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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ind. Courts - ACLU sues city in federal court over homeless [Updated]
Jon Murray has this just-posted story in the Indianapols Star. Some quotes:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit today against the city over what its attorneys see as a too-aggressive crackdown on the homeless in Downtown Indianapolis.[Updated 6/12/08] Here is the updated version of Murray's story.The suit, filed on behalf of four men, says Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers have hassled them even though they weren't breaking state panhandling laws. Two men who were holding cups but not speaking were told by officers they couldn't solicit contributions, the suit says.
Two others who were not soliciting -- but appeared homeless -- have been forced multiple times to produce identification and wait while officers conducted records checks, the lawsuit says.
Such treatment violates the U.S. Constitution's protections of free speech and against unreasonable searches, argues the suit, filed this morning in U.S. District Court. It seeks class-action status and has four homeless men named as plaintiffs: Richard Dellantonio, Douglas Ayres, Ryan McClellan and Richard Byrd.
ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk says the suit seeks an injunction barring police from overstepping their legal bounds.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 11, 2008 01:03 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts