NYPD settles suit claiming abuses at 2003 anti-war protest

[struggle4progress]

Source: AP

Police have agreed to rein in mounted patrols and adopt other new policies protecting the rights of demonstrators in order to settle a lawsuit brought by anti-war protesters, the New York Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday ...

The suit accused police of needlessly disrupting a large anti-war demonstration near the United Nations on Feb. 15, 2003, a month before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Three plaintiffs alleged that officers closed access points, trapped protesters inside barricade pens and charged into crowds on horseback, knocking people down.

The NYCLU said the settlement requires police to publicize detailed information on street closures and access points both prior to and during major demonstrations; to make sure that when using barricade pens, protesters are allowed to come and go as they please; and to give demonstrators ample warning and a chance to leave before using horses to disperse crowds.

In a separate case stemming from lawsuits filed by protesters arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention, a federal judge has rejected a bid by the NYPD to keep confidential information provided by the deputy commissioner of intelligence ...


Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hAjC6ymZwZ4CuP6sNj8g5K8QNkXQD902HC0G1

[zonkers]

1. Rounding up innocents was no accident. It was a message to anyone even thinking of being near a

protest march in the Big Apple. STAY THE FUCK AWAY.

[Javaman]

2. NYC police = Gestapo tactics...

"In a separate case stemming from lawsuits filed by protesters arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention, a federal judge has rejected a bid by the NYPD to keep confidential information provided by the deputy commissioner of intelligence.

The department had argued the documents should be filed under seal because disclosure could compromise intelligence operations.

The ruling shows that the NYPD "needs to face the fact that it is not going to be able to rely on secret testimony and secret documents to defend its actions during the convention," Dunn said.

Police officials said they were reviewing the decision."