Now this is some news you can believe in. It's nice to see the First Amendment being used and fought vigorously for. Kudos to the ACLU for sticking it to the man. I hope they win and win big with their lawsuit!
JACKSON, MS (WLOX) - The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi has filed a lawsuit against the city of Jackson and three police officers. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of ACLU employee Brent Cox, alleges the officers violated Cox's constitutional rights when they arrested him after Cox questioned the officers and asked for their badge numbers.
The incident at the heart of the lawsuit happened September 14, 2007 when Cox came upon a police officer questioning a man in a grocery store parking lot. The lawsuit said the man was not under arrest when Cox stopped to watch the officer talking with him.
The lawsuit says Cox wanted "to observe the police in order to avail himself of the right to collect information regarding government action, as he is permitted to do under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."
When a Jackson police officer question why Cox was there, the lawsuit says, that officer told him "he did not have a right to observe and to 'go on.'"
The lawsuit details the back and forth between Cox and the police including the officers refusal give Cox their names and badge numbers. The suit says one officer "went so far as to cover her badge, preventing the Plaintiff from reading the number."
The ACLU says Cox was arrested even though he complied with police instructions, while continuing to ask for the officers badge numbers and asked to talk to a police supervisor.
"We do not have secret police in the United States," said Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. "Observing police in public are fundamental rights, protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Individuals must know that they can exercise this right without fear of arrest."
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