Sign up for 5280's weekly e-newsletters. Want the latest restaurant scoop? The latest happenings around town? Access to exclusive events and deals just for 5280 readers? 
Over the last few months, we’ve watched a drama unfold surrounding the Democratic National Convention. The plot has nothing to do with President-elect Barack Obama or even the Democratic Party. Rather, it centers on how the City and County of Denver has treated the peace and justice activists who took to the streets during August’s convention.
More than 100 activists were arrested on August 25, and since then their cases have dragged on in the courts. Denver has been relentless in pursuing the dozens of individuals who didn’t immediately plead guilty. But prosecutors aren’t racking up many convictions. One snapshot: Of 10 cases that had recently gone to trial, there was just one conviction, according to this Rocky Mountain News tally.
As defense lawyers ask in vain what Denver is spending on the prosecutions, there is a less quantifiable issue: What effect are these cases having on Denver’s image? After all, each week seems to bring new negative headlines.
Here are four reasons the city’s handling of the DNC protesters is not good for Denver.
A HEFTY PRICE TAG
Denver prosecutors and Mayor John Hickenlooper so far refuse to reveal the price tag for these lengthy cases. The fiscally conservative blog Face the State estimates the figure at about $500,000 but doesn’t provide evidence to back that up, leading to criticisms from Hickenlooper. One defense attorney has formally filed a request asking for the dollar amount.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys accuse prosecutors of trying to muzzle them from offering their opinions about the soundness of the cases against their clients, according to The Denver Post. A judge has twice denied prosecutors’ requests. But the damage to Denver’s reputation is done if you agree with Robert Corry, an attorney for several protesters.
“They want to stop me from criticizing them and telling the public about this,” Corry told the Post. “I thought it was remarkable they would try this in a First Amendment case.”
QUESTIONABLE POLICE TACTICS
One major disclosure from recent weeks involves two detectives who posed as protesters in the crowd on August 25. According to a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado to Denver’s independent police monitor, the detectives tried to get out of the crowd by staging a confrontation with a commander, but they were pepper-sprayed by a deputy who obviously wasn’t in on the rouse. The ACLU wants to know whether the detectives’ behavior escalated the confrontation with protesters.
As prosecutions continue, the stories of August 25 remain under constant review, including the perpetual replay of the Alicia Forrest video. The anti-war demonstrator, with a popular national group called Code Pink, was shoved to the ground near Civic Center Park by an officer as she protested. Police then decided to pursue charges against her.
EMBARRASSING COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS
The DNC put Denver in the national spotlight, and the city promoted itself as a hip, moderately liberal, Western haven–overall, a relaxed place that appreciates diversity. But the city, raising security concerns, also battled bitterly with activists over how close they could come to the Pepsi Center. Then activists discovered the city was secretly building a detainment camp, indicating a predisposition to make arrests rather than tolerate protests.
As the trials go on, criticisms about those actions persist. Moreover, as police are pulled into court to testify, the city opens itself to all sorts of foot-in-mouth possibilities. One officer quoted in the Rocky characterized the activists as “a violent, uncontrolled mob” bent on getting to the 16th Street Mall–the kind of description that only serves to deepen the rift between police, who were dressed in riot gear during the DNC, and the activists Denver is now prosecuting.
A NEW CHAPTER IN A NEGATIVE HISTORY
The trials add to Denver’s already regrettable legacy when it comes to the treatment of activists. Two words: Spy files. The files, first revealed in 2002, showed that the Denver Police Department’s intelligence officers, who are sworn to battle organized crime and terrorism, also were amassing information on political, social, ethnic, and religious groups.
The problem with collecting information on such groups, according to critics, is that it may lead people who have no intention of breaking the law to fear exercising their right to freedom of speech. The city purged individuals and organizations wrongly contained in the files after a lengthy legal battle with the ACLU.
There are plenty other skeletons in this closet, but I’ll close that door for now.
Posted 11/26/2008 at 9:01 am by Michael de Yoanna
DNC :: Permalink :: Comments (8)
I commend 5280 for printing such a revealing story into our city, which debatably is a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding tarnishing Denver’s image. Nonetheless, I love truth and this kind of truth could lead to progress. The contrast between the protesters and the values of the officers seem to me to sum up Denver’s current evolution in an accurate manner. Thank you for the real journalism!
Reputation and cost should not control whether these matters go to trial. If there is probable cause to proceed, you must proceed. This is nothing more than extortion and the use of the media makes it even more shameless.
Great story – and it’s enlightening to see such a dynamic look at a hot topic. It’s refreshing to see someone looking beyond the obvious current fiscal strain the trials are taking on the city, and at how the event was approached and what role the city played in certain scenarios.
There’s nothing wrong with a little transparency. If the police have probably cause to arrest someone so be it, but let’s see the evidence. In a high-profile case like this it’s just bad PR for the city to clam up. As far as the money goes, it belongs to the people so the people should know where it’s being spent and why. Whatever the cost of prosecuting protesters is the press should have access to those numbers. Again, if the police have probable cause and a strong case they should have no problem letting the public know how much it costs to take someone to court. Be careful Joe: in every nation on Earth where there is no real free press, corruption is rampant in government and law enforcement. Sure, it happens here, but not nearly as often.
I saw a documentary about this on PBS, I think. What I clearly got out of it was that the peaceful protesters were trying to leave, but instead were herded and held by the Denver cops. When the camera crew were eventually let go, the cops refused to allow them access to the pending assault on the protesters, and that violates all of our freedom of press and speach. The Denver Courts should be less concerned about prosecuting the protesters and more concerned about prosecuting the police for violating constitutional rights.
It’s nice to see this kind of coverage in 5280. Good points about some of the inherent problems with the DNC cases. It’s not so easy that we can just drop them, because that will show any future protester that his or her potential arrest will mean nothing. But obviously, there are some major problems to address with the DNC arrests. It seems the only solution will be for Denver to find a way to make these problems DNC specific and not part of how Denver will handle any protests. If they don’t, then they will relive this next Columbus Day.
There was no probable cause. So far, no officer saw the defendants violating the law and the videos do not show anyone violating the law and no one has reported to the police that they saw anyone violating the law forbidding obstruction of passageways. This is true even in the cases where the defendants were convicted. If you doubt this come watch a trial or two.
I moved away from Denver a few years ago, around the time questions were swirling over police handling of Columbus Day protesters. Meanwhile, my Capitol Hill street was so infested with drug dealers the citizens organized street patrols. What a nice day it will be when the police tackle real crime with the same fervor they pursue political activists. Great story.