The president of the police union in Denver, Colorado, Nick Rogers, confirmed on Wednesday that there had been a “stand-down” order in place during a pro-police rally held by conservative activists, as reported by Fox News.
Rogers, head of the Denver Police Protective Association, explained in an interview with local radio host Peter Boyles, on 710 KNUS. As a result of the order officially being in place, Denver police were prohibited from protecting attendees of the “Back the Blue” rally when Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other far-left terrorist organizations suddenly appeared and began attacking the demonstrators.
One of the leaders of the pro-cop rally was conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who described the attackers as wielding collapsible batons as they attacked her and others who were speaking onstage when the chaos began. Numerous fistfights broke out, and at least one pro-police demonstrator walked away with a massive bleeding gash in his forehead.
In the radio interview, Rogers said that upon learning of the stand-down order, he “reached out” to the police department and said “someone has to apologize. Someone from the police side has to apologize.” He also revealed that many of the demonstrators were ultimately saved when a single lieutenant who was present at the rally defied the order and broke ranks, keeping his officers at the rally to protect those who were being attacked.
Randy Corporon, a lawyer and one of the rally’s organizers, revealed that the excuse he was given by Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen, prior to the event, was that Pazen feared that “his officers were going to get hurt.” Corporon says he responded by simply saying that “he should allow his officers to do their job…if people are down there breaking the law, stop them.”