Denver School Police Raid: Principal Says Cops Went Too Far

DENVER, CO -- The principal of a Denver charter high school said Denver police crossed a line when they searched the building for a student who allegedly had been involved in a shooting the night before.

Riseup Community School Principal Lucas Ketzer said officers came to the school around 12:30 p.m. April 24 and demanded to search the school without a warrant for a student who had already left for the day. Officers also pulled a gun on a teacher as she walked out the back door of the school in the 2300 block of Broadway, Ketzer said.

Police issued a statement Wednesday that officers believed the student was a threat to the school because he was wanted for attempted first-degree murder.

Ketzer said two DPD officers got past the security doors by demanding to see the ID of a student standing outside and then accompanying that student inside.

He said the officers asked about the student they were searching for, and he told them he would check to see if that student was at school. Ketzer found out the student had been marked absent, he said.

"I told them, he's not in the building, and they said, 'We’re not sure we believe you,'" Ketzer said. "I asked for their card and they gave me the card and I was under the impression they were leaving, so I went upstairs."

A few minutes later, Ketzer said the head of Denver Public Schools Security and more officers were in the building asking to search the whole school.

Ketzer said the school policy is that police cannot search the building unless there's an "imminent threat" or they have a warrant.

Denver police said in a statement that they surrounded the building to make sure the suspect could not escape.

"Officers that were inside did not draw their weapons at any point during the search for the suspect," DPD said in a statement.

But one female teacher was exiting the back door and officers outside drew their guns on her, Ketzer said. Another teacher asked the officers if they had a warrant and told them they could not enter her science classroom. They threatened her with being arrested for obstruction, Ketzer said.

The Denver Police Department said police did not require a warrant.

"Given the imminent and potentially dangerous circumstances, and confirmation from a staff member that the suspect was inside, a warrant was not required to search inside the building for the suspect."

Ketzer contested the statement that a staff member had told police the fugitive student was inside the school. If so, the staff member was mistaken, he said, because records showed the student had been marked absent.

The police statement said DPD did not find the student in the search.

After they did not find the student, police told Ketzer that they were concerned that he might have had a gun and have been a danger to students and staff at the school, he said.

"If DPD came into the building and said, 'There is one student we believe is armed, we need to search building,' I would have said, "Great, search the building,'" Ketzer said. But he said the officers didn't show urgency that there was a threat to the school and waited about 15 minutes before searching the building.

Ketzer said his at-risk students already have a fearful attitude toward the police and the incident was overkill and "a violation of trust," he said. "[The incident] damages the police's reputation and standing in the community," he said.

Lakewood Police arrested the student April 30 at the Lakewood Police station, LPD Spokesman Mark Reeves said. He is now in custody at the Mount View Youth Detention Center in Lakewood, Reeves said.

The student was charged with attempted murder, assault, menacing, harassment and other charges, the Jefferson County District Attorney confirmed.

Denver police said in a statement that their goal was to keep students and staff safe from a potential threat.

"Our main goal in any situation involving a school, is to ensure the safety of the students and staff," the statement said.

Read the entire Denver Police Department statement here:

Denver Police Department Issue Statement About Incident at Rise Up Community School

Denver, CO – Wednesday, May 16, 2018 – The goal of the Denver Police Department in partnership with Denver Public Schools Safety and Security is to keep students and staff members safe on all school campuses. The Denver Police Department has a strong working relationship with Denver Public Schools administration as well as the safety and security department. On April 24th, 2018, Denver Police officers responded to Rise Up Community School in search of a suspect wanted for attempted first degree murder – this incident occurred the night before in another metro-area jurisdiction. Officers received information that the suspect was in the school, and given the nature of the allegations, believed the suspect posed a possible threat to students and staff.

When officers arrived, they set up outside of the school to ensure the suspect did not leave the building. Given the imminent and potentially dangerous circumstances, and confirmation from a staff member that the suspect was inside, a warrant was not required to search inside the building for the suspect. After working with the principal to eventually gain access to the building, DPD officers conducted a search, but did not locate the suspect. Officers that were inside did not draw their weapons at any point during the search for the suspect.

Immediately following the incident, the Denver Police Department command staff met with the principal to discuss the situation and offered a follow-up meeting to further discuss the best, safest ways to manage any future incidents.

Our main goal in any situation involving a school, is to ensure the safety of the students and staff.

Denver Public Schools released the following statement:

On April 24, Denver Police asked our Denver Public Schools Department of Safety to respond to a situation at RiseUp Community School, a DPS charter school. Denver Police informed us that they were surrounding the building, and a shooting suspect was inside. Understandably alarmed by the urgency of the dispatch, multiple DPS officers responded to the school, including our Chief of Safety. Our Department of Safety officers believed they were responding to a critical incident involving a person with a weapon inside the school. The school leader informed Chief Eaton that DPD had not described an imminent safety risk, and that he told responding DPD officers that the student was not present at school. Our Chief of Safety, recognizing the conflicting information but acknowledging the risk that there could be an armed student on campus, allowed DPD to search the classrooms.

We recognize that this experience was incredibly traumatic for our students, staff and the entire RiseUp family, and are troubled by the reports we have received from the school staff and students. As a diverse and inclusive school district, we are deeply aware that experiences with and perceptions of law enforcement have a profound impact on our city, particularly in our communities of color. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our students, both physically and emotionally, and this situation has brought to the forefront the importance of conversations about how policing looks and feels inside our schools. We look forward to working with our schools, community partners, and the Denver Police Department to ensure that our school-based policing practices preserve the safety and dignity of all involved.

Image via Shutterstock