ACLU Sues Denver Police for Harassing, Beating
Hispanic Teenager
Who Protested Police Actions at Cinco de Mayo Celebration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 1997
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed a civil rights lawsuit against three Denver police officers today, charging that on May 7 last year they stopped Alonso Tarango without cause, subjected him to verbal and physical abuse, threatened to take him for an "alley ride," and falsely charged him with violation of curfew, all in retaliation for Tarango’s participation in a demonstration critical of police actions at the 1996 celebration of Cinco de Mayo two days earlier.
The May 7 demonstration took place along Federal Boulevard after a community meeting in which residents aired grievances about police harassment, focusing particularly on the actions of Denver police on Federal Boulevard on the evening of Cinco de Mayo. Over eighty police were assigned to monitor the May 7 demonstration, which press reports described as raucous but peaceful. It broke up early enough so that minors had time to get home before the 11 p.m. curfew.
"When the rally broke up, Tarango got into a car with several other young people who participated in the demonstration," explained Sandra Goldman, an ACLU cooperating attorney from the law firm of Holland & Hart. "Police followed the car and at 10:45, without any legal justification, they pulled it over. Then after 11 p.m., they falsely charged the minors with violation of curfew."
"The police report reveals that police stopped the young people simply because they took part in a demonstration that criticized the police," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "The First Amendment applies to teenagers as well as adults. It guarantees the right to speak out and criticize public officials, including the police."
In writing their report, the police linked the stop of the car to the demonstration. "In explaining the reason for stopping the car," Silverstein said, "the police report states that one of the young men was shouting ‘Viva La Raza’ to the crowd during the demonstration. The report labels this as ‘incitement.’"
"The police report demonstrates that Denver police officers do not understand the right of free speech guaranteed by our Constitution," added Goldman. "Shouting ‘Viva La Raza’ is not incitement. Shouting ‘Viva La Raza’ is not suspicious conduct. It is expression that is protected by the First Amendment. Police have no business stopping young people simply because they have engaged in expression that is protected by the Constitution."
Tarango’s companions were released after receiving citations, but Tarango was taken into custody and charged with disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. Last summer, ACLU cooperating attorney Dan Recht defended Tarango, and all charges were dismissed. Recht is also representing Tarango in the ACLU lawsuit that was filed today in federal district court, which names officers John Pinder, Timothy Weaver, and Steven Holtz as defendants.
"Police unlawfully stopped the car simply because the teenagers participated in a demonstration critical of the police," Recht said. "They singled out Tarango as a leader, objected to his attitude, and so they roughed him up, threatened him with death, and suggested that he would be taken on what police called ‘an alley ride.’"
According to the complaint, police assaulted Tarango during the traffic stop after he responded to officer Weaver’s request for identification by asking, in Spanish, "Como?" According to the complaint, Weaver jerked Tarango’s arms behind his back, handcuffed Tarango, pushed him into the squad car, and punched him repeatedly, cursed at him, threatened to take him on an "alley ride," and then asked Tarango if he could speak English now. After Tarango unsuccessfully attempted to attract the attention of passing television reporters, Weaver allegedly said to Tarango "You’re gonna die."
According to the complaint, defendant Pinder told Tarango that he had no right to protest. Pinder allegedly participated in the physical abuse of Tarango by grabbing Tarango tightly by the throat, choking him, and later kneeing him in the stomach and putting his full weight on Tarango’s abdomen.
While in police custody, Tarango was taken to Denver General Hospital, where he was evaluated as suffering from blunt abdominal trauma.
The complaint asks for money damages for battery, ethnic intimidation, and violations of Tarango’s constitutional rights.
"The officers in this case were evidently unconcerned that they might be held accountable for abusing their power and authority," Silverstein said. "As the press recently reported, Denver police are seldom disciplined for using excessive force. In this case, however, police will be held accountable in federal court."