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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Crime & Police : Protest Activity |
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D.C. Government Settles 2002 IMF/World Bank Protester Arrest Lawsuit |
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by AP
(No verified email address) |
25 Jan 2005
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The changes include the prohibition of mass arrests based upon a lack of a permit for a demonstration. Future mass arrests will also require evidence against anyone taken into custody. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Officials in the nation's capital announced the $425,000 settlement of a lawsuit Monday stemming from a mass arrest that occurred not far from the White House nearly 28 months ago.
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident that occurred during demonstrations against the policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Sept. 27, 2002. Police officers surrounded Pershing Park, east of the White House, and took hundreds of demonstrators into custody.
``We asked to leave, they wouldn't let us,'' said Mindi Mancuello, one of seven complainants who will share in the settlement with the city government.
The agreement also called for Police Chief Charles Ramsey to write letters of apology to each of the complainants. In the letter, he acknowledged that police committed errors in the handling of the incident.
``Our investigation also shows that you should not have been arrested or detained,'' Ramsey wrote.
Police later admitted that demonstrators were never ordered to disperse. Ramsey has worked with Mayor Anthony A. Williams and the D.C. attorney general's office to revise guidelines for handling future demonstrations.
The changes include the prohibition of mass arrests based upon a lack of a permit for a demonstration. Future mass arrests will also require evidence against anyone taken into custody.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, was one of four brought against the city following the incident. The others remain unsettled.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press
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