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Friday, January 17, 2003 - John Laster was the most succinct.
"You
ought to get your backbone out," Laster told an attentive Public
Safety Review Commission on Thursday night regarding its possible
investigation of the Denver police spy files.
"You
guys have the power to do something about it."
For more
than an hour, the commission listened to impassioned pleas by citizens
asking them to conduct a public investigation of the Police Department's
intelligence unit and its history of gathering and disseminating
information on peaceful protesters.
In the
end, chairman Brian Muldoon said he had already talked to Police Chief
Gerry Whitman about the commission getting involved in the matter and
promised to "look into it more deeply."
"We'll
meet again and brainstorm this and get moving," said Muldoon.
"We're kind of all in this together."
Last
March, the American Civil Liberties Union broke the news of Denver's spy
files when it revealed excerpts from police intelligence files that were
found in a criminal case file in Golden. The ACLU has since filed suit
against the city, challenging its practice of maintaining files on
peaceful protesters and sharing information with other law enforcement
agencies.
Yet since
that time, "there has been no accountability," said Mark Cohen
of the All Nations Alliance, a network of community- based organizations.
"Those responsible for the abuses have not been identified, let alone
disciplined."
"And
so we come to you," Cohen told the commission, for help in
determining whether the Police Department follows any type of policy when
gathering intelligence information, and for accountability. His concern,
Cohen said, is that the commission has limited authority.
"I
think we are in power to do what you are asking," Muldoon replied.
At times,
he and the other commissioners appeared surprised at what speakers had to
say regarding the spy files, including:
The fact
that an internal memo urged members of the department to "shred, toss
or take home" files dated prior to 1994 in order to prevent lawsuits.
Much of
the information in the spy files is inaccurate.
"According
to my file, I am a member of a motorcycle street gang and I deal in
weapons and drugs," said Barbara Cohen of the All Nations Alliance,
whose hair is flecked with white.
"I
don't do that. I've never been on a motorcycle. I ride a 12- speed
bicycle."
One of
the biggest issues, said Adrienne Benavidez, an attorney and former
chairman of the Public Safety Review Commission, is that "nobody
seems to know" who was responsible for the actions of the
intelligence unit.
The
files, on more than 3,200 people and organizations, should not have been
maintained, Benavidez said. "All of it has nothing to do with
criminal behavior."
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