More protests planned as Colorado Springs mayor remains publicly silent on officer “KILL EM ALL” investigation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Protesters' deadline calling on Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers to publicly address an internal police investigation has come and gone.
The investigation involves an alleged Colorado Springs police officer commenting “KILL THEM ALL” on a KRDO Facebook Livestream showing Black Lives Matter protesters blocking part of I-25 for hours on June 30.
The group Colorado Springs Oversight wanted Mayor Suthers to hold a press conference and give an update on the investigation by today to promote government transparency.
The Colorado Springs Police Department has said it cannot comment on an active investigation. Lt. James Sokolik is a public information officer for CSPD. He talked to KRDO about the protocol for internal investigations.
“It’s not available to the general public while it’s going on,” Sokolik said. “It’s not available to the officer involved. It’s not available to just anyone who wants to know about it.”
The mayor’s office had a similar response today, writing that the city has “no further comment at this time.”
That contradicts what one of the co-founders of Colorado Springs Oversight reports. Martin Lewis claims to have spoken with Mayor Suthers at length Wednesday about the matter.
“I received a call from the mayor yesterday,” Lewis said. “We spoke for about 45 minutes. While he spoke and told me information, it’s not what we asked. We ask that he give that transparency to the public.”
The group says it won't back down. Colorado Springs Oversight plans to protest outside the mayor’s office once again tomorrow, followed by a Black Lives Matter March to Acacia Park at 6:00 p.m.
