RNC Abuses

For almost 2 years, the Miami Police Department has desperately been trying to ensure that the 2003 FTAA police operations plan remains a secret, even from the city's own Civilian Investigative Panel which is charged with investigating the large scale police brutality that took place on November 20-21, 2003. MPD has finally revealed it's reasoning for the secrecy: releasing the plan could "jeopardize future operations nationwide" because "authorities THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY have adopted the plan". This is a stunning, yet frightening admission, as it confirms the deep suspicions of political activists who have personally witnessed the same repressive tactics travel from city to city, protest to protest. This also lends further support to the ominous statements made earlier by Miami Police Chief John Timoney, that the FTAA was "the first big event for Homeland Security...the first real realistic run-through to see how it would work."

Today, the City of New York settled the contempt proceedings initiated by New York State Supreme Court Judge John Cataldo on September 2, 2004 when City officials violated multiple release orders Judge Cataldo issued on the afternoon of the 2nd in response to habeas corpus writs filed by attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the Legal Aid Society the prior day.

Independent videos shows how police lied and selectively edited video to justify wrongful arrests at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.

In the first jury trial stemming from the mass arrests at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, video and photographic evidence showed that police testimony in the case appeared to have been entirely fabricated. Judge Gerald Harris granted a motion to dismiss all charges against Dennis Kyne on December 16th, 2004, after the defendant’s attorneys produced the evidence contradicting statements made by NYPD officer Matthew Wohl while under oath.

October 7, 2004 -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed two lawsuits against the City of New York in federal court, challenging the NYPD's treatment of peaceful and lawful protesters during the recent Republican National Convention in New York City. The NYCLU lawsuits specifically challenge the indiscriminate, mass arrests of people - protesters, observers, and bystanders -- who had assembled peacefully and lawfully on public sidewalks; their unjustified and unexplained lengthy detentions in a filthy bus depot (Pier 57); and the systematic fingerprinting of people arrested for minor offenses. The cases, the first filed since the RNC, seek court orders that these practices are unlawful so that they are not used at future demonstrations in New York City. 

[ read more | NYCLU Plaintiffs | Complaint 1 | Complaint 2

When cops play peacekeeper, free speech too often becomes the enemy. (A decent article from the Village Voice.)

These images, presented in no particular order, provide evidence that the NYPD used diverse means to interrupt and discourage Constitutionally protected dissent, through illegal arrest, intimidation, and other tactics. Photos were taken between 8/28 and 9/1/2004.

Click on a photo to see a larger version.

A woman shows her chemcial burns from "Guantanamo on the Hudson."

A lone media outlet reports the facts and finds evidence that the police are inciting violence and crushing dissent.