Officer Contact Prompts Boulder Police Internal Investigation

BOULDER, CO -- After local police officers detained a man picking up trash outside of his own apartment on Friday, the Boulder Police Department has officially launched an internal investigation into the incident on Monday, according to a department press release.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on Friday, a Boulder police officer observed a man sitting in a partially enclosed patio behind a "Private Property" sign in the 2300 block of Arapahoe Avenue. The officer approached the man to see if he was allowed to be on the property, according to the release, and the man stated that he both worked and lived in the building and presented the officer with his school identification card.

The officer detained the man for further questioning and radioed for additional assistance, reporting that the man was uncooperative and refused to put down a blunt object that was used to pick up trash, police say.

Several officers, including a supervisor, responded and found that the man had a right to be on the property and returned his ID card. According to police, no further action was taken.

A video was posted to social media Friday by an onlooker.

"I live here," , the man, who is black, can be heard yelling to officers in the clip. "I'm picking up garbage from my [expletive] dorm. I go to school here."

Both the man and the person taking the video can be heard referencing the increasing number of officers and the fact that they are armed, although no guns are clearly visible in the shaky 14 minute clip. "You're not going to get away with murder," the man yells at one point.

Early Monday morning, the department reports that it opened an official internal affairs investigation into the incident. Once their report has been completed, it will be reviewed by the Professional Standards Review Panel, comprised of six community members and six police department representatives, which will provide a recommendation to the chief of police.

The investigation and review is expected to take between 60 and 90 days.

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