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MIAMI -- A federal judge said
Thursday that he sees "serious constitutional problems" with a
controversial Miami law that dictates the rules of public protest.
The law was enacted in November, days
before the Free Trade Area of the Americas meetings, as the city
anticipated mass demonstrations.
"Frankly, I think if any judge looks
at the law and looks at the ordinance, it appears as though the statute
is not constitutional," U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham observed
during a brief court hearing.
Lake Worth for Global Justice Inc.,
mounted the first legal challenge to the ordinance, suing the city
Wednesday in federal court.
The Palm Beach County activist group
contended that the law violates the First Amendment by placing
unconstitutional restrictions on the right to political protest.
Marc Steier, an attorney with Miami Activist Defense, said he was encouraged by the judge's remarks.
The group also sought a restraining
order to keep officials from enforcing the law Thursday night at Miami
City Hall, where about a dozen people decried what they called a brutal
use of force by police during the anti-globalization protests.
The need for an emergency court order
was circumvented when the city arrived in court with a permit allowing
the group to demonstrate without obtaining an insurance bond.
At City Hall, Miami Police Chief John
Timoney praised his officers' conduct during the protests in a glowing,
66-page report he presented to the city's independent Civilian
Investigative Panel, which is investigating allegations of police
misconduct.
As Timoney prepared to address the panel, a small group of protesters outside re-created November's violent clashes between demonstrators and police.
Two protesters dressed in makeshift
police uniforms towered over bandaged demonstrators, threatening them
with billy clubs and cardboard guns.
Others held signs that said: "Welcome to story hour," and "Enjoy tall tales and fictional internal reports."
Steps away, a woman stood silently in
front of a large photo of one of her breasts, bruised purple by a
rubber bullet fired by police.
"It's still painful right now," said Holley Rauen, 51, a Fort Myers nurse.
Artist Nikki Hartman said she read the entire "after-action" report the police department issued and said she was appalled.
"It's an outrage," said Hartman,
spreading the hair on her head to show a dime-sized scar she said was
the result of a rubber bullet. "Beautiful piece of fiction. But I was
there that day."
Panel members will have to reconcile
two versions of events -- one from protesters who said police used
excessive force and another from police, who said they struggled to keep
peace in spite of "violent mobs."
During his presentation, Timoney told
the panel's members his officers prevented the situation from
escalating, and called the operation a success.
A 45-minute video police produced
depicted officers on FTAA details as friendly public servants who used
force only when attacked.
"That's not to say that everything went perfectly," Timoney said. "Only a fool would make that charge."
In his report, Timoney made reference to only a couple of minor problems with the police response.
He said riot gear should not be used
unless there is a reliable, specific concern for officer safety because
some might regard the gear as too intimidating.
Timoney, whose department was
assisted by 38 other law enforcement agencies, said the security
operation could have benefited from better coordination between
departments. He said the team largely operated as one, but noted that
one Miami Beach police officer unnecessarily used tear gas on a crowd of
protesters, despite orders against using it.
Otherwise, the chief said, the police operation ran smoothly.
"The people and businesses of Miami
faced a minimum of inconvenience with resiliency and good humor," the
chief said in his report. "Those who came to commit violence faced an
intelligent, measured police plan determined to minimize the effect of
their criminal acts."
Protesters, however, called the report a whitewash that undermined the agency's credibility.
"They're either purposefully ignoring
what happened or they're incompetent and don't realize what happened,"
said activist Naomi Archer.
Max Rameau, a frequent police critic,
said, "They should get out of the law enforcement business and get into
the relations business."
As panel members investigate
allegations against police, it will be up to the courts to sort through
whether the city's law passes constitutional muster. A trial to make
that determination was set for April.
The law, enacted as the city geared
up for mass demonstrations, restricts what protesters can carry in the
streets and requires a permit for public gatherings of seven or more
people if they last more than 30 minutes.
Despite its implementation, police did not use the newly created law for any of the 231 arrests made during the protests.
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