Police Brutality: September 2009 Archives

Civil liberties advocates are taking their fight to defend free speech all the way to America's most famous colonial outpost. The ACLU is appealing a federal court's decision in support of the FBI in a free speech case in Puerto Rico.

According to the federal district court's ruling, FBI agents shouldn't be penalized for misconduct in a clash with local journalists—or more specifically, an attack on Puerto Rican reporters who questioned the government's probe of a leading activist.

The case, brought by the Puerto Rico Journalists' Association in 2007, looks like a straightforward matter of free speech. The backstory, however, traces a long legacy of government impunity and political disenfranchisement.

Something strange is happening on the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Communities that have been battered by violent crime, economic hardship, and racial segregation are standing up in defiance—and in peace.

Frustrated by a rash of violence in their neighborhoods, protesters have sought to reclaim their streets through nonviolent protest.

Over the past few weeks, demonstrators have blocked traffic and disrupted a concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Through marches and rallies, they're calling on lawmakers to develop more comprehensive strategies to reduce violence, with full collaboration with community members.

Led by the local chapter of the New Black Panther Party and other community groups, the actions were catalyzed by the fatal shooting of a local mother, Nakisha Allen, in July.