Post / John Leyba

Barbara Cohen looks over information kept on members of activist groups by the Denver police Intelligence Unit. Hundreds of people gathered at police headquarters on Tuesday to view the files.

Waving signs saying "Freedom of speech is not criminal activity" and "Big Brother is Watching You," the diverse crowd included gun-rights activists as well as Denver Copwatch members.

Tuesday was the first day the department accepted requests to see the controversial files kept by the Intelligence Unit. People can apply to see their files through Nov. 1.

Barbara Cohen, a member of Denver Copwatch, was surprised to see two entries in her 16-page file associating her with the Brothers Fast motorcycle club.

"I've never heard of them," she said. "I've never been on a motorcycle." The file also says she has an FBI number.

Two people were amazed by how little there was in their files.

The file for JoJo Padilla, 27, said he was a member of Barrio Warriors de Aztlan, a Denver Latino service-activist group that the file defined as a protest group.

It's a Hispanic group that "frequently protests regarding problems in Chiapas, Mexico, and of the police killing of Ismael Mena," the file says, an accurate description.

His file cited one date, Oct. 26, 1999, but "I don't even remember this one (date)," and Barrio Warriors have been in many more demonstrations than the one listed in his file, Padilla said.

The lack of information on the Warriors' activities was somewhat surprising, he said. "I've heard it before - the Denver Intelligence Unit isn't very good."

Lt. Steven Carter, who took applications to see the files, said dates cited in files weren't necessarily of events. They could be input dates, he said.

Larry Leaman-Miller of Denver, former director of Colorado American Friends Service Committee, the Quakers' political arm, had a file six pages long.

Five pages contained blacked-out names of people listed as "indirect relationships."

An entry dated May 31, 2000, cites a photograph of Leaman-Miller shot by Intelligence Unit Detective David Pontarelli.

Leaman-Miller was classified variously as "criminal extremist G," protest group, civil disobedience and task force.

Denver police have kept intelligence files on Denver citizens since 1954. In 2000, a sophisticated software program called Orion was purchased to track groups, but police never were properly trained to use it.

In transferring files from a giant Rolodex to the computer, many files were purged.

Carter, who took applications from people wanting to see the files and had the names checked with the files, said Orion had categories for people that were applied inconsistently.

Police say they will continue to maintain an Intelligence Unit database, but only of people and groups suspected of criminal activity.

The department is drafting better-defined categories for those under surveillance, Carter said.

Jack Mudry, a Denver activist since the 1970s, was told he didn't have a file and figures it may have been destroyed.

"It could be in other hands," said Mudry, who is involved in causes related to peace and justice. "It could have been forwarded to other agencies to look at or keep."

Jack and Lois Anthony, members of the Chiapas Coalition based at St. Dominic's Catholic Church, were cited in files.

Members of the group, which supports Mexico's indigenous people, were listed as "criminal extremists with intent to overthrow the Mexican government," Lois Anthony, 72, said, laughing.

"Our pastor says, 'There's those terrorists sitting out in the congregation,' " she said.

Most applicants who arrived in the morning waited about half hour to find out whether they were in the files.

Later in the day, activist groups gathered as planned to wait in line and show solidarity. By 6 p.m., the lobby was jammed and few files were being turned over.

The American Civil Liberties Union announced last March it had proof Denver police were spying on citizens who weren't participating in criminal activity.

Mayor Wellington Webb appointed a three-judge panel to look at the files and recommend what to do with them.

The judges concluded the collection was flawed and should be destroyed, but some protested it should be preserved as a historical document.