News & Commentary

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in our lawsuit against the Douglas County School District, Douglas County Sheriff, and School Resource Officers for aggressively handcuffing and arresting an 11-year-old child with autism.

A long, uncertain, and pivotal summer predated my time at the ACLU of Colorado. Or rather, four years of collective upheaval did. In 2016, studying as a student journalist and covering the presidential election, I was shocked by the shift of entertainment media to news and politics.

Has the ACLU lost its way?

I am writing to ask you to support SB21-062 because had this bill been law, it could have saved my son’s life. Our son, Jerid Jason Thistle, was a loving son and father. He struggled with an addiction to methamphetamines that led to mental health issues.

My brother, Marvin Booker, was 56 years old when he was killed. Marvin was a peaceful street preacher who also struggled with mental illness and drug use. None of this changed the fact that he was a kind and loving man.

As the mother of four children with four different personalities and learning styles Heidi Laursen was used to wearing different hats to advocate for her kids.

Shandie Harris fears for her son J.J.’s life every day. As a six foot tall, 230 pound young Black man, teachers and law enforcement often see 16-year-old J.J. as a threat. J.J. has autism and learns at a 5th grade level.

On March 9, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Douglas County family whose 11-year-old son, A.V., was handcuffed, restrained in the back of a police car for hours, injured, traumatized and held on $25,000 bail after an unnecessary School Resource Officer (SRO) response.

Michelle Hanson always wanted her kids to go to their neighborhood schools until the day her 11-year-old son A.V. ended up handcuffed in the back of a police car for hours, sobbing, injured, and traumatized.