http://www.justiceonline.org/pcjf_opposes_appointment_of_free_speech_civil_rights_violator_to_be_next_dc_police_chief

PCJF Opposes Appointment of Free Speech/Civil Rights Violator to be

Next D.C. Police Chief

February 28, 2017

Newsham Commanded Infamous Pershing Park Mass False Arrest of Hundreds

of Demonstrators, Reporters, Legal Observers, Tourists and Passers-by

Willfully Repeated Violations of the Law Just Last Month on Inauguration Day

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Donald Trump in the White House. Protestors in the streets of the

nation's capital. A notorious violator of free speech rights as the

Chief of Police?

When Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Peter Newsham as

her pick to be chief of the DC Metropolitan Police Department the

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund immediately spoke out in

opposition, providing one of the few voices standing up against this

wrong and dangerous choice. Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive

Director of the PCJF, was quoted in The Washington Post calling

Newsham, “a serial mass violator of civil rights” who is “not fit to

be chief of police.”

As a result of hard fought legal and community efforts, there have

been great strides in the police's response to mass demonstrations in

Washington, D.C. over the past decade. But as quickly as Newsham

assumed the interim chief position we've witnessed the clock turning

back, starting with inauguration day's dragnet arrests of hundreds and

mass indiscriminate use of force.

Please read the article below from Alternet

<http://www.alternet.org/activism/protesters-beware-dc-mayor-appoints-new-police-chief-long-record-mass-arrests-and-depriving>.

As Newsham's confirmation process moves forward, including D.C.

Council hearings, we will update you on actions you can take to join

in opposition and stand up for First Amendment rights. (Please be sure

you are signed up for PCJF alerts.)

<http://www.justiceonline.org/join>

Protesters Beware: D.C. Mayor Appoints New Police Chief With Long

Record of Mass Arrests and Depriving Rights

Peter Newsham defends past mass arrests that cost city millions in

legal judgments.

By Steven Rosenfeld / AlterNet February 25, 2017

At a time when the right to protest in the nation’s capital has never

been more important, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has

appointed an abuser of First Amendment freedoms, Peter Newsham, as the

city’s new police chief.

From the Pershing Park mass arrests of 2002 to dragnet arrests at

Donald Trump’s inauguration, Newsham has shown a recurring pattern of

violating protesters’ civil rights, said one of the lawyers who sued

the city after the 2002 protests and won a multi-million-dollar

judgement for protesters and policing practice reforms.

“As people are taking to the streets in the Trump era to protest

throughout the United States, and in particular here in the nation's

capital, it is critical that fundamental First Amendment rights be

afforded protection," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director

of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF), which also defended

those arrested in New York’s Occupy protests.

But the stakes in Washington are arguably bigger than in other cities,

as this is where the White House, Congress and top federal agencies

are seated. Newsham’s appointment sends “a chilling message to all

those who are coming out to stand in defense of targeted communities

and against bigotry,” Verheyden-Hilliard said.

His use of mass arrests is a matter of public record. PCJF litigated

the Pershing Park case, which resulted in more than $10 million in

damages for nearly 400 persons and major changes in the city’s laws

governing police handling of demonstrators ― laws Newsham apparently

violated just one month ago.

After years of litigation, in which PCJF deposed Newsham under oath,

federal courts found Newsham could be held liable for the mass

violations of constitutional rights and dismissed his justifications

as “nothing short of ludicrous.” In that case, the court found his

mass arrest had no lawful basis and denied his request for qualified

immunity, stating “[n]o reasonable officer in Newsham’s position could

have believed that probable cause existed to order the sudden arrest

of every individual in Pershing Park.” Demonstrators were illegally

arrested and held for 24 hours or more, and hogtied in

stress-and-duress positions. The D.C. Circuit described in ample

detail “just how indefensible Newsham’s actions were.”

That litigation resulted in the D.C. City Council's enactment of the

First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act, which guides police

responses to demonstrations, including when property is damaged or

violence occurs, to ensure that protesters are not wrongfully

arrested. Yet Newsham appears to have violated this standard at

Trump’s inauguration.

At the press announcement of his appointment, Newsham again dismissed

his Pershing Park mass arrests, saying, “My decision at the time was a

decision that I thought was in the best interest of the District of

Columbia and of public safety… The Metropolitan Police Department

learned a great deal from that experience that we have taken to today,

and I think it was exhibited during the inauguration.”

Verheyden-Hilliard said nothing could be further from the truth.

“To this day Newsham refuses to acknowledge his extreme illegal

misconduct in violating the civil rights of hundreds of people,

despite the court rulings against him, making it clear that he is

unwilling or incapable of upholding the constitution,” she said. “At

the protests at Donald Trump’s inauguration just one month ago he

plainly acted in willful violation of the law and engaged in yet

another illegal mass dragnet arrest, including falsely arresting

journalists and lawful protesters rather than those committing illegal

acts, as well as deploying indiscriminate and brutal use of chemical

munitions against civilians. Peter Newsham is unfit to be chief of the

Metropolitan Police Department.”

Verheyden-Hilliard said the D.C. City Council should reject the

mayor’s appointment of Newsham as police chief. But it likely won’t,

casting an ominous shadow on protesters’ rights in the nation’s

capital when acts of resistance are among the few options for citizens

who disagree with Trump’s rule.

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-=-=-

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund - United States

http://www.justiceonline.org/

http://www.justiceonline.org/victory_in_two_major_class_action_civil_liberties_lawsuits

Victory in two major class-action civil liberties lawsuits

Posted on December 16, 2009

After nearly seven years of class action litigation, the Partnership

for Civil Justice Fund is pleased to announce a victorious $8.25

million settlement on behalf of a class of nearly 400 persons who were

arrested in Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., in September 2002,

Barham, et al. v Ramsey, et al.

http://www.justiceonline.org/federal_judge_hails_historic_free_speech_settlement_between_the_pcjf_and_federal_gov_t

Federal judge hails "historic" free speech settlement between the PCJF

and federal gov't

Posted on June 23, 2015

Calls settlement's police reforms "a model for other law enforcement agencies"

After nearly 13 years of litigation, a federal judge has approved an

unprecedented settlement between the Partnership for Civil Justice

Fund (PCJF) and the Justice Department and the Department of the

Interior that will significantly change the handling of mass protests

in the United States.

The settlement lays out policies and rules that, among other

requirements, effectively prohibit the "trap and detain" kettling

tactic and use of police lines to encircle demonstrations; prohibits

mass sweeping arrests of protestors by emphasizing the requirement of

individualized probable cause before arrests at free speech

activities; and in circumstances where there is a lawful basis for a

dispersal order, requires fair notice and warning to demonstrators as

well as opportunity to comply with police orders to disperse, to be

given three times at least two minutes apart and with avenues of exit

announced through effective sound amplification.

Noting that the Department of Justice is a signatory to the "extremely

significant settlement" with the PCJF and has an "active role" in

"reviewing practices and procedures of local law enforcement" across

the country, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan stated that the reforms embedded

in the agreement should "serve as a model for other law enforcement

agencies," and urged that they "take a hard look at this settlement"

in an effort to comply with Constitutional standards.

http://www.justiceonline.org/truly_historic_settlement_approved_in_pershing_park_cl

"Truly Historic Settlement" Approved in Pershing Park Class Action

Posted on September 21, 2010

Judge says attorneys worked to "protect future generations of protesters."

U.S. Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued final approval to an $8.25

million class action settlement of an eight-year-long and hard-fought

litigation battle over the mass arrests of nearly 400 people in

Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., in September 2002. Judge Sullivan

stated, "By all accounts, this has been a long and historic journey

and this can only be viewed as a truly historic settlement."

"This historic settlement closes the door on a period when engaging in

protest in Washington, D.C., meant risking being snatched up by the

police without notice or warning, being hog-tied wrist-to-ankle in a

contorted stress-and-duress position, and left in that painful and

sleep-deprived position for hours and overnight without any chance for

release," stated Carl Messineo, attorney with the PCJF.

Discussing what he called "critical" and "substantial reform," Judge

Sullivan stated that the attorneys had worked to "protect future

generations of protesters."

"The reforms established through litigation and legislation have

completely changed the landscape for protest in the nation’s capital.

Repeated lawsuits by the Partnership for Civil Justice, legislative

intervention by the D.C. Council, the steadfast commitment of the

Class Representatives to these lawsuits, and thoughtful and careful

judicial oversight have all together worked to produce this historic

outcome," stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, attorney with the PCJF. "The

results of these constitutional rights lawsuits also send a message

nationwide, that there will be a significant price to pay for

violations of fundamental free speech rights," stated

Verheyden-Hilliard.