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News
$2 Million for Activists a Wakeup Call for Denver
August 20, 2008
For immediate release, August 20, 2008
Contact: Rob Savoye, Colorado Legal Eagles
info@coloradolegaleagles.org
$2 Million Settlement for Activists a Wakeup Call for Denver
{Denver, CO}– On Tuesday, the city of New York agreed to pay
$2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 52 antiwar activists who
were illegally arrested during a peaceful demonstration against
the Iraq War in April 2003 in Midtown Manhattan. The activists were
protesting the U.S. invasion of Iraq outside the offices of the
Carlyle Group, a military contractor. The police conducted a mass
arrest, where they encircled the crowd and arrested everybody at
the demonstration. Of the 52 people arrested, charges against 50
were dismissed and two were tried and acquitted.
In addition to the $2 million settlement, the city of New York
has spent tens of thousands of dollars on attorney's fees and investigations,
as they tried to drag the lawsuit out as long as possible. According
to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which helped represent
the protesters, NYPD officials are now consulting with police departments
in Denver and Minneapolis on their plans for the 2008 Democratic
and Republican
Conventions.
Colorado Legal Eagles, a local civil rights group, hope that the
city of Denver will learn from New York's mistakes and try better
to protect protesters' First Amendment rights.
Colorado Legal Eagles have been calling for zero tolerance for
poorly-trained and rogue federal law enforcement officers who will
be providing security at the Democratic National Convention (DNC)
in Denver.
Based on incidents in July in Wyoming, which showed federal agents
opening fire into crowds of women and children without warning,
the Legal Eagles believe that similar incidents may occur at the
DNC. The incident was documented in several videos and photos:
http://www.coloradolegaleagles.org
"The police need to learn that they can't do these things
with impunity," says Rob Savoye, Colorado Legal Eagles. "Peace
activists will be coming to the DNC to be peaceful. They just want
to exercise their First Amendment rights."
Savoye continues, "It only takes one officer that is out of
control to cause an incident, so we really hope the police can police
themselves."
For more information, see:
http://www.coloradolegaleagles.org/
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