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  • On November 21, 2016, 13 Aurora police officers responded to a simple noise complaint at Alberto Torres’s home. As happens all too often, Aurora police officers escalated this minor issue into a brutal affair. They beat Mr. Torres solely because he delayed exiting his garage to ask his wife to interpret for him. With that beating, the lives of Mr. Torres and every member of his family were changed and he has yet to recover. ACLU of Colorado fought to obtain justice for Mr. Torres, and Aurora has now paid him $285,000. But money is not justice, and the brutality of the Aurora Police Department against people of color has continued unabated.

    It doesn’t have to be this way.

    Imagine, if instead of 13 officers being dispatched to Mr. Torres’s home for a noise complaint, the City of Aurora sent a civilian-led response team to check on his welfare and ask that he and his friends lower their sound, resulting in a non-violent solution to a minor issue?

    ACLU Settles Case With Aurora After Police Brutalize and Unlawfully Arrest Alberto Torres

  • Hope is a discipline. It’s a commitment that together, we can create a more perfect union. We won’t rest until we fulfill the promise of equal rights for ALL people in the United States.

    Join us in our fight to fulfill this promise and move forward with hope by donating to the ACLU of Colorado. Your donation supports the ACLU’s strengths that make our work effective and collaborative.

    Donate now at https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-colorado

  • Anthony Martinez is 84-years-old and suffering from renal failure, as well as other serious medical conditions including dementia. He is currently incarcerated in the Sterling Correctional Facility, site of one of Colorado’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks with almost 600 active COVID-19 cases. He and his family are understandably terrified that he will catch the virus and die.

    In the midst of this public health crisis, incarcerated people as vulnerable as Anthony, could and should be immediately released to safely live out their remaining years with family.

    Read more about Anthony Martinez and other at-risk incarcerated people. 

  • Ronald Johnson is pre-diabetic, suffers from asthma and high blood pressure, and regularly uses an inhaler to breathe. His age and respiratory ailments put him at risk of serious illness and death if he contracts COVID-19. With over hundreds of active cases in Colorado’s prisons, his family fears he will not make it out alive. His daughter, Amber, says, “In prison, he can’t protect himself and he can’t social distance. My deep fear is that my dad will die in prison. That is an awful, traumatic reality to consider. My chest is tight just thinking about how quickly it spreads and how vulnerable he is.”

    Governor Hickenlooper shortened his sentence following testimony from family, friends and correctional officers advocating for his early release. Yet, he is still eight years away from parole. While he remains in prison, COVID-19 continues to spread. Ronald’s three siblings, four children and four grandchildren are desperate for his release.

    Read more about Ronald Johnson and other at-risk incarcerated people.

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10.4.10

ACLU CHALLENGES CITY GOVERNMENT’S BID FOR GAG ORDER AGAINST COLORADO SPRINGS NEWSPAPER

ACLU Challenges City Government's Bid for Gag Order Against Colorado Springs Newspaper   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 7, 2002 The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) announced today that its lawyers will appear Friday in state district court in Colorado Springs to argue that a Colorado Springs alternative weekly newspaper should not be subjected to a court order forbidding it to publish information about a Colorado Springs police officer. "A government.... | Read More

10.4.10

AFTER ACLU ENTERS CASE, COLORADO SPRINGS DROPS EFFORT TO OBTAIN GAG ORDER AGAINST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

After ACLU Enters Case, Colorado Springs Drops Effort to Obtain Gag Order Against Weekly Newspaper   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2002 The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) reported success today in stopping the City of Colorado Springs from obtaining a court order that would have prevented the Colorado Springs Independent from publishing information about a Colorado Springs police officer.   Citing the First Amendment right of a newspaper to publish.... | Read More

10.4.10

DENVER POLICE PLANNED ON AIR FORCE HELP IN GATHREING INFORMATION FOR SPY FILES

Denver Police Planned on Air Force Help in Gathering Information for Spy Files FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan 22, 2003 The Denver Police Department planned to receive intelligence information from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) about the identities and activities of participants in a peaceful demonstration outside Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs in 1999, according to a document from the Denver Police Spy Files released today by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.... | Read More

10.4.10

COLORADO ACLU ECHOES FOR STOP TO ATTORNEY GENERAL’S ASSAULT ON CIVIL LIBERTIES

Colorado ACLU Echoes for Stop to Attorney General's Assault on Civil Liberties   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb 12, 2003   In a recent announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union warned against the likely ineffectiveness of and danger to average Americans posed by the vast cyber-surveillance system known as Total Information Awareness (TIA).   "The Pentagon's plan for the most extensive data surveillance network in history will have real effects on real Americans,".... | Read More

10.4.10

ACLU SUES TO STOP COLORADO’S PLANNED APRIL 1 CUT OFF OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS

ACLU Sues to Stop Colorado's Planned April 1 Cutoff of Medical Assistance to Legal Immigrants   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mar 27, 2003 The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) announced today the filing of a class action lawsuit in federal court to challenge Senate Bill 176, a new Colorado law that cuts off medical assistance to about 3500 legal immigrants who are currently covered and who cannot afford to pay for their own medical care. The suit asks the Court to.... | Read More

10.4.10

COURT ORDERS TEMPORARY HALT TO MEDICAID CUTOFFS IN ACLU SUIT ON BEHALF OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Court Orders Temporary Halt to Medicaid Cutoffs in ACLU Suit on Behalf of Legal Immigrants   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Apr 1, 2003 Granting an emergency motion filed by lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU), a federal court judge issued an order late this afternoon that temporarily stops the State of Colorado from cutting Medicaid medical assistance benefits to approximately 3500 legal immigrants in Colorado who cannot afford to pay for their own medical.... | Read More