Posted on 09/04/2008 4:46:59 PM PDT by wagglebee
BALTIMORE, September 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Alliance Defense Fund and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Harford County, the town of Bel Air, and seven police officials on behalf of three young, pro-life women. At least a dozen police officers arrived in more than seven marked vehicles and then arrested, jailed, shackled, and/or strip searched 18 pro-life advocates, including the three women, after they held signs and shared their message along a public street.
"The state shouldn't persecute Christians for expressing their beliefs on important social issues, nor deny them their constitutional rights," said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. "This incident paints an ugly picture of the state of religious freedom and free speech in America today."
"The truth of the matter is that our clients were heckled, arrested, imprisoned, shackled, and strip searched twice for exercising their First Amendment rights," said ADF-allied attorney Daniel Cox, who is serving as local counsel. "No excuse exists for how our young clients were treated."
At least 12 police officers handcuffed 18 peaceful participants in Defend Life's "Face the Truth" Pro-life Tour on August 1 of this year and denied them a reason for their arrests. They had relocated to Bel Air after being told by officers to move from another location for not having a permit to engage in free speech activities. Three young female participants - including teenagers - were subjected to two rounds of strip searches.
The first search took place in the police station parking lot in front of other males. A female officer pulled out the young ladies' shirt collars to inspect their breasts before reaching down their pants to feel around their waistlines. The Harford County Detention Center administered the second strip search after the pro-life participants were transferred there. A female officer took the women one by one into a bathroom and ordered them to lift up their shirts and brassieres.
Officials cast the pro-life participants in leg irons, denied them permission to call parents until after midnight, and did not release any of them until the following day. None were informed that attorneys Steve Peroutka and Scott Whiteman had been prohibited from having any contact with them after arriving at the station earlier that night to assist them. On Aug. 12, the state decided not to pursue the charges against them, which included loitering, disorderly conduct, and failure to obey a lawful order. They were never charged for a permit offense.
The complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, in Swagler v. Harford County is available at http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/SwaglerComplaint.pdf. The Thomas More Society of Chicago and the American Catholic Lawyers Association represent some of the other pro-life participants.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Troopers Run Amok, Conduct Mass Arrest of Peaceful Pro-lifers In Maryland
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08080511.html
But if the left gets its way this will become the norm.
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And people yelled at me for saying our riot police look like they belong in a third-world country.
Ironic given the name of the State, and the religious history of same. That was long ago, though.
We can expect more of the same if Barry Hussein and his gang of left-wing moonbats gain the reigns of power.
This is unbelievable - yet the liberal scum are treated like kings - I bet they wouldnt have touched them if they were black. Disgusting how are govt has become our master, instead as the founding fathers intent, our slave. We need to restore order and enforce the constitution - you can bet a liberal judge will do nothing.
Our once great country is becoming more and more like Nazi Germany and if the Left has its way we will become just like it only instead of exterminating Jews the first ones to be sent to the Gulags will be conservative pro life Christians.
Why the heck do you have to geta permit to practice free speech anyway??? I’ve read the constitution and its very very clear about political speech.
You are exactly right.
I once again have to ask. WHY do police officers just “do their jobs” when these types of orders come down?
I have less respect for police who do this, than those who botch no knock raids....that’s saying something.
If Soldiers just “followed orders” knowingly breaking or even just presenting the “appearance” of breaking ROE, let alone actual laws, the gnashing of teeth from ALL sides would be deafening.
Correction:
Gulags = concentration camps
Maryland, controlled by leftist Democrats. So I guess that says a lot about why police there are like a gestapo. Look at that mayor who had his home raided and his dogs killed a while back.
When is the last time we heard of mass murderers, or savage rapists/assailants getting treated like this??
You don’t have to tell me I moved from Frederick, MD just 4 years ago. Can’t say that I miss anything about it.
The police actually do treat violent criminals better than the average citizen there.
It's because we live in an Orwellian post-America. In Newspeak everything is re-defined, right down to "is."
Sounds like discrimination to me.
TWO rounds of strip searches? Did the officers forget to check all corners? Or was this simply an intimidation move?
Bel Air is located in one of the solidly Republican counties of Maryland. Actually most of Maryland counties are Republican - we just can’t out vote the few populous counties in and around Baltimore and D.C.
No it won’t.
This will not be tolerated.
There is no reason this totalitarian behavior has to wade through the courts to be “resolved”, over a period of years.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
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