City residents, ACLU demand answers about police surveillance

[align=left]ahhh, more of the new freedom, and it keeps us safe from the freedom hating muslim terrorists...[/align]
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[align=left]City residents, ACLU demand answers about police surveillance [/align]

[align=left]Cathy Smith / Santa Cruz Sentinal | January 11 2006[/align]
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[align=left]A crowd of outraged residents poured into the City Council chamber Tuesday to demand more information about undercover police surveillance of planning meetings for a grassroots New Year's Eve parade.[/align]
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The police chief and American Civil Liberties Union also have joined the search for answers as to why two police officers hid their identities at three planning sessions for the "Last Night" parade.

The parade went off without a hitch. But police, who have acknowledged their presence, said they attended the meetings to ensure public safety, not to spy.

An internal investigation has been launched, Chief Howard Skerry said Tuesday. The city's police auditor, Palo Alto attorney Robert Aaronson, said Tuesday the department is examining the use of such surveillance.

About 70 people rallied outside City Hall on Tuesday.

"I was shocked to hear what happened," former mayor Celia Scott said before the council meeting. "I didn't know that could happen in our community."

Protestors asked council members and police to reveal what information officers had gathered.

Parade planner Wes Modes, a Felton artist and carpenter who also goes by the name "Rico Thunder," said he wants assurance residents will not be spied on again.

The issue was not on the council agenda, but at least two members expressed concern.

Councilman Mike Rotkin said he will ask the city's Public Safety Committee to discuss the issue after the department's internal review.

Councilman Tim Fitzmaurice had questions about police policy.

The planning meetings were advertised on the Web and held in private homes. Organizers say the plainclothes officers posed as interested citizens, and gave false information to hide their identities.

Attorney Mark Schlosberg of the ACLU said Tuesday he plans to file a Public Records Act request to probe a possible violation of privacy rights.

The state Constitution guarantees the right to privacy from "unwarranted government intrusion ... in the absence of a reasonable suspicion of a crime," he said.

"And from a common-sense and practical respect for the community standpoint, it doesn't make sense," he said. "If they want to have a cooperative approach and foster good relations, they should talk to them and be honest and up-front."

Tuesday, several activists spoke to the council and held signs with phrases such as "Who would Jesus, Ghandi or MLK Jr. spy on?" and "Thou shalt not spy."

Rally organizer Sherry Conable said she was "outraged" by the officers' conduct. And she was "almost as outraged by the response from the City Council."

"I have yet to hear one councilman say this was unacceptable," said Conable, a massage therapist and longtime activist.

Chief Skerry said personnel regulations prevent him from discussing the issue.

Skerry said he was unsure how long the investigation would take. He estimated 18 to 22 internal investigations are conducted annually.

Police auditor Aaronson, who replaced the citizens' police review board, said the investigation may or may not focus on individual officers. Any disciplinary action would be confidential.

"I think pretty universally everyone agrees this is something that merits an investigation, and my assumption is that part of what is to be looked at is whether or not the decisions ... were appropriate," he said.

Few departments in the state have definitive surveillance policies, he said. It's often a "judgment call," he said.

The Last Night Web site characterized the event as "a parade of ordinary folks, freaks, clowns ... moms, dads, kids and music."

"Last Night was pretty low-key as far as activism," Modes said. "But I want to know what motivated police concern to infiltrate, and there are other people in town ... who want concrete assurances they haven't been spied on."

Staff writer Shanna McCord contributed to this report.