January 13, 2025 • 34 mins
We go live to a press conference from 16th Street Mall in Denver, featuring police chief Ron Thomas and mayor Mike Johnston. The latter uses to opportunity to assure everyone the stabbing murders were an anomaly and statistics shows the city is actually getting safer - so there's nothing to worry about, come on down!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Dan Caplis and welcome to today's online podcast
edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to
give us a five star rating if you'd be so kind,
and to subscribe, download and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform. That's why even
notorious party or Elton John said, one of the biggest
mistakes America ever made was legalizing dope. And you look
(00:22):
at what just happened in downtown Denver, one of the
most terrific killings you could expect. You have three stabbed
within an hour on Saturday, one a flight attendant on
a layover who goes down there to shop and gets
her throat slit in downtown Denver and killed. And then
Sunday night, Sunday night, this murderer gets another victim just
(00:43):
off the mall. And yeah, I infer from I haven't
tested his blood or anything else. I infer from public reports. Yeah,
he's likely a very heavy marijuana user and his behavior
is consistent, in my opinion, with thy psychotic break. That's
why when you get to this texter who said, Dan,
you do or do not know that the purp was
(01:04):
high at the time of the stabbings text, You're missing
the point. The point isn't that people get high on
marijuana and impaired in the way we typically think of
impairment and then do crazy things and start slitting throats. Listen,
you do get a bunch of crime that happens that way.
But here's the even bigger problem, and that is the
psychotic breaks that come with this mass drug use. Not
(01:28):
for everybody, but for way too many. Look at the
planned parenthood killer down in Colorado. Springs said he came
to Colorado for the legal dope. Look at this guy
who you know, he was arrested at age nineteen for
dealing dope and he has marijuana leaf as his profile
picture on his website, on his social media along with
other stuff glorifying dope and the behavior not by way
(01:50):
of excuse, he should be in jail for life. The
behavior seems obviously consistent with some type of psychotic break.
So you can you stick your head in the sand,
but then you get your you know what kicked. And
Mike Johnston has started a press conference, then we're going
to go to Jim Collier, former chief of Denver PD,
kind enough to be with us. Thanks, Ryan, take us
(02:11):
in there.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The success of the last year is critically important. We're
very proud of the fact that we saw the historic reduction,
this game mazing homicide rate last year, the largest.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Starting this press conference bregging about his success.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Percent reduction and shootings, we've seen here in downtown of
fifty percent decline and drug related offenses, and so we
see that all of those are heading in the right direction.
And yet we also know that no amount of crime
is acceptable, and we will keep pushing to make improvements
every day. We also know such the safest city as
an activated student, and so we're proud not just of
(02:48):
the reductions in crime, but we're proud of the increase
in the activations and presence here in downtown. We've seen
the morning revenue from these blocks of the sickon Stream
Mall that are opened, many of these retailers up almost
thirty five percent. We've seen three times more leasing requests
for folks who want to rent office space on these blocks,
three times.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
More interested in the last several weeks, beliefs.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
In the last three years. So we know that there
is every day more and more activities, more and more momentum,
and more and more excitement we are on the precipice
of making the largest investment in downtown in the city's history,
what will be perhaps the largest investment for capita of
any downtown in the country. Because we know more people
on the streets that are living, that are working, that
(03:31):
are playing, are always better for the city center. I
think we have not seen random acts of violence like
this in our city center for as long as we
can remember, and so that means we are both heartbroken
for the folks who are supping, and we also are
deeply committed to the piece. So that this individual has
(03:53):
been detained, is in custody, we will pursue all possible
charges against him, and these random acts of violence are
not typical and are not something we should expect.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
You know what that tells me, ongoing, I really should
go down there. If he's going to deny the reality.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
I'll also say that we know that even right now
just who he is. She's going to talk more about this,
but we will commit to increasing the number of police
patrols and police presence here in downtown and the weeks
and months ahead making sure.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
That the reversing legal dopey day matches what.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
We know the data shows which is a city growing safer,
a more environmental game. They wanted to share that information
with you just so you know how deeply committed we
are to making this Denver's living room and a place
where everybody still.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Knows not trust that guy to keep you safe.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And drink and come to games and see shows and
spend time with their family.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
How is he right now? It's just who he is, shameless.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Tell a little bit more information.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
How about a little respect for the flight to Tenue
in our throats? She comes to downtown Denver Saturday for
a layover and she goes home in a box. How
about a little respect for her, Mike in her family.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
To begin by Police Chief on Thomas.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
And I'll bring our condolences for the family loved ones, for.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Those who were a mayorships light crime.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
And also I want to take the time to acknowledge
all of our officers, all of our safety security partners
who really jumped in immediately and helped to bring this
person to justice.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Were are the public warnings? So when it started, on.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
The timeline of the events as they occurred, so as
we know now, there was the original incident occurred at
about five to ten Saturday, evening. We did not know
of that event because the victim of that event transported
themselves to Dinver Health Medical and so we were not
(05:45):
aware of that of them until about twenty minutes after
six o'clock. The first event that we were aware of
recurring about five twenty, and that was the female victim
who ultimately was deceased. They received a knife w into
the throat by an undescribed individual. We responded, we began
(06:08):
investigating that incident. We did have some very vague descriptions
that were were put out. There were resources that were
drawn from throughout District six that were deployed looking for
that suspect and managing the scene. About thirty minutes later,
so at about five fifty four, we had a third incident
(06:31):
that was recorded at sixteenth and Laurence, another individual that
had been stabbed in the arm and in the torso.
That individual is transported to the hospital where he was
placed in critical care sedated, so we're not able to
get much from him.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
But then soon where the warning six twenty is.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
When we were notified of the original victim who was
attacked at sixteen and Tremont slashed in the face.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
They told about that and it was really that.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Time that we really started to identify that we were
likely talking about the very same suspect. We had some
details on what that individual looked like. That is when
we began to draw additional resources from across the city
the Mayor Denver to look for this to this individual.
(07:29):
Those resources maintained a presence throughout the evening on Saturday
and into the day on Sunday. Unfortunately, as we all know,
at about eight o'clock on Sunday evening, as officers were
in the area looking for this subject, they saw an
individual running they with a knife in hand. They were
(07:52):
able to quickly take him into custody. This occurred at
sixteen and Wine Coop. He was taken into custody, and
mediately after he was taken into custody, we identified that
he had just stabbed somebody right there at that vicinity.
That person who was transported to the hospital where again
they ultimately expired. So we have continued that that safety
(08:17):
presence in this area. We will continue that, as the
Mayor alluded to, will continue that presence for the foreseeable future.
What that looks like is obviously officers that are assigned
to District six in assigned posts on the mall in
around the male put patrols, bicycle pulp patrols, motorcycles and vehicles.
(08:40):
We also have additional uncommitted resources that would be detailed
down here to provide that extra.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
What does the mayor know and what do you know?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
What do we do with that partnership as well as
all of the other security teams along the mall to
make sure that we have a secure blanket of safety
in this area. So that I think I've been opened
up for any questions anyone.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Asked ask Mike Johnston questions why no public warning? Why
wasn't the public toll? We've got a serial attacker on
the mall.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
We give another standing be.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
That is correct?
Speaker 5 (09:20):
That is correct.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
So they saw the person running, then quickly identify that
he had a knife in hand. He was he was
captured very quickly, and it wasn't until after that occurred
that we realized that we had someone that was sad.
And so this identification apprehension took place before there was
even a call.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Mary Bryan keeper only, Okay, we have to this break
right now. We're going to continue to roll in. It
will have Tim Conley, your former chief with us shortly
and then we'll get you any other important sound. But
here's the point. The best police force in the world
stationed everywhere on the mall. Once you have somebody determined
to commit serial killings, and at that point, the public
has to know because the best police force in the
(10:04):
world may not be able to stop it at that moment.
That's why there has to be a mass warning to
the public. We've got a serial killer targeting the mot
What did Johnston know, when did he know it? Who
made the decision not to issue a mass warning? Welcome
back in a second, you're on the Dan Kapla Show.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And now back to the Dan Kapla Show podcast.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, but he's hiding in playing sight. I'm talking about
the mayor, Mayor Johnston that this is a moment of testing, right,
This is when you know your real leaders are. We
used to have some true, big, strong Democrat leaders. I
disagreed with them on policy, but a man like Mayor Web,
a man like Roy Romer, you know, they would stand up,
they would shoot straight that, they wouldn't play these these games.
(10:57):
That Mayor Johnston is no accountability. This was a victory lap.
So we just had an American Airlines flight attendant have
her throat slit on the Sixteenth Street mall. One of
three people that is a murderer tried to kill within
an hour by stabbing on the sixteenth Street mall. And
then Sunday night he got another one stabbed somebody else
(11:18):
to death just off the sixteenth Street Mall. Johnston shows up,
No shame, totally despicable, takes a victory lap. You go back.
We've carried this press conference live from the beginning, no apologies.
And now maybe it happened and we just didn't catch
it on air. I didn't hear him, and he should
have started and said it repeatedly, express his sympathy to
(11:38):
the flight attendant, her family, the other murder victim, the
other stabbing victims. It was a whole victory lap about
how great he has done.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Well, that's the thing, Dan, he did start with that.
It doesn't matter. Get muddled in. The message is I'm
going to turn this into a Chamber of Commerce speech
promoting the city of Dever.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Damn.
Speaker 6 (11:55):
Could you imagine Mayor Eric Adams trying to pull this
crap in New York or the Mayor Detroit.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I happened in Detroit, for even in Chicago. He's just shameless.
But you got to understand this is not by way
of excuse. He's a creature of the left, for whom
honesty is viewed as a weakness, and so it doesn't
matter how deceptive it is. But you're telling me he
did start the presser by expressing condolences to the victims.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
It was like a heartbeat. I said that. He went
on to Denver's great, we're doing so well. Here's these
great statistics.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
Meanwhile, a woman with their throats slash just died.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay, well, well, thank you for correcting that, because I
want to make sure the record's clear he did acknowledge that.
But it is so offensive to then turn this into
a victory lap where he's talking about how great he's
done and how much he's improved things. In fact, the
highlight of that Ryan, and you can't play it on
air because there's no way to clean it up, is
this guy walks behind him and starts yelling about how
(12:48):
he's a blank in crime loving democrat and there are
too many blanks in there for us to clean it up.
But listen, I think you should just let people speak.
So I don't endorse people going and busting that sort
of thing up, but I did have to admit I
kind of laughed at that because he's such a phony.
If it was web up there, if it was roamer
(13:09):
up there, you know, they wouldn't have done what Mike
Johnston did because it really is just indecent and nobody's
going to buy it. It just makes me less willing
to go down there because he Obviously, if you cannot
be honest about the source, the cause, the depth of
the problem, it can't be fixed. And listen, I want
to hear the questions. I want to hear the questions
(13:31):
about mister Merritt, When did you know we had a
serial attacker on the mall and what decision did you
make about whether to warn the public or not. We
need to know that I'm not hearing those questions asked.
I'm not hearing Johnston address it. You can't blame law
enforcement because listen to the reality is you could have
law enforcement officers everywhere, and when you have a serial
(13:53):
killer who is two things we can be pretty sure
about this killer right determined to kill and determined to
get caught, because eventually he essentially gives up by running
away down the mall with a large butcher style knife
in his hand after just killing another victim. That's somebody
who wants to get caught. The point is, when you've
(14:16):
got a serial killer on the loose like that mission,
a number one way to protect people is to warn
the public. Hey, we got a serial killer loose in
this area. Why didn't we get that. I'm not saying
there wasn't some sort of tweet put out or something
like that, but at that point, and if you disagree
with me, we'll make you the first caller a texture.
That's got to be a five alarm fire. That's got
(14:38):
to be warning everybody in every way you can think of.
You know how we get these amber alerts, And I'm
glad we do. And everybody's phone goes off and says, hey,
you know we got this, Yeah, and we're all on
the lookout, as good citizens should be. Everybody should have
been informed we've got a serial killer loose on the mall,
a serial stabber. The public deserved that warning. But remember
in two thousand and Ninemocret administration that one higgenloopers. They
(15:02):
knew they had these serial attackers for months, and they
hit it from the public because it'd make John Higginloper
look bad and it would scare away business. Well, what's
more important the human life, not to the Democrats. And
once again, I want to know what did Johnston know,
when did he know it? And who made the decision
not to do a full scale warning to the public,
(15:23):
because that's the only way you can protect people. This
isn't on the cops.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
It's just that thing.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
By the way, what's that The press conference just ended? Yeah,
and I want to know from I want to know
from you. Can the mall be saved? If so, how
do you save them all? Are you going to go
back down there I mentioned earlier. I was just down
there with Amy and Joe and Caroline. We were on
that very spot and we were walking over where you're
going to see the nutcracker and everything else. Would I
(15:49):
do the same thing again? Right now? You know that
the fact that the mayor is in this state of
denial and use this press conference to talk about how
well he's doing makes me feel less safe because if
he's not willing to acknowledge the problem, he's not willing
to fix it. And again the earlier point, I believe
(16:10):
this is another example of the harm cost to the
state by legalized marijuana. This guy, he was arrested for marijuana,
according to published reports in nineteen dealing marijuana. He glorifies
marijuana on his website. This has all the markings. Have
I seen the blood samples or anything else? Has all
the markings of a psychotic break Like that monster who
killed everybody at the planned paranoid clinic in Colorado. Springs
(16:33):
said he came here for the legalized dope. You know, yeah,
that this is part of the price you pay for
legalizing marijuana. Dan, why didn't you let us hear the
press conference? You kept talking over the people and then
you cut it sure Two things. No, I only talked
when there was nothing you could hear, because you couldn't
hear the questions being asked. Number Two, Now we had
(16:55):
to go to our break, and by the time we
came back, they were just they were winding the thing down.
And it it wasn't the mayor, and it just I
made the decision. It just wasn't anything useful. We'll go
back and listen to the sound and if there was,
I'll let you know. But don't you think if there
was going to be something useful, they would have put
it in the very beginning. And this I'll bet you
that there wasn't one single fact there about why they
(17:16):
didn't warn the public. We got to get to the
bottom of that. Dan, I'm guessing they did not announce
it because they didn't want to deter all the people
going downtown on Sunday to watch the Bronco games and
restaurants and bars. This is the Daniel Penny effect that
from Alexa Listen, I have no doubt that we didn't
get the mass warnings the public deserved, in part because
they were worried about the effect on business. Human life
(17:39):
has to come first. But there's also no doubt in
my mind the far bigger reason, like it was in
two thousand and nine when the hicken Looper administration didn't
tell the public, is it would have made Hickenlooper look bad,
not good from politically right. And there's nothing good about
this story for the left. You've got that this, everything
about this is bad for Democrats, bad for the soft
(18:00):
on crime democrats, bad for the soft on drugs democrats,
bad for the legalized drugs democrats. And again you had
during the press conference and Ryan can't play it because
it was full of f words. You had this guy
walk by behind Johnston and yelling at him about the
blank and crime loving Democrats. And that's the point. You
look at it, everything from polists, the fentanyl laws, everything else.
(18:22):
Democrats made a decision years ago in this state that
they prioritize criminals over victims. And that's just the reality
of the Democratic Party in Colorado. You're on the Dan Kapla.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Show, you're listening to the Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Every time I hear that Carrie under with sewing, I
think of our daughter Caroline and so lucky to have
her work in her law firm right now. But she
also looks like carry Underwood. In fact, somebody gave us
seats right behind the glass behind the Nashville bench to
a game a few years ago, and you can't see
anything in the game, but it's kind of cool to
(19:01):
be there. And then there was a guy you'll know Ryan,
you know all this stuff. There was a player for
the Predators who was married to Carrie Underwood. And he
comes skating off the ice after a shift or something,
and he stopped and he stared right at us, and
then I realized that he probably thought Caroline was his wife,
surprising him. Mike Fisher, Yeah, Mike Fisher, Yeah, thank you. Wow, Hey, yeah,
(19:26):
she is going to perform at Trump's inauguration. Really really
happy to see that. And that's why we played that.
If you just joined us, thank you. We're talking about
something deadly serious and something we have to get to
the bottom.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Two.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Obviously, we had this serial killer on the mall, just
killing in most terrific ways, nightmare ways. As a Texter says,
oh yeah, Denver going to make a knives I legal now,
but yeah, big large scale butcher knife like something out
of a horror movie, slits the throat of a flight
attendant on a layover American Airlines flight attendant and stebs
(19:59):
to others with within an hour on the mall. So
and then they find out and then they find out
a short time later that they had all three stabbed
within the hour. So why wasn't there a five alarm
fire warning to the public, Because at that point, you know,
no matter how great the police work or whatever, if
you've got a serial killer determined to kill like that,
(20:19):
that the only way to truly protect the public is
to warn the public. So the public can make their
own choice about whether to go there. But who made
the decision not to And I'm not saying there wasn't
some little, meally mouthed press release issued. I'm talking about
really warning the public like their own like they knew
their own wife and kids were going to be down
on the mall. Who made the decision not to do that?
(20:40):
What did the mayor know, when did he know it?
Who decided the public wouldn't be warned? And remember we
have a history of this two thousand and nine Democrat
administration hicken Looper serial vicious beatings going on in Loto
for four months part of a gang, right a gang initiation,
and that Hiccloper administration made the decision not to warn
the public. Police were doing a great job figuring out
(21:01):
what was going on and why, but it was the
Democrat administration made the decision not to warn the public.
And it looks like we have the same thing here.
I still want to get all the facts, but we
know what was going on. We know there was no
five alarm fire type warning to the public. Why not
and who made that decision? We got to get to
the bottom and that the other issue here obviously is
(21:23):
if it is what it appears to be. You know,
because this guy we can reasonably infer was evy marijuana
user based on his arrest for marijuana in twenty nineteen,
glorifying dope use on his social media, etc. If all
of those reports are true, then is this yet another
example of what you get when you legalize dope. We'll
(21:44):
go back to the phone lines. Want to get to
some of our Texters. Dan I took my four kids
downtown for the first time on Saturday for the since
COVID for the mammoth game I've avoided due to crime.
I don't think I will head down again. We'll probably
move back to Grand Rapids. Don't want my kids growing
up in this state anymore. Dan I took my four
kids downtown. No sincere apologies or sincere concerned for a
(22:10):
seventy one year old woman whose neck was slashed on
his streets, but he did once again highlight that he
can speak fluent Spanish. One of the safest big cities
in America. He said that from Andy, it really was
just it was so disrespectful, it was so inappropriate. This
press conference should have belonged to the victims and should
(22:31):
have belonged to showing respect for them and talking about
what they were going to do to make sure that
this never happened again. Instead, it sounds like Gran, says
Mike Johnston, gave some brief acknowledgment of the victims in
the beginning, but then it clearly was a victory lap
for him. It was bizarre and insulting to everybody living
and dead. Dan, Both the Mare and police chief have
(22:54):
the authority to activate the emergency alert system. Thank you, Texture,
And if you can explain to us some more what
that that involves. I mean I can guess that it's
something like reverse calls, etc. Whatever they had, whatever ability
they had to alert people once you know, you have
a serial killer on the mall who's not apprehended, and
they're targeting people in a concise area like that and
(23:15):
viciously stabbing people, slashing throats. Yeah, you've got to let
everybody know. Boy, so many of these texts. I'm trying
to find some different angles here, Dan, someone needs to
ask the Mare if he feels guilty knowing his gun
laws prevented the citizens of Colorado from protecting themselves. Listen,
I think that he should absolutely feel guilty about not
(23:39):
warning the public, assuming he knew. Now are they trying
to tell us he got a serial killer loose on
the mall, unapprehended and nobody told the mayor. Maybe, But
we need the answer to those questions who made the
decision not to warn the public, because that's the only
way to truly protect the public.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Dan.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
When you change the severity of the crimes so as
to not make them a portable incident, you can make
just about anything fits your narrative. As a former LEO,
that is how our department hit things, so they didn't
show on the books, LEO, Law Enforcement Officer Dan. Will
there be a knife band now in Denver?
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Dan?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Ridiculous? People don't start slitting risks because they smoke weed.
Maybe the perp is just not likely drugs and alcohol involved.
It is all about moderation. Whether alcohol marijuana are the
drugs or a combination. Please call the show Texter, because
you're living in a friggin dream world, an absolute dream world. No,
But the point isn't that, Oh, somebody smokes some weed
(24:36):
and they want to go out and slash a woman's throat. Now,
the point is that when you decide to do something
that until Denver did it, no city in the world
in modern times had done for obvious reasons. It's nuts.
When you decide to legalize dope like this and sell
it the way they were going to sell it, and
let the potency rise from three percent to eighty or
ninety percent, then yeah, this is what you're gonna get.
(24:57):
And it's not about oh, Cheech has you know, Chech
hits a bong and so he's going to go slash throats.
It's about you are going to create psychotic breaks. You
are going to cause people to act ways they would nact.
Not everybody, but obviously way too many. And think about
all the crime, all the violence, all the horror we
(25:20):
have in Colorado that's tied to the legalization of marijuana
that you never hear about, because guess what, the powers
that be have no incentive, no incentive whatsoever, to document
all that, to pull together those stats, to report all
that to you. If they've got an incentive to do
the opposite. It's just when you have some very high
(25:40):
profile crime like this that it comes to the fore
and yeah, I'm inferring that there's some kind of psychochotic break.
You look at the way this kid kid twenty four
murderer glorifies marijuana, et cetera. Yeah, I don't think that's
a stretch. We'll find out together and remember the planned
parenthood vicious murderer. You know, he talked openly about how
(26:02):
he came to Colorado for the legalized dope.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
U Dan.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
It sounds like Mike Johnston has had his psychotic break. No,
quite the opposite. Mike Johnston is a highly intelligent guy
who is is probably the most ambitious politician we've seen
in our lifetime, which is saying a lot when you
look at Polis and some of these other people, and
he is, in my constitutionally protected opinion, he is willing
(26:28):
to say anything at any point in time to try
to advance his political career. And and you know, it's
it's so sad to me because I used to have
mone Era bunch and I thought he was a strade shooter,
really enjoyed his company. I think he's become this political
animal for whom the truth is meaningless, and that is
a dangerous place for Denver to be. A FI five
(26:49):
for zero five A two five five the number. Let's
do this. I want to come back. I want to
dive into calls and let's bring storm together. We'll talk
about it more depth tomorrow. Can the mall be saved?
If so, how is this going to change your behavior
in any way? And how do we get to the
(27:10):
bottom without subpoena power? How do we get to the
bottom of why the public wasn't warned? Who made that decision?
What did the mayor know and when did he know it?
Because if he knew, I have to assume he did.
But if he knew and he made the decision not
to warn the public, that tells you everything you need
to know about him and he should not hold this
(27:30):
or any other office. You're on the Dan Capla Show.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
And now back to the Dan Kaplas Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Obviously, we are heartbroken for the victims of the stabbings
this past weekend, and we know this is an isolated,
exceedingly rare incident and the suspect is now in custody.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yes, so the victims got four seconds and then he
took off on a victory lap, just talking about everything
is better under Mike Johnston, his maryor Yeah. So that
American Airlines flight attendant had her throat slash at the
Big butcher knife on the mall. Two other people stabbed
within the same hour. Another one killed Sunday night. Know, yeah,
Mike Johnston didn't issue five larned fire warnings so you
(28:12):
could protect yourself. No, everything's great in Denver under Mike Johnston.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We know that there is work to do. We also
know that downtown Denver is getting more vibrants and more.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Safe every day.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
The success of the last year is predically important.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, I gotta tell you, when you're standing there as
mayor of a city and you've got these dead bodies,
viciously killed on your Sixteenth Street mall, flight attendant throats slashed,
and you work success anywhere into your press conference, that
that is insulting. That is just respectful. It's despicable. It's
also false. I mean, yeah, Denver never been safer. You're
(28:50):
saying that when you got these bodies strewn across the
sixteenth Street mall. And the biggest thing is what did
he know? When did he know it? Who made the
decision not to warn the public there was a serial
killer loose on the mall because somebody had to write,
let's go to the phone lines. Brian and Oarvada you're
on the Dan Caplis say. Democrats are real big on
saying say their name, say her name. You know, how
(29:10):
about Mike Johnson. At least say the names of the victims.
You know, give them more than three seconds before you
start your victory lap over their dead bodies. Brian, welcome
to the show.
Speaker 5 (29:23):
Hey Dan, did she have like kids or a family
or anything or does anybody know?
Speaker 1 (29:27):
You know, we don't have those details yet. And again,
what this comes back to in my mind is, you know,
if a story is bad for Democrats, you aren't going
to see a lot of reporting on it. You'll see
some noble exceptions to that. But this whole story is
very bad for Democrats.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Well, I know, Dan, but I think in all honest,
I think you're picking the lowest hanging fruit.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I mean, this guy.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
For one, it's a sanctuary city, so we got a
big math problem. One other kind of crazy drugs are
bringing in there.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Now.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
I've known people that are alcoholics, and I've known people
that just smoke pot. Now the people that just smoke pot, Damn,
they're too lazy to go out and kill anybody trust
out fueling it. They're damn, there's something else feeling it.
And this guy had a huge record right like we been.
(30:24):
So it's the DA not doing their job. Like George Uh,
who was on the radio before. What's his name, George,
I can't remember his last name. He's gonna take care
of Yeah, the new DA. He actually won now and
I would feel safe in his district because he's actually
going to go after their criminals. He's going with the
broken window theory. You don't get like fifteen charges and
(30:46):
you're still running on the street. The guy probably had schizophrenia,
which I've known some of those. He was probably on
more than marijuana. And it's just the uh, the lack
of holding people palitible for what they do because there's
a lot of people, damn that just smoke pot on
the Friday night.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, sure, as.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
We stare at their TV watch video.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
And I heard you on that, Brian. But let's break
it down because wait a second, if you're denying that
we've had a big surgeon crime in Colorado since legalization
in marijuana, We've had a big surgeon teen suicide in
Colorado since legalized marijuana. We've had an enormous surge in
mental health crisis among our youth. Since legalization in marijuana.
(31:30):
All of this is documented. It's documented in the New
York Times, it's documented in other places. It's real life.
You want to ignore that, and I don't know why,
but listen, the point is.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
I don't, and I understand. Trust me, if your mind
is growing, the worst thing he could do is drink
alcohol or use marijuana.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Hold on a second, Brian, Hold on a second, Brian.
And I love Brian, but work short on time, and
he does this, I'm going to put Brian on hold
for a second. Here's the reality. He always wants to
bring it back to marijuana garbage, to alcohol garbage. We listen,
alcohol is legal, it's always going to be legal. It's
caused a lot of problem with their youth and adults,
and that's a big mess we have to deal with.
(32:09):
But these people who go off on well, then hey, yeah,
it's only a matter of fairness. If we're going to
have all these broken kids and dead bodies because of alcohol,
we've got to double down and we have to have
more broken kids and more dead bodies because of marijuana.
That's only fair. That is goofy suicidal logic. We don't
have to have legalized marijuana. And here's the point. You
(32:29):
cannot have the kind of system we have for legalized
marijuana sales in Colorado without knowing for a fact you
are going to dramatically increase the amount of dope getting
into the bloodstreams and brains of our children. It can't happen.
You can't have all of these dope stores, more marijuana stores,
and I think Starbucks and McDonald's combined. You can't have
(32:52):
all of that and not have more team marijuana use.
And the point is that everybody who uses marijuana is
going to let somebody's throat. No, there are plenty of
people use it, they enjoy it, they don't commit crimes,
et cetera. But you cannot have the delivery system that
lets them get that without having the big increase in crime,
(33:12):
without having these psychotic break monsters who commit horrible killings,
without having more death on the roadway, without having this
damage to kids. You can't have what you view as
the good without a whole lot of bad. So as
a society, we have to decide does the bad outweigh
the good. Before Colorado legalized it, every other city in
(33:33):
the world had decided that no, that the bad of
doing it like Colorado was going to do it. Outweighs
any good, but Colorado knew better, right, And look what
we get this particular killer. We'll find out if my
theory's correct, but we don't have to guess. I mean
his according to these published reports, His social media page
glorifies dope use. According to published reports, he was arrested
(33:57):
for dope sales at age nineteen. And this behavior certainly
consistent with psychotic break. And that's the point of one
of the types of harms from legalized marijuana. And remember
you can't even call it marijuana, right because the industry
they want to hook them young, hook them forever. They
have all this high potency stuff. It's more like Krakawana.
But you get these psychotic breaks. It's not just a
(34:20):
matter of oh, somebody gets high and decides to do
something crazy. They have these psychotic breaks from heavy dope use.
That's why Elton John no prude, right, Ryan known to
party a little bit, said legalizing marijuana one of the
biggest mistakes of America ever made. That's for Melton John. Brian,
great job, Thanks Royer, hard work, Kelly, You're the best.
Join us tomorrow on the dan Kapla show
This is Dan Caplis and welcome to today's online podcast
edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to
give us a five star rating if you'd be so kind,
and to subscribe, download and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform. That's why even
notorious party or Elton John said, one of the biggest
mistakes America ever made was legalizing dope. And you look
(00:22):
at what just happened in downtown Denver, one of the
most terrific killings you could expect. You have three stabbed
within an hour on Saturday, one a flight attendant on
a layover who goes down there to shop and gets
her throat slit in downtown Denver and killed. And then
Sunday night, Sunday night, this murderer gets another victim just
(00:43):
off the mall. And yeah, I infer from I haven't
tested his blood or anything else. I infer from public reports. Yeah,
he's likely a very heavy marijuana user and his behavior
is consistent, in my opinion, with thy psychotic break. That's
why when you get to this texter who said, Dan,
you do or do not know that the purp was
(01:04):
high at the time of the stabbings text, You're missing
the point. The point isn't that people get high on
marijuana and impaired in the way we typically think of
impairment and then do crazy things and start slitting throats. Listen,
you do get a bunch of crime that happens that way.
But here's the even bigger problem, and that is the
psychotic breaks that come with this mass drug use. Not
(01:28):
for everybody, but for way too many. Look at the
planned parenthood killer down in Colorado. Springs said he came
to Colorado for the legal dope. Look at this guy
who you know, he was arrested at age nineteen for
dealing dope and he has marijuana leaf as his profile
picture on his website, on his social media along with
other stuff glorifying dope and the behavior not by way
(01:50):
of excuse, he should be in jail for life. The
behavior seems obviously consistent with some type of psychotic break.
So you can you stick your head in the sand,
but then you get your you know what kicked. And
Mike Johnston has started a press conference, then we're going
to go to Jim Collier, former chief of Denver PD,
kind enough to be with us. Thanks, Ryan, take us
(02:11):
in there.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The success of the last year is critically important. We're
very proud of the fact that we saw the historic reduction,
this game mazing homicide rate last year, the largest.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Starting this press conference bregging about his success.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Percent reduction and shootings, we've seen here in downtown of
fifty percent decline and drug related offenses, and so we
see that all of those are heading in the right direction.
And yet we also know that no amount of crime
is acceptable, and we will keep pushing to make improvements
every day. We also know such the safest city as
an activated student, and so we're proud not just of
(02:48):
the reductions in crime, but we're proud of the increase
in the activations and presence here in downtown. We've seen
the morning revenue from these blocks of the sickon Stream
Mall that are opened, many of these retailers up almost
thirty five percent. We've seen three times more leasing requests
for folks who want to rent office space on these blocks,
three times.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
More interested in the last several weeks, beliefs.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
In the last three years. So we know that there
is every day more and more activities, more and more momentum,
and more and more excitement we are on the precipice
of making the largest investment in downtown in the city's history,
what will be perhaps the largest investment for capita of
any downtown in the country. Because we know more people
on the streets that are living, that are working, that
(03:31):
are playing, are always better for the city center. I
think we have not seen random acts of violence like
this in our city center for as long as we
can remember, and so that means we are both heartbroken
for the folks who are supping, and we also are
deeply committed to the piece. So that this individual has
(03:53):
been detained, is in custody, we will pursue all possible
charges against him, and these random acts of violence are
not typical and are not something we should expect.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
You know what that tells me, ongoing, I really should
go down there. If he's going to deny the reality.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
I'll also say that we know that even right now
just who he is. She's going to talk more about this,
but we will commit to increasing the number of police
patrols and police presence here in downtown and the weeks
and months ahead making sure.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
That the reversing legal dopey day matches what.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
We know the data shows which is a city growing safer,
a more environmental game. They wanted to share that information
with you just so you know how deeply committed we
are to making this Denver's living room and a place
where everybody still.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Knows not trust that guy to keep you safe.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And drink and come to games and see shows and
spend time with their family.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
How is he right now? It's just who he is, shameless.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Tell a little bit more information.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
How about a little respect for the flight to Tenue
in our throats? She comes to downtown Denver Saturday for
a layover and she goes home in a box. How
about a little respect for her, Mike in her family.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
To begin by Police Chief on Thomas.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
And I'll bring our condolences for the family loved ones, for.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Those who were a mayorships light crime.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
And also I want to take the time to acknowledge
all of our officers, all of our safety security partners
who really jumped in immediately and helped to bring this
person to justice.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Were are the public warnings? So when it started, on.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
The timeline of the events as they occurred, so as
we know now, there was the original incident occurred at
about five to ten Saturday, evening. We did not know
of that event because the victim of that event transported
themselves to Dinver Health Medical and so we were not
(05:45):
aware of that of them until about twenty minutes after
six o'clock. The first event that we were aware of
recurring about five twenty, and that was the female victim
who ultimately was deceased. They received a knife w into
the throat by an undescribed individual. We responded, we began
(06:08):
investigating that incident. We did have some very vague descriptions
that were were put out. There were resources that were
drawn from throughout District six that were deployed looking for
that suspect and managing the scene. About thirty minutes later,
so at about five fifty four, we had a third incident
(06:31):
that was recorded at sixteenth and Laurence, another individual that
had been stabbed in the arm and in the torso.
That individual is transported to the hospital where he was
placed in critical care sedated, so we're not able to
get much from him.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
But then soon where the warning six twenty is.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
When we were notified of the original victim who was
attacked at sixteen and Tremont slashed in the face.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
They told about that and it was really that.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Time that we really started to identify that we were
likely talking about the very same suspect. We had some
details on what that individual looked like. That is when
we began to draw additional resources from across the city
the Mayor Denver to look for this to this individual.
(07:29):
Those resources maintained a presence throughout the evening on Saturday
and into the day on Sunday. Unfortunately, as we all know,
at about eight o'clock on Sunday evening, as officers were
in the area looking for this subject, they saw an
individual running they with a knife in hand. They were
(07:52):
able to quickly take him into custody. This occurred at
sixteen and Wine Coop. He was taken into custody, and
mediately after he was taken into custody, we identified that
he had just stabbed somebody right there at that vicinity.
That person who was transported to the hospital where again
they ultimately expired. So we have continued that that safety
(08:17):
presence in this area. We will continue that, as the
Mayor alluded to, will continue that presence for the foreseeable future.
What that looks like is obviously officers that are assigned
to District six in assigned posts on the mall in
around the male put patrols, bicycle pulp patrols, motorcycles and vehicles.
(08:40):
We also have additional uncommitted resources that would be detailed
down here to provide that extra.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
What does the mayor know and what do you know?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
What do we do with that partnership as well as
all of the other security teams along the mall to
make sure that we have a secure blanket of safety
in this area. So that I think I've been opened
up for any questions anyone.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Asked ask Mike Johnston questions why no public warning? Why
wasn't the public toll? We've got a serial attacker on
the mall.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
We give another standing be.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
That is correct?
Speaker 5 (09:20):
That is correct.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
So they saw the person running, then quickly identify that
he had a knife in hand. He was he was
captured very quickly, and it wasn't until after that occurred
that we realized that we had someone that was sad.
And so this identification apprehension took place before there was
even a call.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Mary Bryan keeper only, Okay, we have to this break
right now. We're going to continue to roll in. It
will have Tim Conley, your former chief with us shortly
and then we'll get you any other important sound. But
here's the point. The best police force in the world
stationed everywhere on the mall. Once you have somebody determined
to commit serial killings, and at that point, the public
has to know because the best police force in the
(10:04):
world may not be able to stop it at that moment.
That's why there has to be a mass warning to
the public. We've got a serial killer targeting the mot
What did Johnston know, when did he know it? Who
made the decision not to issue a mass warning? Welcome
back in a second, you're on the Dan Kapla Show.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And now back to the Dan Kapla Show podcast.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, but he's hiding in playing sight. I'm talking about
the mayor, Mayor Johnston that this is a moment of testing, right,
This is when you know your real leaders are. We
used to have some true, big, strong Democrat leaders. I
disagreed with them on policy, but a man like Mayor Web,
a man like Roy Romer, you know, they would stand up,
they would shoot straight that, they wouldn't play these these games.
(10:57):
That Mayor Johnston is no accountability. This was a victory lap.
So we just had an American Airlines flight attendant have
her throat slit on the Sixteenth Street mall. One of
three people that is a murderer tried to kill within
an hour by stabbing on the sixteenth Street mall. And
then Sunday night he got another one stabbed somebody else
(11:18):
to death just off the sixteenth Street Mall. Johnston shows up,
No shame, totally despicable, takes a victory lap. You go back.
We've carried this press conference live from the beginning, no apologies.
And now maybe it happened and we just didn't catch
it on air. I didn't hear him, and he should
have started and said it repeatedly, express his sympathy to
(11:38):
the flight attendant, her family, the other murder victim, the
other stabbing victims. It was a whole victory lap about
how great he has done.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Well, that's the thing, Dan, he did start with that.
It doesn't matter. Get muddled in. The message is I'm
going to turn this into a Chamber of Commerce speech
promoting the city of Dever.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Damn.
Speaker 6 (11:55):
Could you imagine Mayor Eric Adams trying to pull this
crap in New York or the Mayor Detroit.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I happened in Detroit, for even in Chicago. He's just shameless.
But you got to understand this is not by way
of excuse. He's a creature of the left, for whom
honesty is viewed as a weakness, and so it doesn't
matter how deceptive it is. But you're telling me he
did start the presser by expressing condolences to the victims.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
It was like a heartbeat. I said that. He went
on to Denver's great, we're doing so well. Here's these
great statistics.
Speaker 6 (12:23):
Meanwhile, a woman with their throats slash just died.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay, well, well, thank you for correcting that, because I
want to make sure the record's clear he did acknowledge that.
But it is so offensive to then turn this into
a victory lap where he's talking about how great he's
done and how much he's improved things. In fact, the
highlight of that Ryan, and you can't play it on
air because there's no way to clean it up, is
this guy walks behind him and starts yelling about how
(12:48):
he's a blank in crime loving democrat and there are
too many blanks in there for us to clean it up.
But listen, I think you should just let people speak.
So I don't endorse people going and busting that sort
of thing up, but I did have to admit I
kind of laughed at that because he's such a phony.
If it was web up there, if it was roamer
(13:09):
up there, you know, they wouldn't have done what Mike
Johnston did because it really is just indecent and nobody's
going to buy it. It just makes me less willing
to go down there because he Obviously, if you cannot
be honest about the source, the cause, the depth of
the problem, it can't be fixed. And listen, I want
to hear the questions. I want to hear the questions
(13:31):
about mister Merritt, When did you know we had a
serial attacker on the mall and what decision did you
make about whether to warn the public or not. We
need to know that I'm not hearing those questions asked.
I'm not hearing Johnston address it. You can't blame law
enforcement because listen to the reality is you could have
law enforcement officers everywhere, and when you have a serial
(13:53):
killer who is two things we can be pretty sure
about this killer right determined to kill and determined to
get caught, because eventually he essentially gives up by running
away down the mall with a large butcher style knife
in his hand after just killing another victim. That's somebody
who wants to get caught. The point is, when you've
(14:16):
got a serial killer on the loose like that mission,
a number one way to protect people is to warn
the public. Hey, we got a serial killer loose in
this area. Why didn't we get that. I'm not saying
there wasn't some sort of tweet put out or something
like that, but at that point, and if you disagree
with me, we'll make you the first caller a texture.
That's got to be a five alarm fire. That's got
(14:38):
to be warning everybody in every way you can think of.
You know how we get these amber alerts, And I'm
glad we do. And everybody's phone goes off and says, hey,
you know we got this, Yeah, and we're all on
the lookout, as good citizens should be. Everybody should have
been informed we've got a serial killer loose on the mall,
a serial stabber. The public deserved that warning. But remember
in two thousand and Ninemocret administration that one higgenloopers. They
(15:02):
knew they had these serial attackers for months, and they
hit it from the public because it'd make John Higginloper
look bad and it would scare away business. Well, what's
more important the human life, not to the Democrats. And
once again, I want to know what did Johnston know,
when did he know it? And who made the decision
not to do a full scale warning to the public,
(15:23):
because that's the only way you can protect people. This
isn't on the cops.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
It's just that thing.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
By the way, what's that The press conference just ended? Yeah,
and I want to know from I want to know
from you. Can the mall be saved? If so, how
do you save them all? Are you going to go
back down there I mentioned earlier. I was just down
there with Amy and Joe and Caroline. We were on
that very spot and we were walking over where you're
going to see the nutcracker and everything else. Would I
(15:49):
do the same thing again? Right now? You know that
the fact that the mayor is in this state of
denial and use this press conference to talk about how
well he's doing makes me feel less safe because if
he's not willing to acknowledge the problem, he's not willing
to fix it. And again the earlier point, I believe
(16:10):
this is another example of the harm cost to the
state by legalized marijuana. This guy, he was arrested for marijuana,
according to published reports in nineteen dealing marijuana. He glorifies
marijuana on his website. This has all the markings. Have
I seen the blood samples or anything else? Has all
the markings of a psychotic break Like that monster who
killed everybody at the planned paranoid clinic in Colorado. Springs
(16:33):
said he came here for the legalized dope. You know, yeah,
that this is part of the price you pay for
legalizing marijuana. Dan, why didn't you let us hear the
press conference? You kept talking over the people and then
you cut it sure Two things. No, I only talked
when there was nothing you could hear, because you couldn't
hear the questions being asked. Number Two, Now we had
(16:55):
to go to our break, and by the time we
came back, they were just they were winding the thing down.
And it it wasn't the mayor, and it just I
made the decision. It just wasn't anything useful. We'll go
back and listen to the sound and if there was,
I'll let you know. But don't you think if there
was going to be something useful, they would have put
it in the very beginning. And this I'll bet you
that there wasn't one single fact there about why they
(17:16):
didn't warn the public. We got to get to the
bottom of that. Dan, I'm guessing they did not announce
it because they didn't want to deter all the people
going downtown on Sunday to watch the Bronco games and
restaurants and bars. This is the Daniel Penny effect that
from Alexa Listen, I have no doubt that we didn't
get the mass warnings the public deserved, in part because
they were worried about the effect on business. Human life
(17:39):
has to come first. But there's also no doubt in
my mind the far bigger reason, like it was in
two thousand and nine when the hicken Looper administration didn't
tell the public, is it would have made Hickenlooper look bad,
not good from politically right. And there's nothing good about
this story for the left. You've got that this, everything
about this is bad for Democrats, bad for the soft
(18:00):
on crime democrats, bad for the soft on drugs democrats,
bad for the legalized drugs democrats. And again you had
during the press conference and Ryan can't play it because
it was full of f words. You had this guy
walk by behind Johnston and yelling at him about the
blank and crime loving Democrats. And that's the point. You
look at it, everything from polists, the fentanyl laws, everything else.
(18:22):
Democrats made a decision years ago in this state that
they prioritize criminals over victims. And that's just the reality
of the Democratic Party in Colorado. You're on the Dan Kapla.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Show, you're listening to the Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Every time I hear that Carrie under with sewing, I
think of our daughter Caroline and so lucky to have
her work in her law firm right now. But she
also looks like carry Underwood. In fact, somebody gave us
seats right behind the glass behind the Nashville bench to
a game a few years ago, and you can't see
anything in the game, but it's kind of cool to
(19:01):
be there. And then there was a guy you'll know Ryan,
you know all this stuff. There was a player for
the Predators who was married to Carrie Underwood. And he
comes skating off the ice after a shift or something,
and he stopped and he stared right at us, and
then I realized that he probably thought Caroline was his wife,
surprising him. Mike Fisher, Yeah, Mike Fisher, Yeah, thank you. Wow, Hey, yeah,
(19:26):
she is going to perform at Trump's inauguration. Really really
happy to see that. And that's why we played that.
If you just joined us, thank you. We're talking about
something deadly serious and something we have to get to
the bottom.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Two.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Obviously, we had this serial killer on the mall, just
killing in most terrific ways, nightmare ways. As a Texter says,
oh yeah, Denver going to make a knives I legal now,
but yeah, big large scale butcher knife like something out
of a horror movie, slits the throat of a flight
attendant on a layover American Airlines flight attendant and stebs
(19:59):
to others with within an hour on the mall. So
and then they find out and then they find out
a short time later that they had all three stabbed
within the hour. So why wasn't there a five alarm
fire warning to the public, Because at that point, you know,
no matter how great the police work or whatever, if
you've got a serial killer determined to kill like that,
(20:19):
that the only way to truly protect the public is
to warn the public. So the public can make their
own choice about whether to go there. But who made
the decision not to And I'm not saying there wasn't
some little, meally mouthed press release issued. I'm talking about
really warning the public like their own like they knew
their own wife and kids were going to be down
on the mall. Who made the decision not to do that?
(20:40):
What did the mayor know, when did he know it?
Who decided the public wouldn't be warned? And remember we
have a history of this two thousand and nine Democrat
administration hicken Looper serial vicious beatings going on in Loto
for four months part of a gang, right a gang initiation,
and that Hiccloper administration made the decision not to warn
the public. Police were doing a great job figuring out
(21:01):
what was going on and why, but it was the
Democrat administration made the decision not to warn the public.
And it looks like we have the same thing here.
I still want to get all the facts, but we
know what was going on. We know there was no
five alarm fire type warning to the public. Why not
and who made that decision? We got to get to
the bottom and that the other issue here obviously is
(21:23):
if it is what it appears to be. You know,
because this guy we can reasonably infer was evy marijuana
user based on his arrest for marijuana in twenty nineteen,
glorifying dope use on his social media, etc. If all
of those reports are true, then is this yet another
example of what you get when you legalize dope. We'll
(21:44):
go back to the phone lines. Want to get to
some of our Texters. Dan I took my four kids
downtown for the first time on Saturday for the since
COVID for the mammoth game I've avoided due to crime.
I don't think I will head down again. We'll probably
move back to Grand Rapids. Don't want my kids growing
up in this state anymore. Dan I took my four
kids downtown. No sincere apologies or sincere concerned for a
(22:10):
seventy one year old woman whose neck was slashed on
his streets, but he did once again highlight that he
can speak fluent Spanish. One of the safest big cities
in America. He said that from Andy, it really was
just it was so disrespectful, it was so inappropriate. This
press conference should have belonged to the victims and should
(22:31):
have belonged to showing respect for them and talking about
what they were going to do to make sure that
this never happened again. Instead, it sounds like Gran, says
Mike Johnston, gave some brief acknowledgment of the victims in
the beginning, but then it clearly was a victory lap
for him. It was bizarre and insulting to everybody living
and dead. Dan, Both the Mare and police chief have
(22:54):
the authority to activate the emergency alert system. Thank you, Texture,
And if you can explain to us some more what
that that involves. I mean I can guess that it's
something like reverse calls, etc. Whatever they had, whatever ability
they had to alert people once you know, you have
a serial killer on the mall who's not apprehended, and
they're targeting people in a concise area like that and
(23:15):
viciously stabbing people, slashing throats. Yeah, you've got to let
everybody know. Boy, so many of these texts. I'm trying
to find some different angles here, Dan, someone needs to
ask the Mare if he feels guilty knowing his gun
laws prevented the citizens of Colorado from protecting themselves. Listen,
I think that he should absolutely feel guilty about not
(23:39):
warning the public, assuming he knew. Now are they trying
to tell us he got a serial killer loose on
the mall, unapprehended and nobody told the mayor. Maybe, But
we need the answer to those questions who made the
decision not to warn the public, because that's the only
way to truly protect the public.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Dan.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
When you change the severity of the crimes so as
to not make them a portable incident, you can make
just about anything fits your narrative. As a former LEO,
that is how our department hit things, so they didn't
show on the books, LEO, Law Enforcement Officer Dan. Will
there be a knife band now in Denver?
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Dan?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Ridiculous? People don't start slitting risks because they smoke weed.
Maybe the perp is just not likely drugs and alcohol involved.
It is all about moderation. Whether alcohol marijuana are the
drugs or a combination. Please call the show Texter, because
you're living in a friggin dream world, an absolute dream world. No,
But the point isn't that, Oh, somebody smokes some weed
(24:36):
and they want to go out and slash a woman's throat. Now,
the point is that when you decide to do something
that until Denver did it, no city in the world
in modern times had done for obvious reasons. It's nuts.
When you decide to legalize dope like this and sell
it the way they were going to sell it, and
let the potency rise from three percent to eighty or
ninety percent, then yeah, this is what you're gonna get.
(24:57):
And it's not about oh, Cheech has you know, Chech
hits a bong and so he's going to go slash throats.
It's about you are going to create psychotic breaks. You
are going to cause people to act ways they would nact.
Not everybody, but obviously way too many. And think about
all the crime, all the violence, all the horror we
(25:20):
have in Colorado that's tied to the legalization of marijuana
that you never hear about, because guess what, the powers
that be have no incentive, no incentive whatsoever, to document
all that, to pull together those stats, to report all
that to you. If they've got an incentive to do
the opposite. It's just when you have some very high
(25:40):
profile crime like this that it comes to the fore
and yeah, I'm inferring that there's some kind of psychochotic break.
You look at the way this kid kid twenty four
murderer glorifies marijuana, et cetera. Yeah, I don't think that's
a stretch. We'll find out together and remember the planned
parenthood vicious murderer. You know, he talked openly about how
(26:02):
he came to Colorado for the legalized dope.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
U Dan.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
It sounds like Mike Johnston has had his psychotic break. No,
quite the opposite. Mike Johnston is a highly intelligent guy
who is is probably the most ambitious politician we've seen
in our lifetime, which is saying a lot when you
look at Polis and some of these other people, and
he is, in my constitutionally protected opinion, he is willing
(26:28):
to say anything at any point in time to try
to advance his political career. And and you know, it's
it's so sad to me because I used to have
mone Era bunch and I thought he was a strade shooter,
really enjoyed his company. I think he's become this political
animal for whom the truth is meaningless, and that is
a dangerous place for Denver to be. A FI five
(26:49):
for zero five A two five five the number. Let's
do this. I want to come back. I want to
dive into calls and let's bring storm together. We'll talk
about it more depth tomorrow. Can the mall be saved?
If so, how is this going to change your behavior
in any way? And how do we get to the
(27:10):
bottom without subpoena power? How do we get to the
bottom of why the public wasn't warned? Who made that decision?
What did the mayor know and when did he know it?
Because if he knew, I have to assume he did.
But if he knew and he made the decision not
to warn the public, that tells you everything you need
to know about him and he should not hold this
(27:30):
or any other office. You're on the Dan Capla Show.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
And now back to the Dan Kaplas Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Obviously, we are heartbroken for the victims of the stabbings
this past weekend, and we know this is an isolated,
exceedingly rare incident and the suspect is now in custody.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yes, so the victims got four seconds and then he
took off on a victory lap, just talking about everything
is better under Mike Johnston, his maryor Yeah. So that
American Airlines flight attendant had her throat slash at the
Big butcher knife on the mall. Two other people stabbed
within the same hour. Another one killed Sunday night. Know, yeah,
Mike Johnston didn't issue five larned fire warnings so you
(28:12):
could protect yourself. No, everything's great in Denver under Mike Johnston.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We know that there is work to do. We also
know that downtown Denver is getting more vibrants and more.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Safe every day.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
The success of the last year is predically important.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, I gotta tell you, when you're standing there as
mayor of a city and you've got these dead bodies,
viciously killed on your Sixteenth Street mall, flight attendant throats slashed,
and you work success anywhere into your press conference, that
that is insulting. That is just respectful. It's despicable. It's
also false. I mean, yeah, Denver never been safer. You're
(28:50):
saying that when you got these bodies strewn across the
sixteenth Street mall. And the biggest thing is what did
he know? When did he know it? Who made the
decision not to warn the public there was a serial
killer loose on the mall because somebody had to write,
let's go to the phone lines. Brian and Oarvada you're
on the Dan Caplis say. Democrats are real big on
saying say their name, say her name. You know, how
(29:10):
about Mike Johnson. At least say the names of the victims.
You know, give them more than three seconds before you
start your victory lap over their dead bodies. Brian, welcome
to the show.
Speaker 5 (29:23):
Hey Dan, did she have like kids or a family
or anything or does anybody know?
Speaker 1 (29:27):
You know, we don't have those details yet. And again,
what this comes back to in my mind is, you know,
if a story is bad for Democrats, you aren't going
to see a lot of reporting on it. You'll see
some noble exceptions to that. But this whole story is
very bad for Democrats.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Well, I know, Dan, but I think in all honest,
I think you're picking the lowest hanging fruit.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I mean, this guy.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
For one, it's a sanctuary city, so we got a
big math problem. One other kind of crazy drugs are
bringing in there.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Now.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
I've known people that are alcoholics, and I've known people
that just smoke pot. Now the people that just smoke pot, Damn,
they're too lazy to go out and kill anybody trust
out fueling it. They're damn, there's something else feeling it.
And this guy had a huge record right like we been.
(30:24):
So it's the DA not doing their job. Like George Uh,
who was on the radio before. What's his name, George,
I can't remember his last name. He's gonna take care
of Yeah, the new DA. He actually won now and
I would feel safe in his district because he's actually
going to go after their criminals. He's going with the
broken window theory. You don't get like fifteen charges and
(30:46):
you're still running on the street. The guy probably had schizophrenia,
which I've known some of those. He was probably on
more than marijuana. And it's just the uh, the lack
of holding people palitible for what they do because there's
a lot of people, damn that just smoke pot on
the Friday night.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, sure, as.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
We stare at their TV watch video.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
And I heard you on that, Brian. But let's break
it down because wait a second, if you're denying that
we've had a big surgeon crime in Colorado since legalization
in marijuana, We've had a big surgeon teen suicide in
Colorado since legalized marijuana. We've had an enormous surge in
mental health crisis among our youth. Since legalization in marijuana.
(31:30):
All of this is documented. It's documented in the New
York Times, it's documented in other places. It's real life.
You want to ignore that, and I don't know why,
but listen, the point is.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
I don't, and I understand. Trust me, if your mind
is growing, the worst thing he could do is drink
alcohol or use marijuana.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Hold on a second, Brian, Hold on a second, Brian.
And I love Brian, but work short on time, and
he does this, I'm going to put Brian on hold
for a second. Here's the reality. He always wants to
bring it back to marijuana garbage, to alcohol garbage. We listen,
alcohol is legal, it's always going to be legal. It's
caused a lot of problem with their youth and adults,
and that's a big mess we have to deal with.
(32:09):
But these people who go off on well, then hey, yeah,
it's only a matter of fairness. If we're going to
have all these broken kids and dead bodies because of alcohol,
we've got to double down and we have to have
more broken kids and more dead bodies because of marijuana.
That's only fair. That is goofy suicidal logic. We don't
have to have legalized marijuana. And here's the point. You
(32:29):
cannot have the kind of system we have for legalized
marijuana sales in Colorado without knowing for a fact you
are going to dramatically increase the amount of dope getting
into the bloodstreams and brains of our children. It can't happen.
You can't have all of these dope stores, more marijuana stores,
and I think Starbucks and McDonald's combined. You can't have
(32:52):
all of that and not have more team marijuana use.
And the point is that everybody who uses marijuana is
going to let somebody's throat. No, there are plenty of
people use it, they enjoy it, they don't commit crimes,
et cetera. But you cannot have the delivery system that
lets them get that without having the big increase in crime,
(33:12):
without having these psychotic break monsters who commit horrible killings,
without having more death on the roadway, without having this
damage to kids. You can't have what you view as
the good without a whole lot of bad. So as
a society, we have to decide does the bad outweigh
the good. Before Colorado legalized it, every other city in
(33:33):
the world had decided that no, that the bad of
doing it like Colorado was going to do it. Outweighs
any good, but Colorado knew better, right, And look what
we get this particular killer. We'll find out if my
theory's correct, but we don't have to guess. I mean
his according to these published reports, His social media page
glorifies dope use. According to published reports, he was arrested
(33:57):
for dope sales at age nineteen. And this behavior certainly
consistent with psychotic break. And that's the point of one
of the types of harms from legalized marijuana. And remember
you can't even call it marijuana, right because the industry
they want to hook them young, hook them forever. They
have all this high potency stuff. It's more like Krakawana.
But you get these psychotic breaks. It's not just a
(34:20):
matter of oh, somebody gets high and decides to do
something crazy. They have these psychotic breaks from heavy dope use.
That's why Elton John no prude, right, Ryan known to
party a little bit, said legalizing marijuana one of the
biggest mistakes of America ever made. That's for Melton John. Brian,
great job, Thanks Royer, hard work, Kelly, You're the best.
Join us tomorrow on the dan Kapla show
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