision was made, and why those decisions were made."

Myra Pasco, whose father served on the Denver police force for 26 years, said, "People don't know, what the families feel every day."

She came to the rally to show her gratitude to the sacrifice of those who serve and protect.

"Every day, they leave their families, and they go out on the streets to protect us, to protect our rights and our freedoms, and they never know if they're going to go home to their families," described Pasco.

People at today's rally included not only officers and their families, but also members of 11 different police associations and organizations around Colorado.