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City Won’t Fight Judge’s Ruling on RNC

by Bob Hennelly

NEW YORK, NY January 24, 2007 —New York City will not fight a judge's order that it release Police Department documents and videotapes that reveal how the NYPD handled protestors during the 2004 Republican National Convention. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

The close to 1,000 pages of NYPD documents and 27 video tapes were sought by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of several individuals who were arrested during the RNC convention and are now suing the City.

The Civil Liberties Union contends the Department deliberately adopted policies that resulted in protestors being held in custody for as long as 3 days which limited there ability to protest, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly have said the protestors rights were safeguarded.

All told, some 1,800 people were arrested with the overwhelming majority charged with violations like parading without a permit. Some were held so long that a judge cited the City for contempt when they weren't released on his order. For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.


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