![]() ![]() “It wasn’t done like it should have been done, and that’s our error.” “It was just a hectic time,” Phelan said. Many officers were working 12- to 16-hour shifts and simply didn’t have time, Phelan said. Phelan said officers communicated those orders through radio or phone to him, rather than writing, due to the fast-changing nature of the demonstrations. In one line of questioning, Elizabeth Wang, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, asked Phelan why the department often failed to record dispersal orders in writing, even though policy requires them to notify people before using less-lethal force. Plaintiffs in the case argue they were shot, tear-gassed and stopped from exercising their First Amendment rights while peacefully protesting and that officers should have been able to distinguish between them and violent demonstrators. Plaintiffs’ attorneys focused their questioning on instances where department policy wasn’t followed, trying to prove that mismanagement at the department’s top levels contributed to their clients’ alleged First Amendment violations. Denver has spent more than $1.3 million settling claims to date. Last month, Denver City Council unanimously approved settlements with two protesters without going to trial. The city has already settled similar excessive force lawsuits brought by injured protesters. ![]() The ongoing trial is unique in that it’s the first time Phelan and other officers have publicly spoken at length about their response. “Not only the language, but the physical abuse. ![]() “I never saw more abuse towards police officers in my 40 years ,” Phelan said about the protests. In another exchange, a city attorney played video of protesters blocking traffic on Interstate 25 and throwing rocks at officers who were trying to clear the highway. They argued their actions were within policy and necessary due to the chaotic nature of the protests, which took place over several weeks in late May and early June 2020.ĭuring questioning this week, city attorneys attempted to depict a police department doing its best to protect public safety, highlighting several incidents of concern, including a series of gunshots fired near the Capitol building grounds. The second week of the trial has featured testimony from several members of the department, and Phelan’s testimony was similar to other officers’ defense of their actions during the protests. Protesters and police clashed on the second night of protests in downtown Denver during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd on Friday, May 29, 2020. “They could authorize or deploy pepper balls. “It was consistent because were asking him to move and comply with their orders,” Phelan said. Still, Phelan said that officers acted in line with the department’s use of force policy. It shocked me,” Phelan said about the video during his testimony. The officers then fire multiple rounds of pepper balls at him as he continues to scream that his pregnant girlfriend is sitting inside, video shows. “You shot a car with a pregnant woman in it,” the man yells at a line of officers. In the video, dated May 30, the man is seen yelling at police officers while his pregnant girlfriend sits inside. Phelan faced questions from plaintiffs’ attorneys about a viral video of officers shooting pepper balls at a man while he was standing outside of his car at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street near the state Capitol. It’s the first protest case in Colorado to make it to trial. A group of a dozen protesters is seeking money and policy change in response to injuries and alleged First Amendment violations carried out by DPD. Patrick Phelan, who retired from the department in 2020, made the comments as part of a federal civil rights trial underway in Denver. The retired commander who oversaw the Denver Police Department’s response to protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder testified this week that he didn’t agree with the way officers deployed use of force against demonstrators in certain incidents. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() The grand priest Kunpaetku had realized his golem was not behaving as originally instructed – that another force now claimed ownership over Astaroth since his initial creation. This time, though, his body had been infused with the shards of the Soul Edge, making him more powerful than ever before.Īstaroth had set out on the trail for the evil blade, but a problem arose. Four years later, signs of Soul Edge began to re-emerge, and Ares resurrected Astaroth in an attempt to retrieve the evil blade once again. As Astaroth was finally ready to betray Nightmare and take the Soul Edge from him, Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle, and Astaroth was killed by Maxi. When Astaroth finally found Soul Edge, he had lost half of himself during the battle with Sophitia.ĭeciding that Ares would not be pleased with the sword in this condition, he agreed to help the Azure Knight, Nightmare, build his power by collecting souls by slaughtering countless victims. Unknown to Kunpaetku, however, Ares had possessed Astaroth with his servants, the Keres, to ensure that Kunpaetku would not betray him. As he watched Astaroth depart from the shrine, the grand priest laughed to himself as he planned to keep the Soul Edge and become a god himself. Kunpaetku ordered his creation, Astaroth, to find the demonic blade. Astaroth, a golem, was created in hellish heat under the divine protection of Ares to head up the quest. Ares, the god of destruction, desired Soul Edge to dethrone his father, Zeus, so he ordered Kunpaetku, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, to seek it out. ![]() |