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Mayor Michael B. Hancock Issues Apology to Denver’s LGBTQ Community

Mayor Michael B. Hancock Issues Apology to Denver’s LGBTQ Community

On May 8, a video emerged that showed the son of Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock flinging a series of insults, including homophobic slurs, at a police officer after the young man got pulled over for speeding.

In the clip, which was obtained Tuesday by Denver ABC affiliate KMGH, Jordan Hancock berates the officer, calling him a “bitch” and a “faggot.”

“My dad’s the mayor, you f*cking faggot,” the 22-year-old says. “I’m about to get you fired, you f*cking bitch!”

The video appears to be taken from body camera footage dating back to March 23, when the younger Hancock was pulled over for driving 65 mph in a 40 mph zone in Aurora, a Denver suburb. The 20-second clip leaked to KMGH ends with the mayor’s son driving away in a huff after being issued a speeding ticket.

Today, Mayor Hancock and his family issued an apology to the LGBTQ community—specifically Denver queers—for the words used toward the police officer.

The apology reads:

To our LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors –

Pride is a word that reflects our deep appreciation when we tell others that Denver is our home.
Together, with your courage and resolve, we have built a safe and welcoming city where all our
residents can be open about who they are and who they love.

As a city united, we have walked together to advocate and celebrate the achievements of this
community. We have raised our collective voices to fight for marriage equality, promote civil rights and fight discrimination. And when our family faced the loss of a beloved brother and uncle, Robert, who found his place with you, the LGBTQ community embraced us and supported us.

Walking arm-in-arm with your community has been a hallmark of our journey in public service. Your work, advocacy, and great contributions to our city have demonstrated the values of equality that lift this city up. And our family lives those same values in our home.

Recently, our son used profanities, including an anti-gay slur, when interacting with an Aurora Police Officer at a traffic stop. He wrote an apology to the officer, and absolutely had no intention of using the slur as an insult to the LGBTQ community or even direct it at the officer’s sexual orientation. Still, the ugly word was used, and because of the word’s history, its use was offensive to the LGBTQ community. We know that words are powerful; they can lift us up just as easily as they can tear us down. We will not make excuses for those words. They have no place in our society, period.

Only one of us in the Hancock family has sought public office and public scrutiny, but we recognize that as a family and as residents of this community, our actions and words carry their own weight and responsibility—whether cameras are present or not. So, it is important to us that you know that this incident in the life of a young man does not reflect his values, nor the deeply-held values or beliefs of our family. And it is certainly not a reflection of the hard work we have forged together to build a more inclusive and prosperous city.

For Jordan’s part, he has apologized to the officer, and he apologizes to the LGBTQ community, as he has learned a tough lesson in humility and grace. On his behalf and reflecting our entire family, we want to assure you that we know our actions and our words must reflect our values; that is what will keep Denver the open and welcoming city that we all love so much.

With gratitude and appreciation,
The Hancock Family

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