COPS FOR STRICKLAND - OINK, OINK

Boulder police broke the law Oct. 26, and those involved ought to be
charged. The police broke the law-by violating the First Amendment rights
of peaceful citizens-in order to be good Democrats, and to stand behind
cowboy drug-war prosecutor Tom Strickland, who's running for the United
States Senate seat occupied by Republican Wayne Allard.

Strickland was in Boulder for a campaign rally featuring Robert Redford,
and several key Allard supporters and campaign workers showed up at the
event. The Allard supporters were told by Boulder cops, in no uncertain
terms, that they would be arrested if they said anything to Strickland.
That meant no booing and hissing, no heckling, no yelling "Wayne Allard for
Senate!" Throughout United States history, such peaceful activities have
been upheld by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Boulder Weekly endorsed Strickland, with strong reservations. A major
concern of the editorial board was his cozy relationship with the
burgeoning police establishment. Ranking police have lined up throughout
the campaign to express their support for drug-war cop Strickland. It has
been an outrageous display by law enforcement officers who are supposed to
uphold law in an objective, non-partisan manner. What's far worse, however,
is that police would allow even the appearance of favoritism at a public
political rally where their primary duty is to defend the free and peaceful
exchange of ideas-an exercise upheld by the first law of the land.

At the rally, campaign worker Matt Dempsey was arrested because he
supposedly "endangered" a group of young gymnasts doing a demonstration. As
Dempsey and the others were nowhere near the gymnasts, and had no physical
contact with them, Boulder cops will have one hell of a time proving this
bizarre, politically motivated charge. Dempsey was charged with disrupting
an assembly, which he did not, and resisting arrest. The resisting arrest
charge resulted from his decision to walk away from a cop who was zealously
trying to cause trouble for anyone who didn't support the officer's favored
candidate-drug-war cowboy Strickland.

Dempsey can laugh off the charges, and he'll no doubt be acquitted if a
judge doesn't toss the case first. But what about the Boulder Police? They
should be charged with making a false arrest, and Dempsey should sue them
relentlessly for violating his most basic civil liberties-freedom of
speech, freedom of peaceable assembly, and freedom of association.
Furthermore, Police Chief Mark Beckner should be forced to answer to this
by the Boulder City Council.