It must be in the water. As I read an OpsLens colleague’s article regarding a traffic stop in which 22-year-old motorist Jordan Hancock verbally lashed out at an Aurora, Colorado police officer, I am writing a related one pertaining to the inexplicable conduct of Denver police Chief Robert C. White. That would be the same Chief White who the Denver police union believes is too cushy with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock whose February 2018 negative publicity stemmed from a sexual harassment claim made by a Denver police detective in the mayoral security detail—more on that later.
Albeit in distinctly separate incidents which occurred on different dates, notice the Hancock name in those last few lines: one is Michael and the other is Jordan. One is the mayor and the other is the mayor’s son. Both have eye-poked law enforcement and both have ties to Chief White.
Flip the coin over and we now have Chief White in the crosshairs for some evidenced improprieties and to whose aid rushed Mayor Hancock. Connecting the dots in Denver does not require a fine-line pen; a broad-nib Sharpie will suffice since these instances are staring us smack-dab in the face.
Only very recently did body-cam footage finally become public, depicting a September 29, 2017 hit-and-run involving Chief White and another motorist in what White repeatedly called a “chase” that wasn’t a chase at all, at least not if the semantics of Mayor Hancock carry any weight. In short, Chief White was operating his city-issued take-home police vehicle—a black, unmarked Ford SUV. Nothing unusual there; take-home cars are common among law enforcement and its executives.
In his testimony to Aurora police personnel, Chief White describes a driver who failed to stop at a Stop sign in his police jurisdiction. Chief White decided to “chase” the traffic violator who, according to his revelations, was leaving the scene of a traffic crash (generally a misdemeanor). That misdemeanor offense happened to involve Chief White whose SUV was struck by the suspect vehicle. Pursuant to the “chase” initiated by Chief White, the fleeing motorist struck another citizen’s vehicle.
Now that the chase concluded and a crime scene of which he was a component came to a rest, Chief White dialed 9-1-1. In that 9-1-1 call, he tells Aurora police dispatchers (recorded lines) who he is, that he doesn’t want to wait all night, and that he was involved in a “chase.”
Known as a PSAP (Phone Service Answering Point), 9-1-1 calls generally are received by the agency of jurisdiction once cell phone towers pick up the signal and coordinate the proper connections. Reportedly right on the border where the city limits of Denver and Aurora kiss, Chief White was met by Aurora police officers who responded to his 9-1-1 call of the initial crash in Denver culminating in the secondary crash in Aurora’s city limits.
Let’s just watch the now-released Aurora police body-cam footage and listen to Chief White’s testimony and chain of events which he provided to Aurora cops:
As excerpted in the video we just viewed, Chief White uses the phrase “chase” multiple times, says he would be shocked if the other driver was not dead, then had the gall to banter and chuckle with Aurora cops as he throws his entire police force under the bus. He said: “I see y’all responded a lot quicker than my f***ing troops. My guys.” None of that derogatory comment needs analysis: it is what it is, from a metropolis law enforcement executive’s mouth to everyone’s ears. Shamefully, that same executive is a 46-year-career veteran policeman whose salary is paid by the same taxpayers who now get to listen to him run his mouth and who get to realize the sentiments he harbors against his own cops.
His subsequent words compounded the betrayal even more when he states to Aurora police officers on scene: “Maybe I need to do a lateral transfer instead of trying to get y’all to transfer over.” The undeniable suggestion of selling out while he kept digging a dirty hole is enough to raise the ire of a police union. It did.
The Denver Police Protective Association (DPPA) surely took issue with its police chief’s recorded vitriolic display. The blood was in the water for quite some time prior to this unacceptable episode. The police union congealed a “94-percent vote of no confidence” in October 2017. Historically, the Denver police union has never filed a vote of no confidence, ever. But the rank-and-file wanted him gone. Hearings were held. Their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Mayor Hancock stood by his man: Police Chief White was safe.
Recently, DPPA president Nick Rogers publicized a statement on behalf of the Denver cops’ union, saying, “It is very disappointed in our chief’s unprofessional actions which reflected poorly on the rank and file officers.” Addressing the chief’s actions and decision to “chase,” the union statement read that White’s pre-dawn chase while he was headed to the gym was, “A clear violation of the chase policy. Any Denver police officer would have received substantial discipline for the same actions.” Sometimes, that is how it goes when one is quite high up on the echelon ladder and has allies on higher plateaus.
Nevertheless, Chief White apologized. How quaint.
Recognizing the Oh, crap! scenario Chief White created by his actions (“chase” against Denver PD policy) and his ugly words expressed to Aurora cops while he chuckled…White’s ostensible ally, Mayor Hancock, stepped in and reworded the entire narrative. Hancock claimed the chief did not “chase” (because, you know, that policy thing) but, instead, merely followed the suspect driver into Aurora.
Per the Aurora police dispatch phone recordings, Chief White’s exact words are as follows: “The guy hit me and I chased him…this guy hit me, whacked my car so I chased him and then he hit another car…I got a thousand Aurora police officers here. This guy hit me and it started in Denver and I chased him into Aurora.”
Yet something is missing from this chase which morphed into a following maneuver. Police protocol anywhere is that once a chase/pursuit is initiated, the pursuing cop must get on the radio and notify dispatch/other officers of the situation. It’s for your own good. Also, when a police officer is chasing in his jurisdiction and crossing into another, it is always wise to let the other agency know. Heck, neighboring departments usually provide help; any police veteran knows this factor. But that never came up in the media revelations.
Since Chief White was operating a city-owned police vehicle assigned to him by a large-jurisdiction department, I’ll be darned if it didn’t have a radio among its other police accoutrements. Why did he not advise his own agency of his status (and where)? Why call 9-1-1 and wind up with Aurora PD on scene…when it was all over? As the police union president aptly and correctly stated, any other police officer would have the weight of Pluto come down on them in like circumstances.
The police union did push for an internal affairs investigation pertaining to Chief White’s “chase” and implications of department policy violations. An IA was launched, but it seems Mayor Hancock took scissors to that knot and cut-free any threads of wrongdoing on White’s part while, in press releases, also mildly chastising his police chief’s poor judgment.
As reported in a Fox News Denver 31 expose, Mayor Hancock slammed the door in the face of seeming wrongs. Reporter Rob Low wrote, “On April 9, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock exonerated Chief White of any wrongdoing related to the September 29, 2017 incident.” Low added, “An [A/V recorded] internal investigation found that while the Chief’s joke was inappropriate he did not abuse or berate anyone and the comment wasn’t made to a member of the Denver Police Department. Mayor Hancock noted that Chief White later apologized for remarks.” Of course he didn’t “abuse or berate” any of Denver’s roughly 1500 sworn officers. That would’ve consumed his entire gym visits for the week, no?
“When considering this situation, it’s important to remember that Chief White was one of the victims in this criminal incident,” said Mayor Hancock. “He did not choose his words wisely, but he didn’t violate any department policies.”
Just put it behind. That oughta do it, right? I wonder if all Denver cops are treated mildly, kindly, like kin.
Dots, Dots and More Dots
If Mayor Hancock and Chief White seem tightly intertwined, it may be because the mayor got caught in something close to a sexting saga involving a Denver police detective who was assigned to Mayor Hancock’s security detail. According to The Denver Channel, “…a veteran Denver police detective has accused Mayor Michael Hancock of sexually harassing her” when she worked on his security detail throughout 2011-2012.
Denver police Detective Leslie Branch-Wise attests that Mayor Hancock “made inappropriate comments” and sent her texts which were flirtatious and suggestive: “You made it hard on a brotha to keep it correct every day.” I don’t think he was talking about spelling bees or algebra. Per ABC‘s Denver7 affiliate, Mayor Hancock sent the police detective a text which read in part, “You look sexy in all that black.” Yet another tawdry text he sent to Det. Branch-Wise, Mayor Hancock clearly got personnel when he wrote: “So I just watched this story on women taking pole dancing lessons. Have you ever taken one? Why do women take the course? If not have you ever considered taking one and why? Your thoughts?”
Det. Branch-Wise did not reply but that didn’t stop the seemingly hormonally-heated mayor’s chain of texts: “Be careful, I’m curious. LOL!” I wonder if his wife thought it was “LOL,” despite his apology and watered-down explanations regarding a history of sexual harassment in the mayoral camp. As usual, citizens pay the price for their sullied leaders’ indiscretions and improprieties. The Denver taxpayers were on the hook and had to pay a settlement for such unsavory governance.
Wayne McDonald, Mayor Hancock’s former aid fired for also allegedly sexually harassing Branch-Wise, went on record and said, “Members of the security detail and I and Mayor Hancock regularly discussed sexual subjects during work.” Well, legitimized in his mind…but I can imagine the taxpayers were not too happy to have to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit with McDonald, paying him $200,000 despite all this city hall hanky-panky to which he admitted was routine.
For his role in the sexual harassment saga, Mayor Hancock claimed he considered the relationships were more casual but now sees he was wrong. He publicly apologized to his wife and children. Was Chief White in any way a conduit throughout this affair? Maybe. He was installed in his police executive role by Mayor Hancock in 2011, when Det. Branch-Wise was assigned to safeguard Mayor Hancock.
Whited-Out
What ever happened to the driver White didn’t chase buy merely “followed”? Fox News Rob Low did some digging and reported the following: “Neither Chief White or Scott Sacher, the man hit in the second crash, were seriously injured. But the hit-and-run driver, Temesgen Gebremdhin, nearly died in the crash and suffered serious injuries after being ejected from his Subaru. His blood tested positive for cocaine and he later pleaded guilty to DUI and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.” Ejection!
If ultimately found “avoidable” by investigators analyzing a crash scene, any death, injury, and property damage stemming from a would-be police chase will ordinarily come back to bite the initiating officer and/or his agency in the cheeks. Heck, litigation is common even in cases whereby police chases were deemed textbook. Police chase policies are far more stringent nowadays versus yesteryear. OpsLens Contributor Dave Thornton wrote an article dissecting this very subject matter in which he wrote, “The general idea is that policies are written with so many caveats that an officer could not engage in a pursuit without being found to have violated some sort of policy.” Only not necessarily in Chief White’s example.
Thornton and I policed the same jurisdiction on midnight shift for many years. We have both witnessed the deep scrutiny revolving around police chases. As well, several officers were de-policed stemming from the scars inflicted by said scrutiny. Unknown variables in police pursuits ordinarily render any chase policy as an incomplete white paper. Nonetheless, some who travel down that road still get by unscathed.
Exit Stage Left
On April 24, 2018, two weeks after all the findings and exonerations, Denver police Chief Robert C. White proclaimed he is hanging up his duty belt after a 46-year law enforcement career. One would think that over four decades of policing would have instilled stellar police performance and exemplary law enforcement leadership.
As for the Denver police rank-and-file, there is neither a shortage of hate nor an abundance of love for their police chief. The threaded comments found upon Chief White’s Denver Police Department retirement announcement are definitely stones I would not throw, but Denver cops may have reason(s). Following are excerpts of Chief White’s retirement release and him touting all the good he’s done for Denver PD: The “…great attributes and the opportunity to shape the future of the Denver Police Department are what brought me to this great city back in 2011.
“And after six years of leading the dedicated men and women of the Denver Police Department, and as I near the 46-year milestone in my law enforcement career, I am announcing my retirement. A specific retirement date has not been set at this point as I intend to continue leading this great Department and assist with the transition to my successor, once selected by Mayor Michael B. Hancock.”
Chief White continued his quasi-exit interview, saying, “I am retiring with a profound sense of pride… During my tenure as Denver’s Chief of Police, I implemented changes with the overarching goals of: improving relationships and dialogue between the Department and community with the fundamental goal of preventing crime; modernizing police operations and policies; improving officer and community safety; and restructuring the organization to help achieve those goals.
“Some specific accomplishments we achieved were the launching of a body-worn camera program [the kind he either didn’t realize Aurora cops used to record or didn’t really care enough about to refrain from throwing his officers under a locomotive], updating the Department’s use-of-force policy [which often engenders “chases”] and modernizing our recruiting and training programs to help ensure our officers have the skills and experience necessary to effectively and safely fight crime and help to keep you safe.” That’s executive police-speak for indirectly claiming credits for what frontline street cops do autonomously and do it well. Too bad he didn’t believe in the men and women under his command when he spoke openly about them with Aurora cops recording his true colors.
Chief White went on: “I am confident that this Department will continue to thrive because the agency is loaded [with] talented officers, civilian employees and leaders dedicated to serving and protecting this great city.” Oh? The same talented officers he dogged after comparing them against Aurora PD cops? Which leaders are dedicated to serving anyone other than themselves and pals with political powers to boost those wants/needs?
He closed his retirement oration by recognizing his apparent ally whose back was scratched, saying, “I also want to thank Mayor Hancock for his support and for giving me the opportunity to lead this exceptional police department, which has been an honor.”
Ready for the bad reception from the foot soldiers? From A.A. are these terse words: “You scumbag, how dare you say you were a leader for this department. All you did was tear down a department that had a great and respected reputation before you got hear. You have been proven to be nothing more than a corrupt administrator who lacks ethics, integrity and morals. You should be ashamed but you don’t have any shame. You were and still are an empty uniform.”
And from J.R. a leaky legacy came up: “What a crock of crap. You should have been fired and arrested instead of collecting a retirement! You were the worst chief this department ever had and you brought the moral down so far that it reached an all new low. You won’t be missed at all we are all beyond ecstatic that we get to see the end of your disgusting unethical corrupt embarrassing ignorant time with this dept. Bye Felicia!!!”
Although he didn’t reference Felicia, J.J.R. said: “Escape before you’re indicted for gross incompetence. You will not be missed. New chiefs are always a pleasure if not in their coming, then in their leaving. Good riddance!” No ambiguity in any of those messages from each of the candid posters. For what it is worth, there were many more negative and impactful postings; in the interest of space I opted for only the first three.
The Mayor Card
Since we are on a connect-the-dots mission, the other one I named in the preface of this article has to do with Mayor Hancock’s son, Jordan Hancock, who was stopped by an Aurora police officer for reportedly speeding at 65 mph in a posted 40 mph zone on March 23, 2018. The traffic stop went viral—a separate internal investigation is underway regarding unauthorized release of the Aurora’ cop’s body-cam footage—depicting Jordan Hancock’s profanity- and homophobic-laden diatribe laced with anti-police connotations. The mayor’s son is apparently quite known for social media postings directing bitterness towards the police profession.
A short video of Hancock rapping on his 2BIGGTV YouTube channel pretty much sums up what is on his mind, graphic language and thug-life scenery included. His Twitter account is a hot mess littered with non-conservative views, and I don’t mean politics. As far back as his December 2013 tweet, when Hancock was a juvenile, he wrote “Quote me on this.. F**K THE AURORA POLICE ! Ol racist steretyping mothaf**kas! You aint sh*t without that badget bitch!! :How’s dat?” The son of a metropolis mayor and his wife has a way with words.
The Denver Post reported that Jordan Hancock threatened to get the Aurora cop fired based on his dad’s mayoral status. “Hatin’ in blue,” rants young Hancock. In short, Mayor Hancock replied and apologized on behalf of his adult son, claiming his actions are “regretful behavior.” Yet there is a string of anti-cop venom spewed by Hancock’s kid. This traffic encounter cost him a $250 fine which he reportedly paid at the courthouse. Perhaps the police retort of the month came from the Aurora policeman who, in response to Hancock’s “My dad is the mayor” comment, followed with “The mayor of what? Denver? You’re in Aurora.” Ding-ding.
There you have a relative sense of Denver by the dots.
