Group says it was kicked out of park, restaurant

About 50 people meet to discuss immigration

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 24, 2005 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

WESTMINSTER - A group of people meeting to discuss illegal immigration Sunday claim they were kicked out of both a restaurant and a city park because employees or patrons didn't like their stand on the issue.

"It baffles me," said Michael Corbin, host of a radio talk show, A Closer Look, on KHNC-AM (1360), who had organized the meeting.

"I can be a little more understanding about what happened in the restaurant if those people in the kitchen were concerned about what we were talking about. But there were few people in the park, and they could not hear us or interact with us. I don't know why we were thrown out of the park."

Westminster Police Chief Dan Montgomery said he was told the group was asked to leave Christopher Fields because ballplayers had complained. "We had leagues playing there and several of the ballplayers complained that (this group) was so loud, they were disturbing the games," he said.

Corbin said he estimated about 50 people had gathered at Jackson's All-American Sports Grill, 10710 Westminster Blvd., at 2 p.m. for a meeting in a reserved room toward the back of the restaurant. Corbin said he invited Terry Graham, a Boulder resident, to speak at the gathering. Corbin characterized the group as primarily conservative and in favor of strict immigration controls.

It was during Graham's comments that Corbin said the assistant manager of the restaurant motioned him over.

"He said, 'You got to shut this down and leave immediately,' " said Corbin.

Corbin said he was trying to get the microphone to make an announcement that the meeting had to close, when a Hispanic man charged out of the kitchen and snatched the microphone from Graham.

"He said, 'This is over. Everybody pay your bill and leave. If you don't, we will call the police,' " Corbin said.

The group complied and left the restaurant after paying their bills.

A woman who answered the phone at the restaurant Monday said, "We do not wish to comment" on the incident.

About 25 people in the group decided to continue the meeting at nearby Christopher Fields, at 104th Avenue.

At about 4:30 p.m., 45 minutes after the group had arrived, Westminster police officer Tim Torres approached the group and asked everyone to leave.

Corbin said Torres told the group that "this as an inappropriate place for that and that you have to leave. He made us leave and we left. He was very stern about it."

Westminster Chief Montgomery said he has assigned investigator Kevin Beren with the professional standards unit to investigate the matter further.

"We're getting some conflicting information and we needed to do more interviews," he said. "We are looking into the matter further. I want to get to the bottom of this."

Montgomery said he's asking members of the group and any other witnesses to call 303-430-2400 and ask the operator to direct their call to Beren.

Featured

• Denver turns 150

  

  Read about the city's history, look at old photos and see a list of influential Denverites.

• Mount Crushmore

  

  Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Weekend plans?

  

  Figure out things to do this weekend with the help of our entertainment calendar.

• Season To Share

  

  The Post-News Season To Share campaign provides grants to area nonprofits.

• The Rocky @ 150 Years

  

  The Rocky was there when Colorado became a state in 1876. Read our coverage.

• A Dozen on Denver

  

  And the winner is... Robert Ziegler! See the whole fiction series by clicking here.

• Rocky Mountain Music

  

  Mark Brown blogs on the new Guns N' Roses album