CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUPS LIST G20 POLICE OFFENSES

Pennsylvania ACLU - The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed a complaint in the United States District Court on behalf of the Seeds of Peace Collective and the Three Rivers Climate Convergence charging the Pittsburgh police with systematic attempts to harass and discourage lawful activities at the G-20 Summit. Despite a preliminary injunction ordered by the court last week ordering the Pittsburgh to allow 3RCC to hold their demonstration at Point State Park, Pittsburgh police have been engaged in a pattern of illegal searches, vehicle seizures, raids and detentions of Seeds of Peace Collective members.

The complaint alleges that the illegal searches, seizures and harassment constitute retaliation against both 3RCC and Seeds of Peace Collective over their effort to engage in constitutionally-protected political activity in Pittsburgh public spaces, and for 3RCC's lawsuit and victory in getting a federal court injunction ordering the city to allow them to use Point State Park, both of which violate the groups' Constitutional Rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The suit argues that the 3RCC and Seeds of Peace Collective face a credible threat, given the deliberate, intentional, and persistent pattern of misconduct by the Pittsburgh Police and that such misconduct will continue in the future absent judicial intervention.

Other problems demonstrators have encountered over the past few days include:

- Police told Bail Out the People that they could not canvass door-to-door without a permit in the Hill District. The City Code does not require a permit and it would be unconstitutional to have such a requirement.

- Police told Bail Out the People that they could not use amplified sound from a vehicle driving around the Hill District without obtaining a permit. The City Code does not require a permit for such activity.

- Also on Friday the police threatened to tow a food bus run by Everybody's Kitchen. The bus was legally parked on a private driveway in Point Breeze. The police claimed the bus was obstructing the sidewalk. The obstruction? The emergency ladder on the back of the bus was encroaching on the sidewalk by less than a foot. After they removed the ladder from the bus, the police demanded identification from everyone and proof of vehicle ownership.

- On Saturday, Pittsburgh police told people at CMU's outdoor camping space that all students without CMU ID's had to leave. CMU administrators arrived on the scene and countermanded that the City Police directive.

- Also on Sunday, another plaintiff in the Codepink lawsuit, G6 Billion, was told by police that they could not march through the 10th Street by-pass, below the Convention Center, because it was private property and they did not have a permit. The group was forced to march around the Convention Center. Subsequently, a police commander on the scene apologized to group leaders, saying he had not read the permit, which clearly allowed the group to march through the bypass. The property is also not "private," as it is owned by the Sports & Exhibition Authority, a government agency.

- Also Sunday, Pittsburgh Police attempted to illegally enter a dwelling belonging to the Landslide Community, on Alequippa Street in the Hill District. The police then traipsed over private property, where the group grows food, without consent or a warrant. When an ACLU lawyer showed up the police told him that they were there just to remove some tires. There were more than 20 police officers in riot gear on the scene, a curious show of force just to remove some tires.