By MIKE WELLS, Associated Press Writer SEATTLE
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the city of Seattle for imposing a "no-protest zone" downtown during the World Trade Organization conference late last year.
The ACLU is seeking a ruling that says the city's actions in creating and enforcing the "no-protest zone" were unconstitutional and overstepped its authority.
"We are seeking a court decision that explains that if a city is going to set up a perimeter it has to be reasonably related to security needs," ACLU attorney Aaron H. Caplan said Tuesday. "It can't be a ban on speech in the name of security."
The federal suit names as defendants the city, Mayor Paul Schell, former Police Chief Norm Stamper and two Seattle police officers, Michael Jennings and S.D. Stevens.
Due to the City Council's ongoing internal review of the WTO conference, neither Schell nor the Seattle Police Department would comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.
The ACLU is representing seven plaintiffs, six from the Seattle area and one man from San Francisco who was representing the International Forum on Globalization.
"We wanted to select people whose stories pointed out the problem," Caplan said. "They're examples of the kind of civil liberties violations that took place of the WTO that shouldn't have happened. The city made it a crime to engage in perfectly lawful acts of free speech."
The defendants are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The suit accuses Schell and Stamper, who coordinated the city's response to the massive protests, with violating constitutional rights. The accusations against the two police officers were not detailed in the complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
"I wasn't there to protest," said Seattle native Doug Skove, one of the plaintiffs. "I went down there to let the people know about the First Amendment."
Two of the plaintiffs were arrested after the city established its "no-protest zone" on Dec. 1. Others were either kept out or forced out of the "no-protest zone" because they had protest signs, leaflets and stickers, according to the suit.
Schell banned protest activity from a 50-block area, which he called a "limited curfew zone," after some demonstrators smashed windows, vandalized police cars and sprayed graffiti in the city's downtown core. People within the area had to have official business there, and identifications were checked.
"The city essentially created a militarized zone in downtown Seattle and banned all protest within this zone," said Kathleen Taylor, executive director of the ACLU of Washington state. "An American city must not get away with such flagrant violation of citizens' freedoms."
The conference, which was held Nov. 30 through Dec. 4, attracted more than 45,000 protesters to the city, overwhelming local police to the point where tear gas and paramilitary tactics were used to clear out the downtown area the night of Nov. 30. The opening of the conference was delayed by protesters who refused to let delegates into the convention center where it was held.
The WTO talks were held, but produced no trade agreement.
"My hope is when this lawsuit is successful in federal court, Seattle and every other city will not resort to taking away free speech when they're faced with similar legal protest," Skove said.:
