Police in Aurora, Colorado, got a call about a man pulling a gun on a kid. They had no description of the suspect. On their way to the scene, they stopped two Black men walking down the sidewalk.

Darsean Kelley, one of the men, followed the officers’ orders to hold his hands above his head and turn around. His repeated requests for an explanation as to why they had been detained went unanswered. Even though it was clear he had no weapons and he was no threat to the officers, Darsean was tased in the back just as he said, “I know my rights.” Darsean fell backwards and hit his head on the pavement.
The officers had no reason to detain them. They had done nothing wrong. When Darsean asked to talk to the officer’s boss, noting that there were witnesses to the tasing, the officer responded, “Hey, look right here. It’s all on video, sweetheart.”

Darsean was arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct.” The ACLU of Colorado and our cooperating attorney Dan Recht represented Darsean and convinced the prosecutor to drop the charges.

We all have the Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive and unreasonable force by the police. No one should be punished for knowing and asserting their rights.

Resources:

• Watch the video, He Knew His Rights. He Got Tased Anyway

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DENVER – Yesterday, Denver officials announced a new directive empowering police to unilaterally ban people from public parks based on an accusation of perceived drug use.  According to the directive, a person does not need to be charged, tried, or convicted of any crime for a ban notice, which is punishable by jail if violated, to be issued.

ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley issued the following statement:
“Denver’s park banishment directive is an unacceptable end run around the Constitution.  There are already laws on the books to deal with illegal drug use. Those laws guarantee due process and basic civil liberties protections against potential abuse. The park banishment directive, which is not authorized by statute or code, empowers police to banish people from public parks based only on an officer’s accusation and nothing more.  The banishment takes effect immediately, with no opportunity, other than a possible appeal down the line, to rebut or contest the officer’s accusation. That is a backwards approach, and it contradicts even the most rudimentary understanding of due process and how the law is supposed to work.

“After months of constant and continuous sweeps, unaccountable private security policing the public 16th St. Mall, and increased use of various ordinances to push people who are homeless and living in poverty out of public spaces, this administration cannot be afforded the benefit of the doubt to now administer an unchecked banishment program. The only conclusion that can be drawn, given this administration’s policing-first crackdown over the last several months, is that this directive will be another in a long line of questionable tactics used by the city under the auspices of ‘perceptions of safety’ to selectively target, harass, and drive out people who are homeless and have nowhere else to go.”
Resources:
ACLU Demands Accountability for Misuse of Donated Funds to Pay for Homeless Sweeps
ACLU Opposes the Use of Private Contractors to Perform Police Actions on the 16^th St. Mall
Statement of ACLU of Colorado on Downtown Denver Homeless Sweeps
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In a letter sent today to 34 Colorado municipalities that make it a crime to “loiter for the purpose of begging,” the ACLU of Colorado demanded that municipal authorities stop enforcement and take immediate steps to repeal the “legally indefensible” ordinances.

“These outdated ordinances, which prohibit peaceful, nonintrusive requests for charity in any and every public place, must be taken off the books,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein.  “As courts across the country, and here in Colorado, have recognized, a plea for help is a communication that is protected by the First Amendment.   An outstretched hand can convey human suffering, can remind passersby of the gap between rich and poor, and in some cases can highlight a lack of jobs and social services.”

Following the ACLU’s successful challenge to Grand Junction’s panhandling ordinance in federal court last year, several Colorado cities, including Denver, Colorado Springs, and Boulder, halted enforcement of laws that placed unconstitutional time and location restrictions on peaceful requests for charity.

The ordinances that prohibit “loitering for the purpose of begging” are far broader than the panhandling restrictions that were struck down in the Grand Junction decision.  Instead of attempting to limit the restrictions to certain times, to certain places, or to panhandling in a certain manner, they make it a crime to ask for charity anywhere in the municipality, at any time, and by any means, including by peacefully sitting and holding a sign.

The ACLU of Colorado examined court records from ten cities that have a “loitering for the purpose of begging” law and found that eight had engaged in some form of enforcement in the last two years, either through issuing citations, warnings, or move-on orders.

“Not only do these anti-begging ordinances violate the constitutional rights of people experiencing homelessness, but they are costly to enforce and serve to exacerbate problems associated with extreme poverty.  Harassing, ticketing, and/or arresting poor person for asking for help is inhumane, counterproductive, and – in many cases – illegal,” Silverstein and ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Rebecca T. Wallace wrote in the letter, which was delivered to all 34 cities by email this morning.

The municipalities identified as having “loitering for the purpose of begging” ordinances are Avon, Bennett, Brighton, Buena Vista, Carbondale, Cherry Hills Village, Cortez, Crested Butte, Cripple Creek, Del Norte, Dillon, Eaton, Englewood, Firestone, Garden City, Gilcrest, Green Mountain Falls, Johnstown, La Junta, Leadville, Lochbuie, Mead, Meeker, Milliken, Minturn, Nederland, Oak Creek, Platteville, Rifle, Rocky Ford, Salida, San Luis, Severance, and Timnath.

Colorado has seen a marked increase in recent years in enforcement of ordinances that effectively criminalize homelessness and poverty, including laws that make it a crime to sit, lie down, take shelter, or ask for charity in a public place.  The ACLU of Colorado has committed significant resources to challenging those laws through litigation, legal advocacy, and community mobilization.

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