# Fliers offer cash for slaying police.



## Gil (Jun 15, 1998)

Fliers offer cash for slaying police. 
By Brian D. Crecente, The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colo.) 
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3066738,00.html

Fliers offering a bounty for killing police officers appeared on car windshields Monday morning, prompting a criminal investigation and a citywide alert.

The fliers, which offer $5,000 for a "crooked cop's life" and "$10,000 a badge," feature pictures of Frank Lobato and Paul Childs, both killed in controversial Denver police shootings.

The fliers, which promote a "cop-killer program" with cash prizes, were distributed in the Lincoln Park area by a group identifying itself only as "N.E.F.F.," said Denver Deputy Chief Mike Battista.

Lincoln Park is where Lobato, a 63-year-old invalid, was shot and killed July 11 by officer Ranjan Ford Jr., who mistook a soda can in Lobato's hand for a weapon.

"Obviously, it's a concern to us because they are threatening officers' lives, and we take any threats seriously," Battista said.

Officers working Monday were told of the threatening fliers during roll call and cautioned to be more careful.

The department's intelligence unit is handling the investigation, Battista said. He added that the FBI is not involved "at this time."

FBI spokeswoman Monique Kelso said the agency would assist in the investigation if Denver police request its help.

The fliers provoked a strong reaction from city leaders and activists alike.

Mayoral spokeswoman Lindy Eichenbaum-Lent called the flier "disgusting," adding that when Mayor John Hickenlooper learned of it, he was "angered and outraged."

"If anyone thinks threats like this make our community safer, they're crazy," Hickenlooper said. "If we are truly going to increase public safety - which should be everyone's goal - then we need to work with our police officers, not against them."

Manager of Safety Al LaCabe said the city is taking the threat seriously, but that he questions its legitimacy.

"I don't know if it's something just designed to spark a reaction or get a message across, or if it's genuine," he said. "It's certainly something that's serious. The danger of that kind of message is that it's divisive and does nothing to attempt to deal with the issue we have."

LaCabe called for city residents to ignore the message and said the fliers do nothing but "polarize the community that much more."

Community leader Adrienne Benavidez, an attorney and former chairwoman of the Public Safety Review Commission, was shocked to hear of the fliers.

"Anyone who I've worked with on civilian-rights issues would never be a party to anything like that," she said.

The Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the Greater Metro Ministerial Alliance, called the existence of the fliers unfortunate and sad.

"There is no place for that in this city at all," he said. "I'm appalled because that is not how you go about changing and making change in society.

"That's ludicrous to even entertain the thought."

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The Fliers:

The threat: Fliers were put on car windshields in the Lincoln Park area offering $5,000 for a "crooked cop's life" and "$10,000 a badge"

The reaction: "I don't know if it's something just designed to spark a reaction, or get a message across, or if it's genuine. It's certainly something that's serious. The danger of that kind of message is that it's divisive and does nothing to attempt to deal with the issue we have." 
-- Manager of Safety Al LaCabe


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## girlcop21 (Jul 20, 2004)

How can one begin to even think of a reply to what these people are doing.... 
it never ceases to amaze me what we as police officers, defenders of life 
and property, have to deal with on a daily basis. All the more reason to constantly 
be aware of who we are dealing with, no matter how "routine" a situation may be.


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## Deuce (Sep 27, 2003)

:-k Let me get this straight, I can get 10k for just my badge?


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