Denver readies police state for DNC

Denver officials, as expected, are rolling out the red carpet for Democratic office holders, delegates and lobbyists attending next week's Democratic National Convention.

On the other hand any dissent is ready to be met with a heavy hand. Denver has installed a police state in downtown to greet activist, protesters, the homeless, or any other "undesirable" during the convention.

Below are clips from the local and national mainstream media about the city's preparation for the convention. It gives a pretty bleak picture for anyone coming to the city to express a differing opinion than the corporate lobbyist platform of the Democratic National Committee. Anyone who believes that the Republicans are the only ones who suppress civil liberties is grossly mistaken.

City officials say Denver police officers will make $1.2 million in overtime pay for work related to the Democratic National Convention. The funds are part of the $50 million federal grant to cover convention security costs. The 1,500 Denver police force plans to work 12-hour shifts from Aug. 23 to Aug. 29 and some are already working overtime training for the convention.

Officials predict anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 protesters will descend on the Mile High City during the DNC.

A federal judge declined to change security restrictions for protesters at the convention, concluding that parade routes and a demonstration zone established by the city don't infringe on their free speech rights. Protesters will be held in "freedom cages" away from the Pepsi Center keeping them out of site of convention attendees.

Convention protesters discovered a secret jail the city has set up for those arrested during the upcoming convention. The warehouse was used to house the city's voting machines until the building was declared unfit for the machines. The secret jail has been dubbed the Gitmo on the Platte.

The Rocky Mountain News reported that Denver police are stocking up on guns that fire a pepper spray-like substance instead of bullets - a less-lethal weapon used to disperse crowds - in advance of the DNC.

Denver police have been asked to be on the lookout for stockpiles of gas masks, shields, cases of nails and bikes that could be used by protesters.

One week before the DNC, CBS4 cameras were rolling as police moved in on a group of homeless people. The homeless believe police are cracking down because of the convention.

According to several local security companies, demand for temporary armed security guards is soaring with the DNC coming to town. Businesses are preparing for large crowds, protesters and the possibility of trouble.

Private security companies are rushing to install security cameras and change locks at businesses in downtown Denver. Master Security told CBS4 its business is up 40 percent. CCTV Corporation said it has installed more than 400 cameras downtown in recent weeks.

Pot smokers who light up during the DNC can expected to get busted under state laws, even though a voter-approved city ordinance makes small amounts of marijuana the "lowest law enforcement priority," Denver Police said Monday.

The Denver City Council approved a new ordinance aimed at preventing protesters from carrying buckets of feces or material that could form street barricades, paying little heed to a treaty that protest groups signed and labeled the "doo-doo accord." Protest groups had signed the treaty, which called for "a moratorium on the public throwing, spraying, smearing, hosing or inducing of excrement" during the DNC. The protesters labeled the ordinance, which Denver police pushed, as overkill and an insult against those who they said simply want to exercise their First Amendment speech rights.