The ACLU of Colorado announces our support of the second annual Colorado Gives Day – an initiative to increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving to Colorado charities. Once again presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day is a 24-hour period on Dec. 6 to “give where you live” by making online donations on Community First Foundation’s online giving resource, GivingFirst.org. As a profiled charity on GivingFirst.org, The ACLU of Colorado will participate in this initiative.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the second annual Colorado Gives Day. As a Colorado nonprofit, we recognize the value of bringing local communities together in support of the charitable sector – and Colorado Gives Day is an ideal outlet for raising awareness of the need to support organizations like ours,” said Rehan K. Hasan, Chair of the Board of the ACLU of Colorado.

Marla J. Williams, president and CEO of Community First Foundation, said: “‘Give where you live’ is a simple concept but one with huge impact. Our goal last year was to raise $1 million online for local nonprofits. Instead, thanks to Coloradans’ generosity, we raised more than $8 million!”

For more information about the ACLU of Colorado and the second annual Colorado Gives Day, please contact Development Director Pat Blumenthal at [email protected] or 720.402.3118.

To contribute to the work of protecting, defending and expanding civil liberties through the ACLU of Colorado now through December 6 -- Colorado Gives Day – visit https://www.givingfirst.org/ACLU-CO/.

The ACLU of Colorado received complaints that on Sunday morning November 13, at the first court appearance of Occupy Denver protesters who were arrested the night before, Magistrate John Hoffman refused to allow reporters and members of the press to bring paper, notebooks or any type of writing utensils into the courtroom. Westword reporter Kelsey Whipple reported that she was forbidden to take notes during the court proceeding. http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/11/occupy_denver_arrests_bond.php. In a November 16 letter to Presiding Judge John John Marcucci, the ACLU of Colorado protested this violation of First Amendment rights. For more information, visit https://aclu-co.org/case/judge-marcucci-aclu-re-paper-pens.

Based on news stories, video, and reports from participants and legal observers at Occupy Denver, attorneys at the ACLU are concerned that what had initially been characterized as a policy of admirable restraint in regard to activists at the Occupy Denver site has now evolved into an unwise policy of unnecessarily confrontational and provocative police tactics.

“Denver police commanders made a serious mistake when they sent riot-equipped officers into a crowd of protesters for the purpose of dismantling tents,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. “In order to enforce a minor ordinance that forbids erecting tents in parks, officers angered the crowd and provoked an unnecessary physical confrontation that led to arrests and reports of excessive and unjustifiable force. There was no emergency that required immediate police action to take down the tents.”

To further investigate reports of excessive force, the ACLU on Tuesday filed comprehensive requests with the Denver Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol for use-of-force reports, after-action reports and other documents relating to recent enforcement actions with regard to Occupy Denver.

“From its beginnings at Lincoln Park, the ACLU of Colorado has watched and listened at Occupy Denver,” said ACLU Executive Director C. Ray Drew. “We have distributed information on individual rights when dealing with the police and maintained a steady presence. At the end of the day, our vigilance speaks to core mission: the protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all people.”

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