EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- City officials plan to appeal a federal court ruling that police officers violated a protester's rights when they arrested him during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney.
City attorney David Jones said the decision to appeal came after the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to acknowledge the Secret Service mandated a no-protest zone for Cheney's appearance at a 2002 campaign fund-raiser for Republican Rep. John Hostettler.
The Justice Department had refused to assist the city after the Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit claiming that officers violated environmental activist John Blair's constitutional rights by arresting him for leaving the protest area.
"It wasn't fair to put local law enforcement in the position of having to enforce the plan and then not back our Police Department," Jones said. "The Secret Service left us holding the bag."
Federal Judge Larry J. McKinney ruled last month that forcing protesters to stay 500 feet away from the only entrance used by those attending the event went beyond what was needed for security.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2005/04/11/news/wyoming/7bf1a5c805f134b187256fe00076d44a.txt