By Julia Preston, The New York Times
A federal judge declined yesterday to order the New York Police Department to ease its restrictions on members of the police and firefighters unions who want to trail Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg during the Republican National Convention next week, continuing their protest about the lack of a work contract.
The emergency decision by Judge Gerard E. Lynch of Federal District Court in Manhattan came after seven unions representing police officers and firefighters filed a suit yesterday morning accusing the city of “a repeated pattern of restrictions and surveillance” that prevented them from protesting effectively.
The unions said that high-ranking officials of the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for investigating wrongdoing by officers, had been videotaping their protests in recent days. The suit charged that the taping “was plainly an intimidating tactic” implying that the protesting officers could be fired.
The police union members are now complaining about the same protest control measures by their comrades - barricades, metal pens, and “frozen zones” where no one can enter - that demonstrators opposed to the Bush administration sought to challenge in a lawsuit this year. In that case, the department fought fiercely to dissuade the courts from imposing any limits on their security tactics for the convention, which is to run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the Uniformed Firefighters Association and other unions want to use the convention to publicize their contention that while they have not had a contract for almost two years or a raise since 2001, Mayor Bloomberg “has expended enormous resources on other priorities, including hosting a lavish convention.”
In the past two weeks, the unions have been dogging Mr. Bloomberg, picketing and passing out leaflets at City Hall and Gracie Mansion, at his private residence on East 79th Street, and at his various appearances. In recent days, the police have tightened restrictions to keep the protesters at least a half a block away from the mayor.
Gail Donoghue, a lawyer for the city, said that Internal Affairs officers had begun to film the protests after Aug. 9, when demonstrators yelled at the mayor and heckled his press secretary, Edward Skyler, chanting, “Eddie, we know where you live.”
Ms. Donoghue said that officials recognized that their own officers probably did not present a security risk for the convention, but worried about “any group that might latch on” to the union protests.
“A lot of anger may be directed at the mayor in coming weeks,” Ms. Donoghue said, adding that it would be “ghastly” for the police if the court forced them to allow the protesters to come within 15 feet of Mr. Bloomberg, as they demanded.
The suit also asked the police to allow union protesters to move without pens or barricades anywhere beyond 15 feet from Mr. Bloomberg, and to picket directly opposite his home. It called for the police commanders to “curtail” videotaping.
Judge Lynch decided not to issue any restraining order, saying the unions had not convinced him that the city had used excessive control tactics so far. But the judge, saying he was “someone who has participated in a few demonstrations in my time,” warned the Police Department to make it clear that it did not intend to use the videotapes against the union members if their protests remained lawful.
The city and the unions were able to reach an agreement allowing the protesters to distribute leaflets outside Madison Square Garden, the convention site. The unions have not sought to stage any mass march or rally.