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DNC protests near center likely will be OK'd

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 12, 2007 at midnight

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Protesters at next summer's Democratic National Convention likely will be allowed to rally within view of the Pepsi Center, a Denver City Council committee was told Wednesday.

Denver Deputy Police Chief Michael Battista said the city probably will be able to allow closer access for protesters than Boston did in 2004, since the Pepsi Center is not next to a freeway like Boston's Fleet Center is.

"At the Fleet Center there were railroad tracks and a highway, and the protesters were put on the other side," Battista said. "At the Pepsi Center you don't have those issues to deal with."

A local group, Recreate 68, is planning to sponsor protests during the convention and has met with the police department. An attorney for the group told the committee they were committed to peaceful protest and simply wanted Denver to respect their constitutional rights. He said protesters at the conventions in Boston and New York in 2004 were kept in confined areas that resembled cattle pens.

"Anything with a wall or with cages is demeaning," said Tom Cincotta, of the National Lawyers Guild. "In New York there were cages where people had to enter and exit in single file. It's antithetical to a free country."

The committee had been scheduled to consider a controversial proclamation by Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie calling for Denver to respect the rights of demonstrators. However, Mac-Kenzie didn't attend the meeting and is wrapping up her last week on the council, so the proclamation has been dropped for now. Recreate 68 has said it will ask another council member to sponsor a similar resolution in the future.

When asked if residents should avoid downtown during the convention, Battista said people shouldn't have any trouble reaching offices, stores and other destinations. He said there would be some street closings around the Pepsi Center, but most of downtown would be accessible.