ACLU Colorado sues CSPD officers over claims of targeted arrests during 2021 protest
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado chapter of the ACLU is suing the City of Colorado Springs and four police officers for the officers' actions against a group protesting against racial inequality and a lack of affordable housing.
The ACLU alleges that in July of 2021, during a "March for Housing" protest near downtown, CSPD officers infiltrated and targeted leaders of the Chinook Center who helped organize the event.
"To be targeted for simply speaking the truth in the interest of protecting my community was one of the most painful experiences of my life." stated Jacqueline Armendariz, who was a protestor in the march that happened downtown two years ago.
It was this effort of targeting and arresting her and two other colleagues, Jon Christiansen and Shaun Walls with the Chinook Center, among dozens of protesters from that day -- that Armendariz and the ACLU argue violated the protesters' first amendment rights.
They allege that the department's motivation stems from a 2020 incident, where the same Chinook Center organized a protest outside an officer's home. This protest was in response to the shooting of De’Von Bailey, which happened in 2019.
"They are honestly mad at us because we just want them to be accountable and stop hurting us"
Armendariz and the ACLU are arguing that this prior protest, as well as the group being critical of CSPD, led the department to send an undercover officer to infiltrate the group and gather information on its leaders over the course of a year.
The lawsuit claims that the officer, whose name is April, went under a fake identity and joined the organization to help with their work. She then created a profile of Christiansen and Walls, among others -- using social media posts and speaking with members of the Chinook Center.
Through this information, the ACLU alleges that the police went to the "March for Housing" with the intent to target and arrest them.
"The community in Colorado Springs has a first amendment right to speak up, to advocate for racial justice, to advocate for housing as a human right. And the police should not be infiltrating and trying to suppress that speech and then ultimately prosecute or persecute people for their political expression." explained Tim Macdonald, the Legal Director for ACLU Colorado.
Armendariz was charged with felony assault in the days after the march in 2021, after officers claimed she threw her bike at one of their officers that day. However, she explains the situation differently -- claiming that it was a reaction out of fear upon seeing an officer in riot gear charging in her direction.
"Well, I had my bike in my hands. So in a split second, I dropped the bike. It landed next to him, didn’t hit him. He avoided it completely."
Police got a warrant leading up to Armendariz's arrest, to search her home and take all of her personal electronic devices, as well as gain access to her social media accounts and other data.
It was that warrant that the ACLU Colorado legal team stated was a violation of her rights, because the police had no grounds to seize those items, as they had no relation to the crime of assault using her bike, but was driven by the dislike of her and her colleagues with the Chinook Center.
The Colorado Springs Police Department and the FBI told KRDO they do not comment on pending litigation.
However, in a series of tweets following the protest in 2021, the COS Police stated it supports the community's right to protest peacefully and legally, and gave protesters several warnings to move off the roadway before making any arrests.
