DENVER – The Colorado Legislature gave final approval last night to HB 1329, a bill to bring systematic change to the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). HB 1329 will increase transparency within DYC and create a 2-year pilot program focused on treatment and rehabilitation of kids without the use of punitive measures, such as solitary confinement, mechanical restraints, and pain compliance. The Division of Youth Corrections will also be renamed the Division of Youth Services and the mission will be changed to reflect the Division’s core rehabilitative function.
ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes issued the following statement:

“The ACLU of Colorado commends the legislators from both sides of the aisle who came together to support broad, systematic reform of the Division of Youth Corrections – soon to known as the Division of Youth Services. HB 1329 is a major stride forward on the path to ending the culture of violence that has plagued the Division and endangered kids and staff in youth facilities, as chronicled in the Bound and Broken report by the Colorado Child Safety Coalition.
“We especially want to recognize the efforts of the bill’s prime sponsors, Representatives Pete Lee and Lois Landgraf and Senators Daniel Kagan and Don Coram, whose determination and leadership were critical to HB 1329’s passage. Representative Lee, in particular, has been a tireless advocate for protecting the rights and safety of our state’s most vulnerable youth, and his work in the legislature has been inspiring and impactful.
“ACLU members and activists responded to this legislation like none other in our organization’s history.  Citizen lobbyists traveled from all over the state in March to speak directly to their legislators, and ACLU activists sent more than 15,000 emails in the final weeks of the session urging support for HB 1329.
“We hope and expect that Governor Hickenlooper will sign HB 1329 without delay. Then begins the important work of implementing these reforms in a way that is consistent with the Legislature’s vision that youth corrections becomes a safe, humane environment that equips young people to deal with trauma and develop the behavioral changes needed to successfully return and contribute to our communities.”
Resources:

Fact Sheet on HB 1329: http://static.aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DYC-Reform-Bill-Summary-2017-04-22-2.pdf

Read the Colorado Safety Coalition’s Bound and Broken Report: http://static.aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Bound-and-Broken-report-Feb17-complete.pdf

DENVER – The City of Colorado Springs has agreed to pay $212,000 to settle a racial profiling lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Colorado alleging that Ryan and Benjamin Brown were pulled over because of their race, handcuffed, searched, and detained at gun point and taser point, all without legal justification.

Along with monetary compensation, the Colorado Springs Police Department has agreed to several revisions of its policies on stops, searches, and recording officers.

Ryan Brown posted a video of the 2015 stop online, where it has been viewed more than 165,000 times.

“The racial profiling that Ryan and Benjamin Brown endured is still, unfortunately, all too common for young men of color,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein.  “The difference in this case is that Ryan preserved video evidence of the officers’ aggressive escalation and heavy-handed use of force.  Although the police department initially refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, city officials ultimately did the right thing by agreeing to fair compensation.”

In March 2015, Ryan and Benjamin Brown were driving just a block away from their home in a predominantly white neighborhood when they were pulled over by Colorado Springs police.  To justify the stop, an officer later claimed that the men had been observed driving slowly through “a high crime area,” terminology that the lawsuit alleged is law enforcement code for “driving while black.”

A taser-wielding officer ordered Benjamin Brown, the driver, out of the car. He was handcuffed, searched without cause, and detained in the back of a police vehicle, even though he had been cooperative, no weapons or contraband were found, and there was no evidence to suggest that he had been involved in a crime.

Ryan Brown then began recording the scene on his phone.  His repeated requests for the officers to identify the reason for the stop were ignored.  Officers worked together to force him out of the car, push him to the ground, face down in the snow, search him, and cuff him, all the while at gunpoint. Officers grabbed his phone, stopped the recording, and threw it in the snow.

Brown filed a complaint with CSPD following the incident.  He received a brief boilerplate letter in June 2015 informing him that the Department had conducted a “complete and thorough” investigation into the incident and concluded that the officers’ conduct was “justified, legal, and proper.”

In October 2016, the ACLU of Colorado filed the lawsuit in federal court, which began nearly 6 months of negotiation between the parties around policy changes and compensation.

“I knew that what happened to my brother and me was wrong, and that I needed to speak up,” said Brown.  “I am grateful to the ACLU of Colorado for holding the police accountable, for standing up for our rights, and for winning policy changes that will hopefully prevent others from having their rights violated.”

Multiple Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) policies have been improved as a result of the settlement.  Official CSPD policy now clearly identifies the constitutional requirements that must be met before an officer may conduct a pat-down search.  CSPD removed policy language that gave undue weight to an individual’s refusal to cooperate as a factor in establishing probable cause for a search or arrest. CSPD policy on recording police was also strengthened to reflect constitutional and statutory protections against unjustified seizures of electronic devices.

Colorado Springs will make available online all of the changes to its policies as a result of the settlement by July 1, 2017. The Chief of Police has also agreed to meet in person with Ryan and Benjamin Brown to discuss the incident.

Ryan and Benjamin Brown were represented by Silverstein and ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Sara Neel, as well as cooperating attorneys Darold Killmer and Andy McNulty of Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP.

more on this case

DENVER — ACLU affiliates in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Alaska filed a joint Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit today demanding government documents from their regional U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office about the on-the-ground implementation of President Trump’s Muslim bans.
Today’s action is part of a total of 13 FOIA lawsuits filed by ACLU affiliates across the country.  Each suit seeks unique and local information regarding how CBP implemented the executive orders at specific airports and ports of entry in the midst of rapidly developing and sometimes conflicting government guidance.
“President Trump’s unconstitutional and un-American Muslim bans created chaos, confusion, and hardship across the country,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein. “As a public agency, CBP has an obligation to respond to open records requests and to disclose information to the public about the guidance and training that its agents receive.”
The ACLU first sought this information through FOIA requests submitted to CBP on February 2. Since the government has failed to substantively respond, the ACLU is now suing.
“CBP has a long history of ignoring its obligations under the federal Freedom of Information Act — a law that was enacted to ensure that Americans have timely access to information of pressing public concern. The public has a right to know how federal immigration officials have handled the implementation of the Muslim bans, especially after multiple federal courts have blocked various aspects of these executive orders,” said Mitra Ebadolahi, Border Litigation Project Staff Attorney with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Resources:

Read the complaint: http://static.aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FOIAComplaint.pdf

The release on the original FOIA requests is here:
https://aclu-co.org/aclu-colorado-demands-release-immigration-ban-documents/

More background on CBP’s FOIA practices is here:
https://www.aclu.org/letter/aclu-letter-cbp-re-foia-practices-july-2016