In a motion filed in
federal court, Post attorneys asked to intervene in a lawsuit against the
city.
The newspaper wants the city to justify its designation of certain
discovery materials in the lawsuit as "confidential information."
Editor Greg Moore said the filing of the motion was a critical step
toward gathering complete details of the so-called spy files case.
"We think the story is an important one," Moore said. "Full disclosure of
everything that is in the file is critical for a complete understanding of
everything that has transpired."
City attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Post attorney Steve Zansberg, of Faegre & Benson LLP, said the motion
asks the city to show that full disclosure would result in "significant harm
to the public interest," a criteria that a judge set when imposing a
protective order on the case July 12.
"The Denver Post is merely asking to make the city meet its burden to
show that disclosure of these materials would do substantial damage to the
public interest," Zansberg said. "This is a case that demands accountability
of the Police Department for allegedly violating the constitutional rights
of law-abiding citizens."
There are questions that remain to be answered, he said, such as "Who
knew what, and when?"
After learning of the existence of more than 3,400 individual and group
intelligence files maintained by the Police Department over the years,
attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit March 28 against
the city on behalf of six plaintiffs.
The suit challenges the department's custom of spying on peaceful
protesters, maintaining intelligence files and sharing the files with other
law enforcement agencies.
In the motion filed Thursday, The Post asserts that by designating much
of the information in the case as "confidential," the city prohibits the
media from disseminating information to the public.
The information is important because it helps citizens know about the
activities of the Police Department and other law enforcement agencies
regarding surveillance of peaceful protesters. In addition, the motion said,
important points of interest already have been raised in the media.
In depositions taken in the case, city officials have said that since its
inception in the 1950s, the intelligence unit operated without training or
protocol.
In recent weeks, Mayor Wellington Webb said a policy has been put in
place that requires intelligence gathering only on individuals or groups
linked to criminal activity.