It didn’t take long for ACLU in St. Louis….but not worried about ID check…just campaigning

Now this is what ACLU is worried about…NOT asking for ID….but  campaigning…this says so much folks….wake up!

 

  “We’d hope that young people who are, for example, engaging in the political process in this election year are not detained unnecessarily.” ACLU said.

East St. Louis Chief Defends New Measures As ACLU Questions Them

September 27, 2012 4:00 PM

EAST ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – There has been a slow start to the sweeping arrests promised Wednesday by the East St. Louis mayor.

So far, Police Chief Michael Floore reports only one arrest: a man caught loitering who was searched and found to have a crack pipe on him. The chief blames the delay on a backlog of cases.

“We had a horrific weekend with murders, we had four murders, we still got our officers tied up trying to complete the investigations,” Floore said.

When asked if there are any aspects of Mayor Alvin Parks’ plan that Floore has legal questions about, the chief responded with a resounding “no.”

Privately, some police sources in the department say they have problems with the legality of arresting minors for wearing blue or red, impromptu searches, and arresting people for not carrying state identification.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois says it’s concerned with arresting people for wearing so-called gang colors without a direct link to some criminal activity.

“There are two aspects of the East St. Louis proposed measures that give us pause of concern and deserve monitoring,” Edwin Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy for the ACLU of Illinois, told KMOX.

“First, police should not be targeting individuals for detention or arrest based on their clothing color or design. There is an exception in this if the color of clothing is being used to identify a particular suspect. But, as a general rule, it simply should not and cannot be illegal to wear a particular color of clothing. Innocent people – youths and others – will be swept up and detained without reason (eating up precious law enforcement resources) simply for the color of their clothing. This is dangerous and impermissible.”

“The other problem area is that the Mayor’s public remarks appear to ignore the reality that any enforcement of the curfew law needs to include and exemption for First Amendment activity – political activity and religious activity. We’d hope that young people who are, for example, engaging in the political process in this election year are not detained unnecessarily.”

But Chief Floore said it will all be handled properly and within constitutional limits.

“So it’s not just going out all vigilante, locking you up because you’re on the street,” Floore said.

 

 

Virtual House Arrest Ordered for Minors in East St. Louis « CBS St. Louis

I agree with what this Mayor is trying to do to stop the crime…I just find it hard to understand that it has taken this long for people to wake up….this is from decades of pampering and creating dependents.. and it is happening in cities all across this land. Watch the ACLU…and this Mayor is DEMANDING IDs…..wonder what Holder and Co. think of that?

 

 

September 26, 2012 1:00 PM

 EAST ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Angered by the recent murders of four young people,  the mayor announced today that police are going to impose drastic new measurers to keep teens off the streets.

“There is something going on in the community at this point that we’ve got to safeguard them and keep them off the streets,” Mayor Alvin Parks said. “There are people shooting at each other for no reason whatsoever.”

Among the new rules:

**Minors are to be off the streets at ten o’clock on both weeknights and weekend nights.

**Minors on the street during school hours will be arrested on sight.

**Police will also perform I.D. checks on street corners and conduct gun searches, and Parks says he won’t hesitate to call in the National Guard if the spike in violence continues.

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks announcing crackdown on youth violence

“The loiterers will be arrested, not warned, but arrested. Those who are hanging out at 11th and Bond, 15th and Lynch, 38th and Waverly, wherever you happen to be, if you are loitering, you will be arrested.”

Surrounded by police, Parks announced they also plan to arrest adult males and young men wearing gang colors, amounting to a city-wide dress code.

“No royal blue, no bright red to be worn by our men or our boys in this community,” Parks said. “Why is that? Those colors have long been affiliated with gang kinds of affiliations”

Asked about Constitutional concerns, and the need for probable cause, Parks says the recent wave of crime is the probable cause and justifies the extreme new measures.

“Vehicles that are moving will be stopped and searched for guns, weapons, drugs, and open alcohol and any other violations that are taking place,” Parks later told KMOX’s Mark Reardon. “People who are walking, people who are bicycling, can be stopped and searched for the same and, when it comes to state IDs, we’re going to be confirming that state IDs are in place for everyone involved.”

Parks noted the legal questions surrounding his new policies but said “most importantly, we have to do something.”

“We have desperate times, they call for desperate measures and they call for extreme measures, things that we may not have done before, to get the desired results. You cannot grow as a city if your children are being wiped out and never given an opportunity to live.”

Copyright KMOX

via Virtual House Arrest Ordered for Minors in East St. Louis « CBS St. Louis.