Did they suspend the Constitution for NYC while I wasn’t looking?
AP Story:
NEW YORK — Police detectives have questioned hundreds of anti-war protesters about their political affiliations, a practice ended this week after civil libertarians complained that it violated the Constitution, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday.
Kelly said he had been unaware of the practice and was changing department policy to assure that such activities would not recur without top officials’ approval.
He said the agency was destroying an internal database containing the information.
Detectives from the police department’s intelligence division had used debriefing forms to record where arrested demonstrators attended school, what membership they had in any organizations and any involvement in past protests.
“I don’t think there are constitutional issues here,” Kelly said at a news conference at police headquarters. “We believe it was a legitimate question with no compulsion to answer.”
Chris Dunn, associate legal director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Thursday that demonstrators were denied access to lawyers during the questioning and told that requesting an attorney would delay their release.
“They are investigating and interrogating people about protected political activity,” Dunn said. “They are clearly coercing people into giving up this information.”
…
The department did not believe suspects had the right to see an attorney during the questioning because it was a part of routine processing, he said.
Apparently we’re not allowed to carry any signs except “approved” ones on the sidewalks either.
