Hospital where he was treated for a cut on his eye and a concussion. All charges have been dropped by the Denver City Attorney's office. The officers were cleared following an investigation by Denver Police and Independent Monitor, Richard Rosenthal. Rosenthal found the officers' actions were justified. The city awarded Ashford $35,000, citing that they believed the officers used excessive force and criticized Rosenthal for ruling their actions justified. One officer retired after the incident and one remains on the job. In August 2010, the city agreed to pay $20,000 to James Watkins to settle a civil lawsuit. In the suit, Watkins claimed Officers John Ruddy and Randy Penn slammed his face into the pavement repeatedly after hearing him say, "cops suck" to a friend. 2013 In April 2013, there was controversy surrounding the involvement of the Denver Police in a speech by President Obama in support of gun control. There were complaints by Denver Police officers that they were encouraged (or coerced) to participate in President Obama's rally, while they were forbidden from participating in a counter-rally by more than a dozen Colorado county sheriffs. 2014 On July 2, 2014, Ryan Ronquillo was killed after running over a Denver Police detective while trying to escape arrest in a stolen car. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey declared the shooting justified amid protests. On December 7, 2014, North Denver News published a story claiming Denver had the 2nd highest per-capita rate of death from law enforcement in the country during the period 1999–2012. This was the result of their independent research of Center for Disease Control data, showing Denver 2nd only to Baltimore. 2017 The Denver Police Union passed a vote of no confidence in Chief Robert White's leadership after multiple misconduct investigations yielded no corrective action. During the investigations, Mayor Hancock revoked the Office of the Independent Monitor's ability to provide civilian oversight for these investigations. Mayor Hancock declared that the mayor's office would have sole responsibility for oversight of investigations involving Chief White despite the Independent Monitor's involvement in previous Chief of Police investigations. Following these events, Chief White announced he would retire as soon as a replacement could be selected. 2020 In the midst of the George Floyd protests the department has come under increased scrutiny by elements of the community within the city. On July 5, 2020, the police department was placed under a federal injunction limiting