ACLU Files Open Records Request for Police
Investigation of TJ High School Incident
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 1996
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) formally asked the City of Denver today to disclose the report of the Denver Police Department's internal investigation of alleged police misconduct in connection with a disturbance at a dance at Thomas Jefferson High School last May 4.
The written request, made under the Colorado Open Records Act, was filed by ACLU Cooperating Attorney Bruce Jones on behalf of Brother Two Brother, which organized the dance.
The police investigation totals 951 pages, including a 63-page summary. Three officers have been disciplined, presumably for allowing the situation to get out of control, but police have declined to release the report or reveal the nature of the discipline.
"We believe that the report, especially the 63-page summary, can be released without revealing personnel matters or infringing on the privacy of individual officers," said Bruce Jones, who drafted the Open Records Act request for the ACLU. "This was a major investigation and a major report. The City has an obligation to let some sunshine in."
"When it comes to investigating allegations of police misconduct, 'trust us' is not good enough," said ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein. "A secret report will not convince anyone that the investigation was sufficiently thorough, the findings reliable, or the discipline appropriate."
Mayor Wellington Webb ordered the internal police investigation last May after he met with about 100 witnesses, including students and parents.
About 400 mostly-Black teenagers from various Denver schools attended the dance, which was letting out when an isolated fight broke out between two individuals in the parking lot. Sixty-seven Denver police officers responded to the scene, as well as seven additional officers from other jurisdictions. Witnesses reported that police overreacted by striking students with batons, spraying mace, and hurling racial epithets. According to a number of witnesses, police were slapping hands and "high-fiving" when they were done.
Charges are still pending against four individuals who were charged with ordinance violations in connection with the disturbance. They are defended by attorney David Lane, who is acting as an ACLU volunteer attorney.
According to the ACLU's open records request, the City has three days to respond.