Federal judge orders release of documents surrounding arrests of 2004 RNC protesters
 A federal judge has opened the floodgates for almost 2,000 pages of reports and documents on police surveillance of groups and individuals involved in protests during the 2004 Republican National Convention, the New York Times reports.
Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV has ruled in favor of plaintiffs in litigation against the New York City Police Department, citing lengthy detentions, arrests and fingerprinting for minor offenses that would otherwise merit a summons. The city and the plaintiffs agreed to concealing the identities of undercover officers and informants to protect those involved in the investigations, which included dossiers of organizations and infiltrations of various groups, including church and theatre.
#
EXCERPTS:
Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which represents the lead defendants in a barrage of more than 80 lawsuits, said of the judge’s ruling: “He’s given us everything we asked for. He has redacted the names of undercover agents and the particulars of surveillance techniques. We agreed to that. But he has said the city cannot withhold the information it gathered in these operations.”
And as the convention unfolded, more than 1,800 people were arrested, mostly for minor violations, and many were herded into pens at a Hudson River pier and fingerprinted instead of being released on summonses or desk appearance tickets, which are more customary for charges that amount to little more than a traffic ticket.
As scores of federal lawsuits challenging the mass arrests on Aug. 31, 2004, were filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, with plaintiffs claiming wrongful detentions of up to two days and other violations by the police to keep protesters off the streets, the outlines of the extensive covert surveillance operation began to emerge from court records.
#
The entire article can be read HERE.
|
