Home : Police Practices

ACLU Sues New Mexico Sheriff's Deputies for Beating Two Young Men (05/04/2005)
SANTA FE, NM -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Chaves County Sheriff's deputies for brutalizing two young men at a private home in Roswell two years ago.

ACLU of Northern California Seeks Information About Undercover Surveillance of University Organizations (04/27/2005)
FRESNO, CA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and a Fresno State University student group today filed requests with the local sheriff's department and the FBI after university officials disclosed that several plainclothes police officers were present at a student-sponsored lecture last fall. The sheriff's department is currently under investigation following disclosures that it infiltrated an anti-war group in 2003.

ACLU of New Mexico Files for Motion Against Local Police in Ongoing Discrimination Case (04/20/2005)
SANTA FE, NM -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today asked federal court judge Martha Vasquez to declare Hobbs city officials in ""substantial non-compliance"" with a court-endorsed agreement requiring the police department to stop discriminating and to uphold the constitutional rights of African Americans. The motion also asks the court to initiate contempt proceedings for the city's failure to address a previous finding of non-compliance by Judge Vasquez under the terms of a 2001 settlement agreement.

ACLU Calls on Denver Officials to Deliver on Promised Police Reform (03/24/2005)
DENVER--The city administration is already failing to deliver on one of its promised reforms in how it deals with incidents in which police officers kill or seriously injure civilians, a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado said today.

ACLU of Massachusetts Applauds Boston Police Commissioner's Opposition to the CLEAR Act (02/14/2005)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today praised Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole for opposing the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, an act expected to be taken up again this term by Congress that would pressure local and state law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

Cincinnati Police Failed to Reform Discriminatory Practices, ACLU Charges (11/19/2004)
CINCINNATI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today asked a federal court to order city officials here to comply with agreements made in the ACLU's landmark 2001 police reform case, which charged the city with a pattern of racial profiling by police.

ACLU of Arkansas Calls on Justice Department to Investigate County Officer Over Harassment of African Americans (10/25/2004)
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas announced today that it has sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation into the harassment of African Americans by a county police officer in Brinkley, Arkansas.

FBI's New Surveillance Plan Chills Religious and Political Activity, Bay Area Civil Rights Groups Warn (10/05/2004)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF), the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers (BAAML), and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) today announced that they will closely monitor a new government plan to use "aggressive -- even obvious - surveillance" tactics in advance of the November 2nd general election.

ACLU Urges San Francisco Police Commission to Exercise Caution in Use of Tasers (09/21/2004)
SAN FRANCISCO - Only days after the death of a Vallejo man who was shot with a taser, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today urged the San Francisco Police Commission to only authorize use of tasers in cases where there is an imminent threat to human life. In a letter sent to the commissioners, the ACLU expressed concern about the reported cases of deaths following use of tasers, which are weapons that can shoot up to 50,000 volts of electricity through a person's body causing temporary paralysis.

ACLU of Hawaii Sues State, Saying Broadly Worded "Squatters Law" Curtails Right to Use Public Spaces (09/07/2004)
HONOLULU--The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Governor Linda Lingle and Attorney General Mark Bennett, saying that a recently enacted trespass statute is unconstitutional and gives public officials overly broad powers to ban individuals from using public spaces such as beaches, streets or sidewalks.

ACLU Urges Rhode Island Police to Shun "Stun Guns" (09/02/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today urged police departments across the state not to purchase Taser ""stun guns,"" a controversial electroshock weapon that many U.S. law enforcement agencies, including four in Rhode Island, have begun adding to their arsenal.