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NYCLU sues city over subway searches
EFL: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed suit against the city to keep police from searching the bags of passengers entering the subway, organization lawyers said. The suit, which filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, will claimed that the two-week old policy violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and prohibitions against unlawful searches and seizures, while doing almost nothing to shield the city from terrorism. Riddle me this NYCLU: Has there been a terrorist subway attack in New York City in the last two weeks? So how can you say it hasn't been effective? It argues that the measure also allows the possibility for racial profiling, even though officers are ordered to randomly screen passengers. Yeah, go right ahead, Achmed. Not so fast, granny... "While concerns about terrorism of course justify -- indeed, require -- aggressive police tactics, those concerns cannot justify the Police Department's unprecedented policy of subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicionless searches," states the suit. Yeah, right. The NYCLU just loves aggressive police tactics. It keeps them in business. And terrorrist dude is innocent too... right up until he pushes that button. [Among five plaintiffs was Brendan MacWade, 32, of Brooklyn, who escaped the World Trade Center towers after they were struck by hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001. "I want to catch terrorists as much as any politicians or officials but this policy does not work," he said. Another plaintiff, Joseph Gehring Jr., who identified himself as a lifelong Republican, said he was disappointed to find subway riders accepting the police inspections so docilely. "Here we were giving up our rights to what was obviously a publicity stunt," he said. "We are becoming accustomed to having our civil liberties taken away." I'd like a little background on "lifelong Republican" and "WTC survivor" guy. I'm sure I'll find some because I'll be looking. Posted by: tu3031 2005-08-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=125920 |