Home : Police Practices

ACLU of Washington Supports Professor Detained for Taking Photos on Public Property (11/15/2007)
SEATTLE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today filed a lawsuit on behalf of Shirley Scheier, a University of Washington professor who was detained by city of Snohomish police for taking photographs of power lines as part of an art project. Filed in Snohomish County Superior Court, the lawsuit seeks compensation for her wrongful detention.

ACLU of Washington Wins Compensation For Wrongfully Arrested Photographer (11/08/2007)
SEATTLE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today announced that a Seattle man has obtained a settlement of $8,000 from the city of Seattle after he was arrested simply for taking photographs of police making an arrest. The ACLU represented the photographer in his wrongful arrest case.

ACLU Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Protecting Fourth Amendment Rights of Car Passengers (06/18/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union applauded today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court in Brendlin v. California, recognizing that passengers in a car that is stopped by the police are seized as well as the driver, and therefore have the same right under the Fourth Amendment to protest an unconstitutional stop that is based on the police officer’s whim rather than evidence of wrongdoing.

HipHop Against Policy Brutality, ACLU of Texas and Abilene NAACP to Co-Host Youth Summit (06/15/2007)
ABILENE, TX – Three civil rights organizations are joining forces to host the first annual Abilene HipHop Summit. The HipHop Summit will be held Saturday, June 16, 2007 at the Abilene Civic Center, 1100 North 6th St. Abilene, Texas from 10 am to 2pm. Registration will begin at 9:30am. The HipHop Summit theme urges young people to “Express, Empower, and Educate” themselves to become positive agents for change in their schools and community.

Louisiana Legislators Should Not Put Taxpayer Money in the Plate for Churches and Ministries to Use for Evangelistic Purposes (06/15/2007)
BATON ROUGE - The ACLU of Louisiana urges the State Senate to strip earmarked tax dollars out of the budget that go directly to fund churches and evangelistic ministries in violation of the First Amendment. The State House has already passed the appropriations bill that contains at least 10 questionable items inserted by legislators without any detailed information about the churches and groups slated for special favors.

ACLU Sues City of New Orleans and Chief Riley on Behalf of Business Manager Brutalized by Out of Control NOPD Officers (06/13/2007)
NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of a Central City businessman Steven Elloie, who was brutally beaten up, tasered twice with up to 50,000 volts of electricity while handcuffed and lying on the ground, falsely arrested on trumped up charges and eventually cleared of the accusation. A complaint with the Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) or internal affairs was given short shrift and appeared to be a part of a conspiracy at the highest levels to protect the offending officers.

ACLU Applauds State Senate Vote to Restore Public Oversight of Police (06/04/2007)
SACRAMENTO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California applauded today's state Senate vote to restore public access to records and public hearings related to complaints about police misconduct.

New York City to Pay $60,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Bronx Teachers Arrested for Questioning Police Treatment of Students (05/31/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union and co-counsel Morrison & Foerster LLP today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of two high school teachers who were arrested, handcuffed and verbally abused by the New York Police Department without cause after they questioned police officers handcuffing students who had been involved in a fight.

ACLU of Southern California Statement on LAPD MacArthur Park Investigation (05/30/2007)
LOS ANGELES — American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California staff attorney Peter Bibring today criticized the L.A. Police Department’s preliminary after-action report about the May 1 action at MacArthur Park. His expanded remarks to the L.A. City Council are below:

ACLU of Southern California Asks Court to Address L.A. Police Action at MacArthur Park (05/17/2007)
LOS ANGELES - Today the ACLU of Southern California asked a judge to evaluate the May 1 actions by the L.A. Police Department's Metropolitan Division in light of the federal consent decree adopted in the wake of the Rampart brutality scandal.

Police Documents Released by NYCLU Show Broad Surveillance of Peaceful Political Activity Before RNC (05/16/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today released approximately 600 pages of NYPD intelligence documents that detail a major and often unlawful NYPD political surveillance operation of political activity preceding the 2004 Republican National Convention.