Denver Police, Protesters Clash

Denver -- Even seeing the friendly and sometimes familiar faces of Denver police under the riot gear, the effect of the police response to DNC demonstrations at the start of the week was a real shock. I had heard the voices of some who were looking forward to conflict, and now I could hear the chants and derision as well as the voices of others who were expressing their passion for peace and positive change.

It's not just downtown that there's an air of occupation and pending emergency. On the light rail, local police have been diverted to patrol the cars, and around their waists can be seen standard-issue military chemical and biological weapon masks in olive-green sacks.

My first encounter with what must bring back memories to the Recreate '68 folks was Sunday during what seemed like any other downtown festival. Denver's a pretty politically active and progressive city, so the booths were much the same, and even some of the small sidewalk marches were pretty familiar. What occurred by the capitol was just like one of our frequent thunderstorms where the skies darken, thunder and lightning rage, and blue skies return shortly thereafter. From streets full of people and a capitol lawn covered with chanting demonstrators and families, clear streets and green lawn returned less than an hour later.

In a video I've posted, you can see the intensity of the moment. The police warning and countdown, protester jeering, concerned voices around me on the sidelines and sounds of machinery, horses, helicopters and marching, all from another time and place. Yet here we all were, in the middle of something that we knew could evolve into anything.

Talking with police and residents around the downtown area, the general consensus has been that not much will really happen this week. I tend to agree. A friend and I compared it to European riots, noting that it's just not the same crowd. No overturned cars, no fires in the middle of the street. Just an energy that needs a place to go. The police seem to understand that, and their strategy, such as I could see, was to put the demonstration out like a fire when necessary -- scatter the burning pieces around through random motion until they lose critical mass.

Heading towards the light rail down the 16^th street mall, my friend and I found what was likely a remnant of the original mass gathering. Blocking the streets and rails, it was significant but easily avoided, and we were on our way quickly on a bus. This is only Sunday, however, and groups like Recreate '68 have their own kind of organized thinking -- and there are other groups which target them, and so on. Alertness is key during the celebrations, but so far there seems to be balance between police and protesters.

This is also downtown Denver, during a sunny Sunday afternoon, with lots of locals and tourists wandering around. The area around the Pepsi Center, where the Democratic National Convention is taking place, is cleared of average folks on their daily business, and will see its first major media focus on Monday.