**DENVER MAYORIAL CANDIDATE AURELIO MARTINEZ PRESS STATEMENT
Mike Johnston takes credit for crime reduction **
February 3, 2026
Denver residents deserve clear, honest information about public safety—not slogans that outrun the data. Recent statements from Mayor Mike Johnston claim that Denver has seen a “sharp drop in shootings” and “the largest reduction in homicides of any city in the country.” While any reduction in violence is welcome, these claims are not supported by the full, transparent data that the public deserves.
Denver Police Department data does show a decline in homicides over the past year. That is meaningful progress, and every life saved matters. But the Mayor’s assertion that Denver leads the entire nation in homicide reduction has not been backed by any publicly released national comparison. Without transparent, peer‑city data, this claim remains unverified.
The same is true for the Mayor’s statement about a “sharp drop in shootings.”
The City does not publish a clear, year‑over‑year shootings dataset that allows residents, journalists, or community leaders to independently confirm this claim. If the administration has the numbers, it should release them in a simple, accessible format.
Public safety is too important for selective statistics. Denver remains a city where many neighborhoods—particularly working‑class, Black, Brown, and immigrant communities—continue to experience violence at levels far above the national average. These communities deserve the full picture, not partial data framed to support a political narrative.
I am calling on the Mayor’s Office to immediately release:
- Year‑over‑year data on shootings, homicides, aggravated assaults, and carjackings
- Neighborhood‑level breakdowns for all major violent‑crime categories
- Any national comparison data used to justify claims of leading the country in crime reduction
Denver residents can handle the truth. What they cannot accept is being asked to take major public‑safety claims on faith alone.
If the administration is confident in its numbers, it should put every dataset on the table and let the public see the full story. Safety without transparency is not real safety—it’s messaging. Denver deserves both. Contact Aurelio Martinez via email aurelio@amfdm.com or phone (303) 257-6989. Visit https://amfdm.com and www.youtube.com/@AurelioMartinez2027