DENVER – Two police officers in Denver have been suspended without pay after city officials said they used excessive force during racial justice protests last year sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Officers Derek Streeter and Diego Archuleta were the first in the department to be disciplined for excessive force during the protests, The Denver Post reported Tuesday.
Another officer was fired in June 2020 for posting a photo on social media during the protests of himself wearing riot gear captioned “Let’s start a riot.”
A Denver Department of Public Safety disciplinary order said Streeter was suspended for 10 days for firing pepper balls three times at people who did not pose a threat, and Archuleta was suspended for six days for using pepper spray on a woman sitting in her car.
Archuleta told investigators he immediately knew it was a mistake but did not think the woman was affected because she rolled up her window and started using her phone.
The Post obtained the disciplinary order through a public records request.
Denver police internal affairs opened disciplinary cases after reviewing body camera footage.
The officers could not be located for comment. A telephone call and an email to the police union was not immediately returned.