You’re riding light rail to an event one day and notice another passenger being harassed a few seats away. Maybe it’s because of their race or gender or perceived sexual orientation. The confrontation gets uglier and could turn violent. Should you:

a) Look out the window and ignore the spectacle?

b) Attempt to intervene in what could become a dangerous altercation?

c) Discreetly get out your phone and dial 9-1-1?

You’d think the best answer would be “c.” You’d be helping – without fueling the fire or placing yourself in harm’s way.

But you’d be wrong – according to a video shown this week to incoming students starting the academic year at Denver’s South High School.

As reported in Wednesday’s Gazette, students were informed by the video that calling the police for help is, in fact, something they absolutely never should do.

Yes, really. The video, “Don’t be a Bystander: 6 Tips for Responding to Racist Attacks,” counsels in the event of a racist, transphobic or other bias-motivated attack, “…if the victim hasn’t asked you to call the police, do not – I repeat – do not call the police.”

The video, produced by the Barnard Center for Research on Women at New York’s Barnard College, goes on to assert, “Armed police presence often escalates, rather than reduces, the risk of violence in a situation.”

“Because police have been trained to see people of color, gender non-conforming folks and Muslims as criminals,” the narrator states, “they often treat victims as perpetrators of violence.”

Never mind, for the moment, how insulting that absurd statement is to all the, “people of color, gender non-conforming folks and Muslims,” among others, who may be serving in police ranks in Denver or on police forces throughout Colorado.

Let’s focus instead on how reckless and potentially dangerous it is to peddle such nonsense to Denver’s school kids. Essentially, students are being told not to report a crime in progress.

Especially given the tragic history of some violent, high-profile, bias-motivated crimes in our region over the years – some resulting in homicides – in what possible circumstance would it make sense NOT to summon police if it were at all possible? Isn’t it wise to call professionals who are trained and equipped to curb conflict?

Particularly amid a crime wave that has slammed much of the state, with homicides and other violence soaring, why would Denver Public Schools teach kids to distrust our police?

Incredibly, South High’s new principal is standing by the video. Rachel Goss, who was promoted to her post over the summer after serving as “assistant principal of equity, multi-lingual education, and assessment,” posted a message on the school’s website Wednesday in which she appeared to want it both ways.

“…The intention behind the video was to provide empowerment for people who may witness these types of attacks, not to have any sort of negative impact on the longstanding relationship between the Denver Public Schools and the Denver Police Department.”

It’s hard to see how telling students, “do not call the police,” could have anything other than a “negative impact.”

We won’t hold our breath for Goss’ dismissal or even a reprimand. After all, it was her own bosses on the DPS school board who voted in 2020 to kick Denver police school resource officers off campus in the name of social justice.

Sure, the cops kept the peace in the hallways while building meaningful bonds with at-risk kids. But they just didn’t fit the woke self-image of Colorado’s largest school district nowadays – students’ safety be damned.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board