ACLU wants Denver police to reopen probe into traffic stop

OFF THE WIRE
By Christopher N. Osher
The Denver Post
The American Civil Liberties Union is trying to persuade Denver police to reopen an internal affairs investigation into whether officers racially profiled and hurled racial epithets at two black men after a traffic stop.

Denver County Judge Aileen Ortiz-White found that the Feb. 13, 2009, traffic stop was unjustified and without probable cause. She ruled last year that "police conduct was extreme, profane and racially motivated."

An earlier police internal affairs investigation found the complaint could not be sustained because it could not be determined whether Sgt. Perry Speelman and Officers Tab Davis and Jesse Campion or the two men were telling the truth.

"Our clients want vindication of their rights," said Mark Silverstein, the legal director of the ACLU of Colorado. "They were victims of racial profiling. They were subjected to an illegal stop, and they were subjected to taunts and abuse, and they were made to sit on a curb on a night when the temperature dropped to 28 degrees, and they were made to sit there for 45 minutes."

Sonny Jackson, the public information officer for the Denver Police Department, said he could not comment because the department had not yet had a chance to study the ACLU request in full.

Silverstein said he decided to try to reopen the internal affairs investigation after the police reopened another investigation last week into whether two officers had lied about the beating of a man outside a Lower Downtown nightclub. Silverstein said the reopening of the other case was the first time he knew such cases could be reinvestigated.

"I thought that perhaps (the internal affairs bureau) would be interested in taking another look at this because a county court judge made these extraordinary factual findings in throwing out the charges and affirmatively finding the stop was racially motivated and was done without reasonable suspicion and without probable cause," he said.
Silverstein made his request Friday in a letter sent to Paul Jimenez, the internal affairs investigator.

Ashford Wortham and Cornelius Campbell pushed for the initial internal affairs investigation after their traffic stop. Police cited Wortham for failing to wear a seat belt, failure to adhere to a red light and failure to sign insurance and registration.

Wortham was handcuffed, but he was not arrested following the traffic stop. He testified that the officers came to the passenger side of the Acura Legend he was driving with their weapons drawn. He also said they made Campbell get out of the car after Campbell told them he feared for his life.

"We didn't show any aggression towards the officer," Wortham testified. "And so, you know, we were asking the whole time, why are we sitting out on the sidewalk. There were racial slurs made."

Ortiz-White did not find credible Sgt. Perry Speelman's testimony about the traffic stop in the 1100 block of Park Avenue, and the judge dismissed the traffic citations. Speelman testified the police never drew their weapons. He also denied police made racial slurs and claimed Wortham threatened to beat up the officers in an alley.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
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