La Alma-Lincoln Park and Recreation Center reopened after weeklong closure

Denver reopened La Alma-Lincoln Park and Recreation Center on Thursday morning following a weeklong closure that city officials attributed to violence in the neighborhood.

During a community meeting about the park’s closure following a homicide last week, Denver Parks and Recreation executive director Happy Haynes announced the park and recreation center on Denver’s Westside would reopen Thursday morning.

Last week, Denver police responded to West 13th Avenue and North Osage Street — the cross streets of La Alma-Lincoln Park — after 63-year-old Garry Arellano was fatally shot while trying to break up a fight he witnessed in the park, officials said.

The suspect in the shooting, 24-year-old Trahavonie Deshawd Smith, was arrested for investigation of first-degree murder, police said.

The next morning, the park was fenced off and city officials confirmed it was closed indefinitely due to the homicide and other ongoing violence.

Public outcry prompted Wednesday’s community meeting, at which residents expressed their condolences to their Arrelano family and shared frustrations about the closure of a community staple.

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