Group Says NYPD Lying About GOP (2004 National Convention) Arrests

NEW YORK - A civil liberties group accused police Wednesday of lying about the circumstances surrounding the arrests of hundreds of protesters during the Republican National Convention.

In a letter to police and prosecutors, the New York Civil Liberties Union demanded a review of cases brought against protesters arrested on Aug. 31, 2004, at demonstrations near the World Trade Center site and Union Square.

"We are concerned that false police statements may have tainted hundreds of cases of people arrested at the two largest mass arrests during the convention," wrote the group's attorney, Christopher Dunn.

City law officials have said the arrests were justified.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060322/ap_on_re_us/convention_protesters

they were innocently bicycling by. The police threw them in jail for a whole day and were mean to them.

and then the unedited version turned up and totally exonerated the guy? :blush:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/apr2005/renc-a19.shtml

Seven months after the mass arrests of over 1,800 protesters at the Republican Convention in New York City last summer, 91 percent of the nearly 1,700 cases that have been concluded have resulted in acquittals or the dismissal of charges. Four hundred cases were dismissed after video recordings made by volunteer observers and others showed that there was no reason for the arrests, the New York Times reported last week. Some of the videos also exposed false testimony by the police.

In the case of Dennis Kyne, arrested on the steps of the New York Public Library last August, police officer Matthew Wohl testified at trial last December that “we picked him up and we carried him while he squirmed and screamed. I had one of his legs because he was kicking and refusing to walk on his own.”

Wohl’s colorful description was apparently made up. Kyne’s attorney showed the court a videotape showing his client walking down the steps of the library, not being carried and not kicking.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/14/1349256

The New York Times reported earlier this week that in some 400 cases charges were dropped because video recordings emerged showing that the arrested had not committed a crime or that the charges against them could not be proved.

In at least one case video evidence was doctored. During court proceedings, the police presented a video of the arrest of a man named Alexander Dunlop. It turned out that the video presented by the police was edited in two spots - images that showed Dunlop acting peacefully were removed.

They were trying to get video. A couple of them managed to get out of jail fairly quickly after being arrested, but another was locked up for a number of days, and wasn't allowed to see or talk to anyone. That particular friend of mine is one of the most peaceful, decent people you will ever meet, too. Was pretty unbelievable.