Denver City Council canceled its Monday meeting amid predictions of another night of large and possibly violent George Floyd protests downtown.
The council will instead meet Thursday at 9 a.m., according to an email from Linda Jamison, legislative services director for the council.
The group will not have a public comment session Thursday, confirmed Lisa Calderón, chief of staff for Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca.
Since Thursday, crowds in Denver — along with cities across the country — have protested the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Particularly in the evenings, some protesters have thrown rocks and bottles, and police have responded with tear gas, pepper balls and foam bullets.
At least three Denver police officers and one civilian have been injured.
To combat the violence, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock enacted an 8 p.m. curfew, which he has extended through Monday, though many protesters have ignored it.
Most of the protests have centered around the Capitol, Civic Center, and the city and county building, and holding a council meeting Monday evening could place city officials and citizens in harm’s way, said Councilman Chris Hinds, whose 10th district includes the Capitol Hill area besieged by the protests.
“We’re getting gassed here every night,” Hinds said. “It just makes no sense.”
Plus the city’s public safety resources are already spread thin and a council meeting would create an added complication, he said.
The council has important work to discuss, including a controversial zoning change request from the nonprofit Women’s Bean Project, Hinds said. But that work can be handled later in the week when it’s safer. Plus, the council’s work also includes protecting citizens and engaging with the community during these difficult times, he said.
“My duty is to be with my community and to observe and document,” Hinds said.
The legislature, which canceled meetings planned Friday and Saturday because of the protests, is back at work today as it attempts to finish its 2020 session — paused in March as the coronavirus took hold in Colorado — in three weeks.
