Police violate agreement, tape protesters [View All]

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Newsday also shows a policeman with a camera, in the pic section of
NYC photos of the day.
http://www.nynewsday.com/?track=topnav



New York City police have violated an agreement which legally prohibits them from videotaping protesters. The photographs, acquired by RAW STORY this evening, show a police officer videotaping protesters who are not engaged in illegal activity. The photographer submitted the officer’s badge and precinct number to authorities.

Under law, unless there is an actual crime taking place, or reason to believe that one was about to – more than simply the protest march itself – the NYPD cannot videotape activists as a result of a 1971 class-action lawsuit filed by activists who accused police of using dossiers and undercover agents to punish lawful dissent.

More on that law from the Village Voice.

The NYPD relinquished its spying autonomy as a result of a 1971 class-action suit filed by a diverse group of activists who accused police of using dossiers and undercover agents to chill and punish lawful dissent. Officials eventually admitted as much. In a historic settlement over a decade later, police promised to heed certain guidelines and be monitored by an oversight body when investigating constitutionally protected activity. Federal Judge Charles Haight signed the settlement—known as the Handschu agreement after one of the plaintiffs—into effect in 1985.

http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=265