Disturbing The Peace

The Connection Between Disturbing The Peace And Civil Rights Violations?

On April 15, 2015 four Black (all) Lives Matter protesters were summoned to a Clerk Magistrate hearing. The Clerk Magistrate ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for the assertion by the City of Worcester that the four protesters were disorderly, but he ruled that there was sufficient evidence for a complaint of disturbing the peace.

The evidence presented by the City of Worcester consisted to a larger extent of a police report. Although mentioned in the hearing a video was not shown.  The police report is suspect as the police were not witnesses to the protest at Kelly Square. One of the protesters, summoned to court, never entered the roadway and was at least one block away. The police report said another protester was wearing clothing he was not actually wearing. The report went on to say that the manner by which the police identified the protesters was from interviews days AFTER the protest.

The Worcester Police have been known for its secrecy and lack of transparency which allows it to escape scrutiny by the public. It is an environment which can lead officers to be less than truthful or unable to resist unlawful instructions from superiors

The City Manager and the Chief of police stated in the media that they only pursued the summons after they saw a video. They ordered an investigation.  Based on knowledge and belief the police report was ordered to be written by Chief Gemme and City Manager Ed Augustus.  They pressured officers to create the inconsistent and possibly false police report presented at the Clerk Magistrate hearing.  It will be interesting to see how the writers of the report respond to questions under oath at the trial.

There is no dispute that the complaints brought by the City Manager and the Police Chief against the protesters are political.  They both say that they would withdraw the charges if and when the protesters promise not to demonstrate in the streets. A non political complaint would not have such a condition.

There may be a violation by the City of the civil rights of the protesters. This violation is a separate violation from the issue of disturbing the peace. The City is threatening jail time and fines in order to gain a political end. The protesters have a right under the first amendment to protest the unjust killings of unarmed people especially young Black men. The issue is whether the City Manager and Police Chief conspire to deny the protesters their first amendment rights. The complaints have had a chilling effect on some people.  There seems to be some evidence that the Manager and Chief applied pressure to some police officers to create an inconsistent and possibly false police report.  This issue of conspiracy to violate civil rights should be an issue brought to the Department of Justice when it comes to Worcester.

This harassment and intimidation of the protesters by the City Manager, Chief of Police, and its mostly White City Council  might not rise to the level of a civil rights violation, but it is something  that should be investigated. It is certainly a large political mistake. A much better way to achieve the goal of a stop to protests is to engage the protesters in honest dialog. It is what the protesters have been demanding. The protesters have demanded increased scrutiny of the police. It is something that seems to be needed, given the recent arrest of a City police officer for civil rights violations.