Well the ACLU has their panties in a wad

[ALS]

HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. (AP) - Mayor James Valley said he ordered an emergency curfew and heavy police patrol in a 10-block section of town last week because the neighborhood was "under siege with repeated gunfire, loitering, drug dealing and other general mayhem."

Valley ordered the 24-hour curfew Thursday, effective immediately. It was still in place Sunday, a police dispatcher said.

Thursday night, 18 to 20 police officers carrying M-16 rifles, shotguns and night-vision scopes patrolled the "curfew zone." They arrested about eight people and confiscated drugs and loaded weapons, police said.

"It's something akin to martial law," Valley said. "It got to the point where somebody was going to get seriously hurt or killed if we didn't do something."

But the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said the curfew was "blatantly unconstitutional" and has demanded that Valley lift the order.

"Such curfews have never been allowed under the laws of the United States, barring riot, insurrection, or natural disaster," ACLU attorney Holly Dickson wrote in a letter to the mayor Friday. "Not one case has ever allowed for the imposition of searches, seizures and house arrest against innocent citizens because of the high crime rate in a particular city."

Valley said he was not concerned about the ACLU.

"I invite them to move in on Second Street and be up all night with people shooting at them," Valley said. "That's my comment to them."

Valley said the order would be in place as long as the problem persists or until the city council can come up with a long-term plan at its Aug. 19 meeting.

Under Valley's order, officers do not tolerate loitering or "hanging out." Officers can stop and investigate all foot traffic, bicycle, horseback, mo-ped, motorcycle, riding mower, golf cart or other means of transportation.

Valley directed the Street and Sanitation Department to clean alleys in the neighborhood and remove all debris and low-lying shrubbery that might impede the view of police and the general public. In addition, he ordered the Code Enforcement Department to pursue evictions for people living in homes where criminal violations have occurred with regularity.

The curfew follows what authorities and residents say was a feud early last week after a man released from jail refused to pay several dollars back to a neighbor. A group of men jumped the ex-inmate and fired guns into the air and into homes, mostly after dark, residents and authorities said. Some people slept on the floors of their homes for fear of being struck by stray bullets.

The man and his buddies retaliated - with guns, as well - turning the already high-crime neighborhood into what residents said sounded for a few nights like a combat zone.

Resident Brenda Kelly said she was happy the mayor's curfew was in place.

"Since this began, it's more quiet and peaceful around here," she said. "I think they're doing a wonderful job."

Other residents said their rights were being violated.

"It's messed up," said Daniel Pimpleton, 16. "You're not free, and you're supposed to be free. You can't go outside and walk the streets. Look - the entire area is empty. There's nobody out here."

Pimpleton said police warned him that if he and his friends roamed the streets, they could be arrested.

The ACLU letter also claimed that the language in Valley's order violates the Fourth Amendment and that placing adults under house arrest is unconstitutional.

"Notwithstanding the City Code and Curfew Order, the residents of Helena-West Helena have the right to sit under shade trees in their front yard, to ride their bicycles along the streets, protest this policy, and drive around the city with the full protections of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments," the letter said.


Fox16

[pex]

under siege with [...] loitering

Do you think we could use this tactic against Washington?

[LittleRedToyota]

thank you ACLU.

you cannot place a curfew on adults. you cannot search people without probable cause (well, beyond a terry search, but even that requires RAS).

where do these government people think they live...china?

WTF.

[ChamberedRound]

Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota

thank you ACLU.

you cannot place a curfew on adults. you cannot search people without probable cause (well, beyond a terry search, but even that requires RAS).

where do these government people think they live...china?

WTF.

I also love the idiots that can't see the forest for the trees and say that the police are doing "a wonderful job". That is, of course, until it's them that want or need to go out past curfew, then it'll be a problem.

More complacent attitudes from the increasingly overbearing nanny state.

[Brown-Bear]

Well I'll say this. Atleast he's doing something about it besides blaming his officers and the federal gvt. That being said, I have and would have a much bigger problem with a 24hr curfew if I lived there. A 24hr curfew for all citizens is outrageous, and should be contested at every turn. I would support a curfew after say 2300hrs or midnight. But then how can you explain the searches. The searches make me ill. Then again maybe if I lived there with those citizens and the criminal behavior the witness everyday, I might have a different point of view. But right now I don't know. I mean what else can he do about the rampant crime without inhibiting the honest citzens? Awaiting the outcome.

Dave

[LastManOut]

if it works here, how long before it is tried in YOUR 'hood. the police 'hardware' sure sounds like military gear. what does the posse cometatis (sp?) act say 'bout that

[pex]

Originally Posted by Brown-Bear

I mean what else can he do about the rampant crime without inhibiting the honest citzens?

What about reminding the sheeple that they're responsible for themselves and their communities? Get a gun, get a plan, report crimes.

These probably aren't people who are trying to do anything for themselves. They are just hoping a magic power swoops in (police/government) and fixes everything without them having to do anything.

That's not really how it works.

Do you support PICS only running 17 hours a day? There's not just a practical curfew to the constitutional right to travel, but the effective way control the acquisition of arms to keep and bear them.

[mojo]

This is kind of tough ... If I lived in an area like that I would want something done to stop it. However, I don't believe you have to give up your rights to attain it (as my sig says). A temp curfew between a small set of hours is about as far as it should go ... 24hr no way. And the searches, definitely NOT.

[jahwarrior72]

i remember when i was about 19, my neighborhood in the Bronx had reached a point where someone was getting shot every night. i'd seen two friends of mine get shot within one week of each other, one fatally.

that summer, police stepped up patrols. every squad car carried at least two patrolmen, foot patrol walked in pairs, helicopters patrolled from 6pm to 6am every hour, K9 units patrolled 5 times a week, and they even called mounted (horse) cops to patrol.

and then, they tried the 'curfew' thing. that shit did NOT fly with our community. at first, they only insisted that minors be inside after dark. soon, they insisted that no one be on the street after midnight. when they tried to enforce the curfew, all hell broke loose. i guess the NYPD didn't learn anything from the Tompkins Square Park Riot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tompkin...iot_%281988%29

after a few physical altercations between residents and LEOs, they left us alone.

[normanvin]

Originally Posted by jahwarrior72

i remember when i was about 19, my neighborhood in the Bronx had reached a point where someone was getting shot every night. i'd seen two friends of mine get shot within one week of each other, one fatally.

that summer, police stepped up patrols. every squad car carried at least two patrolmen, foot patrol walked in pairs, helicopters patrolled from 6pm to 6am every hour, K9 units patrolled 5 times a week, and they even called mounted (horse) cops to patrol.

and then, they tried the 'curfew' thing. that shit did NOT fly with our community. at first, they only insisted that minors be inside after dark. soon, they insisted that no one be on the street after midnight. when they tried to enforce the curfew, all hell broke loose. i guess the NYPD didn't learn anything from the Tompkins Square Park Riot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tompkin...iot_%281988%29

after a few physical altercations between residents and LEOs, they left us alone.

I am guessing that is one of the reasons you moved.