AP News, February 16th, 2007
A judge on Thursday said police cannot routinely videotape demonstrations when they involve purely political activity.
U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight said New York Police Department videotaping of two recent protests was as egregious as police conduct at anti-Vietnam War demonstrations 35 years ago that led to permanent court oversight of police surveillance and intelligence collecting methods at large gatherings.
The judge said the city had violated the Handschu guidelines, created to settle a 1971 lawsuit brought by the Black Panther Party alleging that police engaged in widespread surveillance of legitimate political activity.
"Solely politically based investigations are flatly prohibited by the guidelines," the judge wrote. "In other words, there must always be a legitimate law enforcement purpose _ having a purpose of investigating political activity exclusively for its own sake is never allowed."
He sided with lawyers for the class who complained that police procedures regarding videotaping that were implemented in September 2004 amounted to police deciding they can videotape political demonstrations whenever they want.
He said the police department acted improperly when it videotaped demonstrators in December 2005 in a march organized by advocates for the homeless outside Mayor Michael Bloomberg's residence. He said the department also erred when in March 2005 it videotaped participants in a Harlem rally.
The city was not punished for the two protests it videotaped, but the judge said it would be held in contempt of court for future violations and could be fined.
The judge, however, said the city cannot be stopped from videotaping demonstrators on First Amendment grounds, despite the plaintiffs' contention that being videotaped by police at peaceful protests is unpleasant and unsettling and inhibits their activities.
"These sentiments, while understandable in human terms, fall well short" of what is needed to assert a constitutional claim, the judge said.
City law department special counsel Gail Donoghue said it was significant that the judge rejected the plaintiffs' long-standing argument that the videotaping violates the First Amendment.
New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman said the ruling "should restore the expectation that New Yorkers can participate in lawful demonstrations without fear of being placed in political dossiers."
