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The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal suit against the city of Pittsburgh, Police Chief Nate Harper and more than 15 other police officers for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of 25 people arrested on the final day of last year's G-20 summit.
All 25 were gathered at Schenley Plaza in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2009, after being part of what the ACLU said was a peaceful demonstration.
PDF"At 10:42 p.m.," the lawsuit says, "without provocation or cause, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officials declared the peaceful assembly of a few hundred people in Schenley Plaza to be an unlawful gathering and ordered everyone to leave. But instead of providing a way for people to comply with the dispersal order, police funneled everyone onto the lawn of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. Police then surrounded the approximately 100 people trapped on the Lawn, refused to allow them to leave, ordered them to lie on the ground and placed them in handcuffs. Police arrested them and falsely charged them with failure to disperse and disorderly conduct."
The suit alleges police violated First Amendment rights to assembly; the arrests were retaliation for exercising those rights; and the prosecution of the plaintiffs violated the Fourth Amendment protections against false arrest. It seeks damages from the city and a declaration that the state's failure-to-disperse statute is too broad.
"Police declarations that peaceful anti-government demonstrations are illegal and arrest of participants in the assembly are a hallmark of totalitarian regimes, a practice the U.S. rightfully decries when it happens in Iran or Russia," said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania in a prepared statement. "Unfortunately, the same practice occurred in this country during last year's G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, and now occurs regularly at demonstrations involving national security events, like political conventions and international trade meetings."
The plaintiffs include 11 Pitt students. Charges against all 25 plaintiffs were ultimately withdrawn.
Later today, city Solicitor Daniel Regan said the suit is being reviewed.
"We will answer the allegations through our attorneys in our pleadings, Mr. Regan said. "The city is prepared to defend itself against any baseless or frivolous claims."
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