Activists Line Up to Check Police Spy Files

About 20 political activists and others were first in line at Denver police headquarters to check whether their names were in the 3,200 so-called spy files that city officials concede went too far in tracking dissidents.

News that religious and peace groups were among those under surveillance since about 1999 prompted cries of police misconduct, an investigation by a three-judge panel and a decision to let some people see their files before they are purged.

Mayor Wellington Webb, the subject of police surveillance when he was a young activist, has condemned keeping files on peaceful protesters.

Records of those not suspected of crimes will be released to those named in them, then purged after Nov. 1. The city attorney’s office will keep copies of all files, including those eliminated by police.

Release of the files, though, did not quell the concerns of some of the activists waiting in the police department lobby.

“They’re not being totally upfront, which makes you think they’re not telling you everything,” said Wendy Hawthorne of the Denver Justice and Peace Committee.