City to pay $8,500 to man jailed after asking officer for business card
Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News
Published May 16, 2007 at midnight
A Denver man who was arrested after he asked to see a police officer’s business card has settled his lawsuit against the city.
Evan Herzoff, a University of Colorado at Denver student and local CopWatch volunteer, was arrested April 8.
Herzoff had been videotaping the arrest of another individual in a parking lot as part of his CopWatch work. Police asked for his identification, which Herzoff produced, and then told him he was free to go.
But when Herzoff asked for Officer Jeffrey Morgan’s business card, the officer told him, "Let’s take you to jail instead." Herzoff was handcuffed and spent the night in jail.
A charge of trespass against Herzoff later was dismissed.
Under the settlement announced today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the city will pay $8,500 to Evan Herzoff and the police department must issue a training bulletin instructing officers that no retaliation may be taken against citizens who ask for identification.
"The right of citizens to ask their police officers for their name and badge number is not only protected by the First Amendment, it is also one component of rebuilding the community’s trust in the Denver Police Department," said ACLU attorney Taylor Pendergrass.
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