Md. chapter of the ACLU sent letter to Mayor Rawlings-Blake about selective enforcement of curfew

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Baltimore mayor lifts curfew 6 days after riots

BALTIMORE (AP) — Six days after the death of Freddie Gray sparked riots in Baltimore, the city's mayor lifted a citywide curfew on Sunday morning...

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement that she didn't want the curfew to continue any longer than necessary.

"My number one priority in instituting a curfew was to ensure the public peace, safety, health and welfare of Baltimore citizens," the Democratic mayor said. "It was not an easy decision, but one I felt was necessary to help our city restore calm."

The 10 p.m. curfew, which was ordered Tuesday after a night of violence, looting and arson, drew harsh criticism from the city's residents. The National Guard has been in the city nearly all week along with more than 500 Maryland state troopers and 400 out-of-state police officers.

The Maryland chapter of the ACLU sent a letter to Rawlings-Blake on Saturday alleging that the curfew is "being enforced arbitrarily and selectively" to break up peaceful protests and prevent media outlets from providing accurate coverage of police activity...


ACLU RAISES NEW CONCERNS WITH BALTIMORE CURFEW - May 2, 2015

Read the new ACLU letter to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

Dear Mayor Rawlings-Blake:

I write on behalf of the American Civil Union of Maryland to express our grave concern about the continuation of the curfew and the manner in which it is being enforced. It has now become clear that the curfew is serving as nothing more than a tool for curtailing the First Amendment rights of peaceful demonstrators, legal observers, and the news media. Indeed, the curfew itself has become the target of protest and the source of new problems rather than a solution. Further, the curfew is having a dramatic effect on the ability of Baltimore residents to simply go about their daily lives free from the fear of arbitrary arrest.

We therefore once again strongly urge you to lift the curfew immediately. For at least two days now there have been no reports, to our knowledge, of any significant violence at gatherings and demonstrations around the city. Nonetheless, last night police showed up at City Hall in great numbers, dressed in full riot gear, to break up a peaceful assembly of about 100 individuals. In total, police arrested at least 53 protesters yesterday, including at least 15 of the people gathered at City Hall. Police also interfered with news media outlets that were attempting to cover the arrests, even though the terms of the curfew allow them to be present in the street past curfew hours in order to cover events as they unfold.

Even more disturbingly, police suddenly revoked permits that had previously been issued to legal observers, forbidding them from witnessing and documenting police actions against peaceful demonstrators and the media after curfew hours.

These actions appear to serve no purpose other than to stop protected First Amendment activity and to quash coverage of police activity during the hours the curfew is in effect. Moreover, numerous residents have expressed concern that the curfew is being enforced arbitrarily and selectively. These actions raise serious constitutional concerns and needlessly engender the same kind of hostility and tension that have led to the breakdown of community/police relations in our city. Reported incidents of discord over the past two days all seem to have a single feature in common: large numbers of fully-armed police officers appearing at a peaceful scene and turning citizen gatherings into scenes of flight, arrest, and chaos. At this stage, the curfew, particularly in conjunction with the visible presence of military personnel and vehicles, has clearly become a source of resentment and frustration among Baltimore residents. As Senator Bill Ferguson observed last night via Twitter, the “costs are outweighing the benefits.”

Yesterday’s events highlight the urgency of ending these restrictions, which have become nothing more than a pretext for inappropriate police conduct and curtailment of the First Amendment rights of peaceful protestors, the media, and legal observers. The curfew is not necessary to allow police to intervene in acts of actual lawbreaking, nor is it a necessary tool to allow police to take peaceful and reasonable actions to ensure that protestors and traffic can co-exist on city streets. Instead, it is an extraordinary measure that has outlived any necessity and usefulness it may previously have had. We therefore once again join the chorus of voices calling for an immediate end to the curfew.

I ask that you please respond to this letter as soon as possible so that we may decide how to proceed

Sincerely,
Deborah A. Jeon
Legal Direcor


WBAL NewsRadio 1090 @wbalradio
Republican Governor LarryHogan says State of Emergency will be lifted only after the last soldier leaves city. That will take about 72 hours


(photo: @Edwinjtorres)




ron fullwood @ronfullwood

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Selective enforcement, selective policing

roll me over with a feather! Color me shocked, NOT!

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2. you don't make a complaint assuming everything (that needs to) has already been spoken

...as you well know.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Yup

we have a march vigil, speechifying tonight over the other issue... mass incarceration.

One of my camera batteries is bad. I think I'd better go to best buy to get a couple and at least get one charged up.

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4. »