ACLU Wins Release of Videotapes,
Internal Affairs Files, in Gil Webb Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 1998
In a written opinion issued today in a case filed under the Colorado Open Records Act, Denver District Court Judge Herbert L. Stern III ordered the Denver Police Department to release to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) the complete file of the department’s internal investigation into the events that occurred on March 26, 1997, when police arrested Gil Webb for auto theft and vehicular homicide at the scene of the crash that killed Officer Ronald DeHerrera.
A storm of controversy erupted in the spring of 1997 after Channel 2 broadcast video footage showing a police officer kicking at Webb while paramedics picked him up by the hair and slammed him onto a gurney. Webb was subsequently hospitalized with a broken neck, and his attorney, Anne Sulton, contends that police and paramedics were responsible for the injuries. He was subsequently convicted of criminal charges, but his civil suit against the City is pending.
Although the police department’s internal investigation eventually resulted in discipline for officers Nicholas Grove and Phil Sanford, the nature of the discipline and the reasons for it have never been officially disclosed.
The ACLU’s lawsuit was filed under the Open Records Act in December. Judge Stern conducted a hearing in January and reserved his ruling until today.
In rejecting the City’s argument that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest, Judge Stern ruled that "disclosure promotes the public interest in maintaining confidence in the honesty, integrity and good faith of Denver’s Internal Affairs Bureau." The ruling
orders the Denver Police Department to turn over the entire file of the internal investigation, including all videotapes and audiotapes as well as witness interviews.
"If the community is to have confidence in its police force, it must be able to see how it responds to claims of abuse," said Tom Kelley of Faegre and Benson, who, along with Steve Zansberg, served as the ACLU’s pro bono attorney on the case. "Judge Stern’s ruling is appropriately sensitive to that basis reality."
"Police officers must be accountable to the public," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "In this closely-watched case, the public has a right to know what Chief Michaud found in his investigation and why disciplined was either imposed or not imposed."