Denver’s Mayoral Candidates on the Issues: Public Safety

Lisa Calderón: “The intersections of the criminal justice system crosses housing, mental health, addiction issues—they all meet at the doorstep of the jail. So if we fail within our communities and within our government to adequately address those needs, this is where folks end up.”

Stephan “Chairman Seku” Evans: “First of all, you got to kill the beast in the police. They got to check them motherfucking selves because they know who the good cops are and who the bad cops are.”

Jamie Giellis: “I think the new police chief, Chief [Paul] Pazen, has shifted to a community policing model, which is good. And that’s a start in the right direction. Ultimately, we still have a shortage of police officers.”

Michael B. Hancock: “As an African American male, it’s my lens. I get it. I’ve seen it. I’ve been a victim of aggressive force violence on behalf of an officer when I was a teenager….This is one area that I’m pretty proud of. You saw us usher in a new era of policing in terms of getting more officers out of cars [and] engaging in communities.”

Kalyn Rose Heffernan: “I would [support] more trauma-informed training for police and also providing them with more resources to crisis responders and mental health advocates.”

Penfield Tate III: “I co-chaired the committee that established the Independent Monitor during the Hickenlooper administration. We brought community, police, sheriffs, DAs, and city attorneys together to establish the Independent Monitor’s office….I will have a good relationship with the police department. We will set standards and I will expect them to be adhered to, but I want to go full on with community policing.”