28-05-2025
How George Floyd protests changed Denver — and where the movement stands now
Five years ago, George Floyd's murder sparked nationwide protests that morphed into a movement condemning police violence and calling for swift reforms.
Zoom in: Robert Davis, as co-leader of the reimagining police task force, advocated for reforms to improve Denver's policing practices in the aftermath of Floyd's killing.
He was a key figure in a movement calling for increased accountability and transparency for Denver law enforcement.
Why it matters: Five years after Floyd's death, Davis and other community members have lost optimism in a movement committed to ensuring a death like Floyd's won't happen again.
The global protests and corporate and institutional pledges have largely collapsed since the start of the second Trump administration.
In its place is a new political and cultural order backed by the administration rolling back DEI programs, civil rights initiatives and curtailing police reform efforts like consent decrees.
State of play: Lisa Calderon, executive director of Women Uprising, worked alongside Davis on the police task force to craft 112 policy recommendations for Denver law enforcement.
The recommendations included minimizing unnecessary public interaction with law enforcement and improved funding for alternative response efforts, like STAR.
Calderon namechecked what she considered lasting victories: DPD's limiting of low-level traffic stops and City Council voting to decriminalize jaywalking.
However, she says more can be done: "We have not seen the transformational changes that we had hoped."
Context: DPD has fully or partially implemented 64% of those suggestions, per their own tracking, though Davis says not all were implemented the way the task force recommended.
DPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Flashback: Floyd's 2020 murder brought renewed attention to Elijah McClain's 2019 death in neighboring Aurora, propelling the case to the national spotlight, and prompting Gov. Jared Polis to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.
McClain, who was Black, died after being stopped by police and sedated with Ketamine by paramedics who were later convicted in 2023 for their role in his death.
Threat level: Denver has paid out $18.4 million in settlements related to the 2020 protests, per the latest data from the City Attorney's Office — a tangible reminder of how some officers mishandled George Floyd protest response.
