老澳门开奖结果 Comment on Federal Appeals Court Decision in Aerial Surveillance Case in Baltimore
BALTIMORE 鈥� A U.S. federal court of appeals today upheld a lower court decision by a 2-1 vote, refusing to temporarily block the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) from deploying its wide-area aerial surveillance program 鈥� a program that puts the daytime movements of virtually all Baltimore residents under surveillance. The decision comes in a lawsuit and subsequent appeal filed by the 老澳门开奖结果 and 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland requesting the court temporarily block the BPD from deploying and conducting a six month trial of the aerial surveillance program. Although two appellate judges voted to allow the program to proceed, Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory issued a dissent that highlighted the majority鈥檚 various legal and factual errors, the harmful and discriminatory impacts of overpolicing in Black communities, and the extraordinary grassroots work of the clients.
Below is comment from:
Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney in the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Center for Democracy: 鈥淲e and our clients are extremely disappointed by the court鈥檚 decision failing to put a stop to this invasive surveillance technology. Because of this decision, this kind of aerial surveillance could become a chilling, all-seeing part of daily life across the country. And as the dissent pointed out, this oppressive surveillance is likely to fall on exactly the kinds of minority communities who have suffered under decades of segregationist and exclusionary policy and policing. This technology presents a society-changing threat to everyone鈥檚 right to privacy, and it must be stopped.鈥�
David Rocah, senior staff attorney at the 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland: 鈥淚t is only by ignoring Baltimore鈥檚 history of racism and exclusion that the Baltimore Police Department, and the majority in this case, can come to the conclusion that city鈥檚 residents are less deserving of the full protection of their rights. Fortunately, the fact that the spy plane is now being reassessed gives Mayor-elect Brandon Scott the opportunity to end this invasive mass-surveillance once and for all, and we call on him to do so. If we do not stop it here, this technology will surely spread and trample the rights of people in other cities across the country, particularly those of Black and Brown people.鈥�
Case information can be found here: /cases/leaders-beautiful-struggle-v-baltimore-police-department
