The city of Denver has a definition for the violent extremism that led to clashes last week in Charlottesville, Va. It's "violence committed in the name of an ideology to further a political or social agenda." The city's police department recently got a $483,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security for programs aimed at combatting that behavior.
Denver police Lt. Robert Wyckoff told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner the grant will be used in three areas:
- Educating about 300 officers on violent extremism and providing tools to help combat it.
- Providing officers for a Denver Public Schools mentorship program that works with troubled or at-risk middle and high school students.
- Doing community outreach with immigrant populations throughout the city.
Wyckoff said the programs will begin within the next month.
