ACLU Sues Denver Over Restrictions
on Demonstrations in City Parks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 1998The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today to challenge the City of Denver’s regulations that forbid holding demonstrations in city parks unless the sponsor purchases a $1 million insurance policy and contracts to hire whatever number of off-duty police officers the Police Department determines is necessary to provide security.
The lawsuit also challenges various rules of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department that forbid demonstration organizers from engaging in expressive activities such as soliciting donations, distributing flyers, and selling t-shirts, posters, bumper stickers, or pamphlets.
The suit was filed on behalf of End the Politics of Cruelty (EPOC), an activist human rights organization that wants to conduct a rally in the Greek Amphitheater in Civic Center Park on October 22. The event, which will focus attention on police misconduct and the organization’s call for increased police accountability, is part of a coordinated effort to hold similar events in cities across the country.
EPOC’s permit has received tentative approval, but it will be canceled if the group fails to show proof of insurance and proof that it has contracted to hire police officers. The Parks Department canceled a similar rally permit last year when EPOC was not able to meet the insurance and security requirements. At the time, the insurance would have cost EPOC more than $400.
"Free speech should be free," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "By conditioning an assembly permit on an organization’s ability to buy an expensive insurance policy, the City effectively excludes poorly-funded groups from the marketplace of ideas."
"Our client does not have $400 to buy such an insurance policy," Silverstein continued. "But the Constitution guarantees, to rich and poor alike, the right to assemble, to speak freely, and to petition the government for redress of grievances."
The ACLU also targeted the lack of written guidelines and the scope of the Police Department’s discretion in deciding how many officers a demonstration sponsor must hire for any given event. "Without guidelines, the police are free to rely on a group’s controversial views as a reason for making it pay more money for extra security," Silverstein said. "That’s an indirect way of penalizing a group for taking unpopular positions--a form of censorship that the Constitution forbids."
According to the lawsuit, an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department questioned EPOC member Barbara Cohen about the nature of the group’s message and whether it would be "negative." Cohen said that the group had sponsored a number of demonstrations in the past, all of which were peaceful and nonviolent. "There have been no incidents, no property damages, and no one was hurt," Cohen said. "There is no reason to make us pay for police protection or a $1 million insurance policy."
The minimum charge for off-duty police is $100, which EPOC says is too much. "We already pay for police protection as taxpayers," said Mark Sass, an EPOC member who is listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "We should not be forced to pay an extra $100 for special security just because we want to exercise our First Amendment rights. If police officers are needed at a demonstration, they should respond as part of their normal duties."
The Colorado ACLU sued Denver at least once before over similar issues. On April 6, 1990, the ACLU won a preliminary injunction on behalf of a group called Save The Pavilion, and the court ordered the City to issue a demonstration permit without requiring proof of insurance and without requiring the payment of permit fees that the City charged at the time. After the group held its rally, the lawsuit was dismissed as moot, and the court did not issue a final ruling on the constitutionality of the challenged policies.
Today’s lawsuit, "End The Politics of Cruelty v. City & County of Denver", was filed in Denver District Court. It seeks a preliminary injunction, a declaratory judgment, and permanent injunctive relief. The plaintiffs include Cohen and Sass as well as EPOC.
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