To Protect and Taser

HELENA-WEST HELENA, Arkansas (AP) -- Officers armed with military rifles, some with laser sights, have been stopping and questioning passers-by in a neighborhood plagued by violence that's been under a 24-hour curfew for a week.

On Tuesday, the Helena-West Helena City Council voted 9-0 to allow police to expand that program into any area of the city, despite a warning from a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the police stops were unconstitutional.

Police Chief Fred Fielder said the patrols have netted 32 arrests since they began last week in a 10-block neighborhood in this small town on the banks of the Mississippi River long troubled by poverty.

"Now, if somebody wants to sue us, they have an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will see it the way the way the citizens see it here," Mayor James Valley said. "The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK, and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution."

Among the curfew operation's arrests, 10 came from felony charges, including the arrest of two people carrying both drugs and weapons, Fielder said. The police chief said the officers in the field carry military-style M-16 or M-4 rifles, some equipped with laser sights. Other officers carry short-barrel shotguns.

Many dealing crack cocaine and marijuana in the city carry pistols and AK-47 assault rifles, he said. ..."We've had people call us, expressing concern for their children," Fielder said. "They had to sleep on the floor because of stray bullets."

Fielder said officers had not arrested anyone for violating the curfew, only questioned people about why they were outside. Those without good answers or those who are acting nervously get additional attention, Fielder said.

However, such stops probably violate residents' constitutional rights to freely assemble and protections against unreasonable police searches, said Holly Dickson, a lawyer for the ACLU of Arkansas who addressed the council at its packed Tuesday meeting. Because of that, Dickson said, any convictions coming from the arrests probably would be overturned.

"The residents of these high-crime areas are already victims," she said. "They're victims of what are happening in the neighborhoods; they're victims of fear. But for them to be subject to unlawful stops and questioning ... that is not going to ultimately going to help this situation."

The council rejected Dickson's claims, at one point asking the Little Rock-based attorney if she'd live in a neighborhood they described as under siege by wild gunfire and gangs. [1]

Dr. UnSpin's Examination:

...Okay, looks like we have a multiple symptom problem here with our patient, Lady Justice.

On one hand we have an American town under a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week curfew enforced by the Police... under the request and by the approval of the city council.

On the other hand we have the town citizens having to sleep on the floor to avoid stray bullets, obviously from drug dealers who have had business arrangements gone bad.

Now... as far as this right to Freedom of Assembly... Do well armed drug dealers have the right to assemble? Apparently the ACLU thinks so!

[1] News Source Link