Denver police agree to First Amendment training in settlement with editor they wrongfully detained

Denver police agree to First Amendment training in settlement with Indy editor they wrongfully detained


Denver’s Police Department has agreed to a $50,000 settlement with Colorado Independent Editor Susan Greene, whose First Amendment rights officers violated when they wrongfully handcuffed and detained her for photographing police last summer.

As part of the settlement, Denver agrees to significantly strengthen First Amendment and sensitivity trainings for police through at least 2024. The department also will update its policies on police bias and search and seizure of recording devices.

The settlement requires final approval of the City Council, which must sign off on any payment above $5,000. Ryan Luby, spokesman for the City Attorney’s Office, said it’s unclear when the council will vote on this. “But certainly soon,” he said. Council President Jolon Clark said he had not yet received information on the settlement and so he could not comment.

On July 5 of last year, Greene was driving on Colfax Avenue near the Capitol when she pulled over to observe a police interaction with a naked black man they had handcuffed and told to sit on the sidewalk. Greene is a veteran investigative reporter who’s written extensively about police excessive force in Colorado and multiple incidents in which law enforcement officers have killed African-American men they’ve arrested or jailed.

Read more: https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2019/09/10/denver-police-agree-to-first-amendment-training-in-settlement-with-indy-editor-they-wrongfully-detained/