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ACLU Urges San Francisco Police Commission to Exercise Caution in Use of Tasers (09/21/2004)
SAN FRANCISCO - Only days after the death of a Vallejo man who was shot with a taser, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today urged the San Francisco Police Commission to only authorize use of tasers in cases where there is an imminent threat to human life. In a letter sent to the commissioners, the ACLU expressed concern about the reported cases of deaths following use of tasers, which are weapons that can shoot up to 50,000 volts of electricity through a person's body causing temporary paralysis.

ACLU of Hawaii Sues State, Saying Broadly Worded "Squatters Law" Curtails Right to Use Public Spaces (09/07/2004)
HONOLULU--The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Governor Linda Lingle and Attorney General Mark Bennett, saying that a recently enacted trespass statute is unconstitutional and gives public officials overly broad powers to ban individuals from using public spaces such as beaches, streets or sidewalks.

ACLU Urges Rhode Island Police to Shun "Stun Guns" (09/02/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today urged police departments across the state not to purchase Taser ""stun guns,"" a controversial electroshock weapon that many U.S. law enforcement agencies, including four in Rhode Island, have begun adding to their arsenal.

ACLU Denounces Boston's Random Subway Searches (07/22/2004)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today criticized a plan by Massachusetts transit officials to conduct random bag searches on the more than one million people who use the train and subway system each day. The ACLU is calling on commuters to assist in bringing a legal challenge to the random search policy, which is the first in the nation.

ACLU of Rhode Island Settles Case with Police Over Illegal Strip-Search of Woman (06/30/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced that a settlement had been reached in a federal lawsuit against the Woonsocket Police Department on behalf of a woman who was strip-searched and left naked in a holding cell for over five hours after being arrested for ""driving under the influence."" Under the settlement, the defendants agreed to pay $65,000 to Joann Lanoue in exchange for dismissal of the suit.

ACLU of New Mexico Sues Albuquerque Police Over Mistreatment of Peaceful Protestors (03/22/2004)
ALBUQUERQUE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the New Mexico chapter of the National Lawyers Guild filed a civil rights lawsuit today against the Albuquerque Police Department over its handling of a protest against the Iraq war last March.

ACLU Sues Denver Police Over Failure to Disclose Results of Investigation Into Citizen's Racial Profiling Complaint (01/28/2004)
DENVER -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed a lawsuit today against the Denver Police Department seeking disclosure of the records of an internal investigation concerning a man's racial profiling complaint.

ACLU of Rhode Island Opposes Providence's Attempt To Avoid Liability in Racial Profiling Case (01/05/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- In a brief filed before the State Supreme Court today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island challenged the Providence Police Department's efforts to avoid any financial liability for failing to comply with the state's racial profiling law and with court orders that had found the department in contempt for non-compliance with that law.

Two Supreme Court Cases Confront Further Erosion of "Right to Remain Silent" (12/09/2003)
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in United States v. Patane and Missouri v. Seibert, two cases in which confessions, information and evidence were obtained by police without fully advising suspects of their ""right to remain silent"" as required by the landmark Miranda ruling.

ACLU of Rhode Island Responds to City's "Action Plan" On Racial Profiling (11/25/2003)
PROVIDENCE, RI-- In response to the City of Providence's release of an "action plan" to address racial profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island said today that it planned to work with legislators on the introduction of comprehensive legislation to address the issue of racial profiling statewide.

Michigan Court Strikes Down Breathalyzer Tests for Pedestrians as Unconstitutional (11/25/2003)
DETROIT - In a ruling that will impact young adults throughout the state, a federal judge ruled that Bay City police may no longer force pedestrians under age 21 to take a Breathalyzer test without obtaining a search warrant, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today.

ACLU and Denver Officials Agree to Resolve Lawsuit over Notorious Police "Spy Files" (04/17/2003)
DENVER -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today announced the settlement of its landmark lawsuit challenging the Denver Police Department's practice of monitoring and recording the peaceful protest activities of local residents and keeping criminal intelligence files on the free-speech activities of law-abiding advocacy groups, some of who were falsely labeled as "criminal extremist."

ACLU Files Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional Mass Arrest of Antiwar Demonstrators in Washington (03/27/2003)
WASHINGTON- In a lawsuit filed in federal court today, the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area charged police officials with deliberately violating the constitutional rights of more than 400 peaceful antiwar demonstrators and bystanders by directing them into a police trap and then arresting them although they had not violated the law.

ACLU of Northern CA Expresses Concerns About Police Tactics Used During Anti-War Protests in San Francisco (03/25/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO -- In a letter sent today to the city's acting chief of police, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California expressed concerns about some of the police tactics used in dealing with anti-war protests that resulted in the arrests of more than 1,500 people over the last several days.

ACLU of Louisiana Raises Constitutional Concerns in Police Use of DNA Dragnets to Hunt Serial Killer (01/15/2003)
NEW ORLEANS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today urged local law enforcement officials to focus on credible evidence and suspicion in their search for a serial killer, rather than continuing a DNA dragnet that has already netted samples from 800 white men in the Baton Rouge area and another 100 in Lafayette.

ACLU Sues West Virginia Police For Conducting Illegal Drug Stop (12/19/2002)
CHARLESTON, WV - Saying that participants at a political rally were unfairly harassed by law enforcement, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia today filed a lawsuit against two West Virginia law enforcement agencies for operating a roadblock near a drug law reform rally last year.

Following New Evidence of Coerced Confessions, NYCLU Calls on Police to Videotape Interrogations (09/17/2002)
NEW YORK -- In light of recent evidence that police detectives coerced two teenage boys into submitting false confessions in the 1989 attack of a Central Park jogger, the New York Civil Liberties Union today called upon the police department to start videotaping interrogations of serious crime suspects in their custody.

ACLU Letter to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb: Denver Police Files (03/11/2002)
Wellington E. Webb, MayorCity and County of Denver1437 Bannock Street, Suite 350Denver, Colorado 80202

ACLU Criticizes Government's New "Dragnet" Plan to Interview Recent Foreign Visitors to U.S. (03/04/2002)

Following Indictments of Miami Police Officers, ACLU of Florida Renews Call for Civilian Investigative Panel (09/07/2001)
MIAMI - - Saying that the Miami Police Department failed to take the necessary steps to terminate bad cops and bring them to justice, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today renewed its call for community support for an independent civilian panel to investigate allegations of police wrongdoing.