The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today sued the city and county of Denver seeking disclosure of public records related to the purchase of security-related equipment for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

The city twice has twice denied requests filed by the ACLU under the Colorado Open Records Act seeking disclosure of the records, the lawsuit filed in Denver District Court states.

Mary Dulacki, the records coordinator for the city’s Department of Safety, has denied their release on the grounds that disclosure “was contrary to the public interest” and because “it could potentially disclose tactical security information.”

Mark Silverstein, the legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, said in a prepared statement that the city was being overly restrictive.

He argued that he did not believe the public records requested would contain any “tactical security information.” Even if it did, he said, the Colorado legislature has passed amendments to the open-records laws that would allow disclosure of how the money is being spent while allowing for deletion of more sensitive information.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

The ACLU filing states the federal government has allocated $50 million to reimburse Denver for security-related expenses. It states that Denver has budgeted $18 million for security-related equipment purchases.

A Denver Post request for information regarding security expenditures also was denied.

Katherine Archuleta, the mayor’s liaison for the convention, recently revealed to the Denver City Council that about half of the $50 million federal grant would be used to reimburse Denver for equipment purchases and that the rest would go to personnel costs.

The city has provided information about some of the equipment purchases by bringing forward contracts and purchase orders for approval by the City Council. Among the items revealed were a nearly $1 million expenditure for wireless security cameras as well as the purchase of a SWAT vehicle.

Still, Silverstein argued that the city had shown an “unjustified penchant for secrecy.”

He said the lack of information has prompted rumors, such as whether the city had acquired a “sonic ray gun” for crowd control.

“If Denver is buying such a device, or any other new-fangled so-called ‘less lethal weapons,’ the public is certainly entitled to know,” Silverstein said in a statement. “And the public is entitled to ask whether Denver has adequately evaluated the manufacturers’ self-serving claims of safety, has established appropriate policies to regulate how and when officers may use such weapons, and has adequately trained officers.”

The lawsuit specifically names Alvin LaCabe, the city’s safety manager, as well as the city and county of Denver.

Earlier this month, the ACLU, on behalf of 12 advocacy groups, filed a federal lawsuit asking the court to order the city of Denver and the Secret Service to determine where groups can demonstrate during the Democratic National Convention in August.

In response, the city released some details regarding public-demonstration areas and said it would disclose by June 12 the route that parades will be allowed to follow during the Aug. 25-28 convention.

Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com