NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups

The Associated Press Reports That Documents Show That NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups

From The Associated Press (via CBS News, because The New York Times is boycotting this story, because it is a major embarrassment to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn) :

NEW YORK — Undercover NYPD officers attended meetings of liberal political organizations and kept intelligence files on activists who planned protests around the country, according to interviews and documents that show how police have used counterterrorism tactics to monitor even lawful activities.

The infiltration echoes the tactics the NYPD used in the run-up to New York's 2004 Republican National Convention, when police monitored church groups, anti-war organizations and environmental advocates nationwide. That effort was revealed by The New York Times in 2007 and in an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit over how the NYPD treated convention protesters. ...

As a result of this latest violation of the First Amendment Right to protest, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is encouraging activists to fight back : Don't Spy On Me! The NYCLU's Spy Files Campaign.

Everybody is encouraged to file a Freedom of Information Act request, to find out if the NYPD has been spying on YOU !

NYPD Spies On #OWS Protesters

Not only are NYPD now engaged in stop and frisk against Black and Hispanic men and monitoring Muslims and Muslim-Americans, but now they are spying on #OccupyWallStreet protesters.

From The New York Times :

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Complain of Police Surveillance

... Though Occupy Wall Street has largely faded from the headlines, organizers are planning springtime demonstrations in an effort to revitalize their movement. And they are troubled by what they consider continued monitoring by the police.

In 2003, citing the dangers of terrorism, a federal judge granted expanded surveillance powers to the New York police, who had previously faced restrictions in monitoring political groups. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others have said the new latitude is essential to keeping the city safe.

But the Police Department’s surveillance efforts have recently gained attention and criticism with reports that officers compiled detailed data on Muslim communities. Now, some Occupy protesters worry that they are being subjected to similar scrutiny.

For the last few months, protest organizers say, police officers or detectives have been posted outside buildings where private meetings were taking place, have visited the homes of organizers and have questioned protesters arrested on minor charges. ...

Undercover officers are generally entitled to attend public political gatherings. Protesters said apparent efforts to keep tabs on them had included officers’ showing up at private meetings and what some described as attempts at intimidation. ...

No word from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn about the ongoing domestic spying, racial profiling, religious profiling, and the monitoring of political activities by the NYPD.

Kelly Defends NYPD Spying

Following criticisms that the NYPD are violating the civil rights and civil liberties of Muslims and Muslim-Americans, NYPD Commish Ray Kelly defended the questionable secret practices of racial- and religious-profiling, as well as unwarranted domestic surveillance.

From The New York Daily News :

Kelly defends spying as essential safety strategy

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly gave an impassioned defense of the NYPD’s controversial Muslim surveillance program Saturday — declaring it essential for the city’s safety.

The tactics, which allegedly include spying on mosques, cafes and shops, have come under fire from Muslim and civil rights groups, but Kelly said the Police Department’s strategy has been “misrepresented.”

“For some, the very act of intelligence gathering seems illegitimate when applied to the crime of terrorism,” Kelly said in his most wide-ranging remarks to date on the hot-button topic.

Meanwhile, no response from New York City Council Speaker Quinn on the subject of NYPD domestic spying on minorities.