APD Officer: “Your kind of business is not welcome here” 

DENVER - The ACLU of Colorado filed a federal lawsuit this morning on behalf of Omar Hassan, a black man who was forcibly removed from a coffee shop by two Aurora Police officers who told him, “Your kind of business is not welcome here.”
Hassan did nothing more than order a muffin and sit down to eat it when, according to the lawsuit, the two officers singled him out because of his race and, with their hands placed on their guns, forced him to leave.
“Our client is the victim of unjustifiable racial profiling,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein.  “Police officers had no grounds, no basis, and no legitimate authority to order Mr. Hassan to leave the coffee shop.”
According to the lawsuit, on March 16, 2016, Hassan entered a Caribou Coffee in Aurora and approached the counter to purchase a muffin. He had just finished a night shift at work and was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and work boots.
Aurora police officers Machelle Williby and Lisa Calcamuggio took notice of him and stood close behind him as he ordered.  They then followed him to a table, stood directly over him with their hands placed on their guns, and commanded him to leave.
When Hassan asked why he was being told to leave, Officer Williby responded, “Your kind of business is not welcome here.”  Hassan then asked, “Who says that?”  Officer Williby motioned her head toward the counter and said, “They do.”
Management, however, made it clear that the police officers were acting on their own.  Employees of the coffee shop did not ask police to remove Hassan, nor had there been any complaints about him, according to a signed affidavit from the manager on duty at the time of the incident.
“I did nothing wrong that morning and was targeted because I was a black man wearing a hoodie,” Hassan said. “When I walked into the coffee shop, I thought I could buy my breakfast and eat it, just like everyone else.  The next thing I knew, two police officers were standing over me, hands on their guns, ordering me to leave.  At that moment, I thought things could go very wrong and I could be another unarmed black man gunned down by the police.  I was afraid and followed their orders, even though I knew what they were doing was wrong.  Now, with the ACLU at my side, I’m fighting back against racial profiling by the Aurora police.”
According to the ACLU complaint, “Mr. Hassan’s experience in discrimination is unique in its reflection of both historical and modern-day racism.  His dress, including a hoodie, made him a particular target as a black man in the current environment.  Officer Williby then vocalized her prejudice by telling Mr. Hassan his ‘kind’ was not welcome at the coffee shop, a statement steeped in historical racism.”
“Aurora police officers have been named in incident after incident of mistreating young persons of color and violating their constitutional rights, and the department has repeatedly failed to hold its officers accountable,” Silverstein said.  “Our client’s complaint to internal affairs produced zero results, and Aurora refuses to release any details.   The department clearly needs effective anti-bias training and a truly independent citizen oversight body.”
The lawsuit, which was filed this morning in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.  Hassan is represented by Silverstein, as well as ACLU staff attorneys Rebecca T. Wallace and Arash Jahanian.
RESOURCES:
Read the ACLU complaint:
https://acluco-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/HassanComplaint.pdf

See also, Aurora Police Pays $110K for Unlawful Detention and Tasing of Darsean Kelley

 

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On today’s episode, Alejandra talks to ACLU clients Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, a Colorado couple who were turned away by a bakery that refused to sell them a cake to celebrate their wedding. In November, the case will go before the US Supreme Court and the outcome could have wide implications. Dave and Charlie talk about their experience that day, what’s at stake at the Supreme Court, and why its never been about a cake. Also, John discusses a new ACLU case involving Iraqi immigrants, the Trump Administration, and abuse at a detention facility in Aurora.

Call To Action: President Trump put thousands of military-grade weapons back into the hands of police departments across our country. Support the petition to stop sending weapons of war to our communities: http://bit.ly/stopweaponsofwar

For More information on this case go to https://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-nondiscrimination-protections/right-equal-treatment-masterpiece-cakeshop-ltd-v?redirect=blog/right-celebrate-marriage-masterpiece-cakeshop-v-colorado-civil-rights-commission

The Purple State Report is brought to you by the ACLU of Colorado. Our show was produced by Vanessa Michel, Alejandra Garza, and John Krieger with original theme music by Pablo Novelas. Additional music by Coast Modern. Special thanks to Ryan Karerat. If you have feedback or suggestions for future episodes email us at [email protected].

 
 

 

September 7, 2017

Can businesses put up a sign that says, “We Don’t Sell To Gays?” President Trump says yes.
Today Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the Supreme Court in an amicus brief that businesses have a constitutional right to discriminate against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That means that business owners could put a sign in the window saying, “We Don’t Serve Gays,” even if a state or Congress says anti-gay discrimination is unlawful.

While the Justice Department says this wouldn't necessarily allow businesses to turn people away because of their race, if the Constitution protects such a right to discriminate against gay people, it would also authorize businesses to discriminate based on national origin, sex, religion, disability, gender identity, or any other basis. That means businesses could put up other signs as well: “We Don’t Sell to Women.” “No Muslims.” “No Transgender People.” All in open defiance of the nation’s civil rights laws.
How did we get here?
The case before the Supreme Court has deceptively simple facts. Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig were planning their wedding reception in Colorado. Along with Charlie’s mom, Dave and Charlie went to the Masterpiece Cakeshop bakery near Denver to order a cake in July 2012. The bakery turned them away, saying it doesn’t make wedding cakes for gay couples because that would violate its religious beliefs and artistic freedom.

Everyone in this country should be opposed
to such a radical ruling that would undermine
America’s core commitment to equality.

Under long-standing Colorado law, businesses that are open to the public can’t turn customers away because they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. That’s just what happened here, so Charlie and Dave sued. The Colorado courts agreed that it was discrimination and ruled that free speech and religious protections don’t give anyone a right to discriminate.
It’s easy to dismiss the case as trivial. Dave and Charlie could — and did — get a cake from another bakery. And few people would really want a cake from a bakery that doesn’t actually want to bake it.
But consider what a ruling for the bakery could mean here — constitutional protection for discrimination based on freedom of religion or expression. That’s breathtaking in its scope and consequences. It would mean that a florist could refuse to sell flowers for the funeral of an interfaith couple, a dance studio could turn away the children of an interracial couple, an architect could put up a sign saying, “No Jews,” a doctor could turn away transgender people altogether. And each and every law that makes discrimination illegal would be overridden by the constitutional right to discriminate.
In fact, the consequences go far beyond nondiscrimination laws.
If any business has a constitutional right to express its views or its religion by refusing to comply with a nondiscrimination law, it could defy other government rules as well. Businesses could refuse to follow food safety rules because they want to express themselves through their refusal. Or a company could flout consumer protection regulations because they are inconsistent with its religious beliefs.
This case has never been about the cake. It’s about whether anyone in America can be turned away from a business because of who they are. It’s about whether the Constitution gives businesses the right to discriminate whenever they want to.
Everyone in this country should be opposed to such a radical ruling that would undermine America’s core commitment to equality. That President Trump has endorsed a right to discriminate against LGBT people may not be surprising, given his earlier actions to strip transgender youth of protections in schools and to deprive lesbian, gay, and bisexual people of federal civil rights protections altogether. But it couldn’t be more un-American or shameful.