Federal Appeals Court Rules Baltimore Aerial Surveillance Program is Unconstitutional
BALTIMORE 鈥� The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, ruled today that the Baltimore Police Department鈥檚 (BPD) aerial surveillance program, which put the daytime movements of virtually all Baltimore residents under surveillance for 12 hours a day over six months, is unconstitutional. The decision comes in a lawsuit filed by a group of Black activist leaders in Baltimore, with the support of the 老澳门开奖结果 and 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland, requesting that the court temporarily block the BPD from deploying and conducting a six-month trial of the aerial surveillance program. Although the Fourth Circuit heard the plaintiffs鈥� appeal after the six-month trial of surveillance flights had already come to an end, the BPD continued to possess unlawfully acquired data, and the court鈥檚 decision will mean that the BPD will be prohibited from accessing data collected through the program.
The BPD contracted with a private company, Persistent Surveillance Systems (PSS), to pilot this program, which flew planes equipped with powerful wide-angle cameras over the entire city of Baltimore during daylight hours. The BPD has stated the program鈥檚 intended purpose was to aid in solving criminal investigations. However, government agencies have a history of secretly using similar technology for other purposes 鈥� including to surveil Black Lives Matter protests in Baltimore in recent years. In February, the city of Baltimore voted to alter its contract with PSS, but it continued to hold a vast amount of data collected unconstitutionally under the program.
The court鈥檚 ruling found that the BPD鈥檚 surveillance system violates the Fourth Amendment because persistent surveillance of outdoor movements invades people鈥檚 reasonable expectation of privacy. It explained that 鈥渁llowing the police to wield this power unchecked is anathema to the values enshrined in our Fourth Amendment.鈥�
The lawsuit was brought by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, a grassroots think tank that advances the public policy interests of Black people in Baltimore; Erricka Bridgeford, co-founder of the Baltimore Ceasefire 365 project; and Kevin James, a community organizer and hip-hop musician.
Below are comments from:
Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney in the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 National Security Project: 鈥淭he court鈥檚 landmark ruling makes clear that the Constitution forbids police departments from deploying this kind of dystopian aerial surveillance. The AIR program鈥檚 technology presents a society-changing threat to everyone鈥檚 privacy, and as we鈥檝e argued, the program never should have been permitted to get off the ground.鈥�
David Rocah, senior staff attorney at the 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland: 鈥淭his victory underscores how we cannot ignore Baltimore鈥檚 history of racism, exclusion, and police abuse of Black residents when deciding on programs and practices that are supposed to keep people safe. Hopefully, this invasive spy planes technology now will be stopped once and for all, not just here in Baltimore but across the country.鈥�
Plaintiff Dayvon Love, director of public policy, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle: 鈥淎s an organization that has done work to address issues of public safety, we have always been clear that the aerial surveillance program is not a legitimate or effective means of making our communities safer. We have always sought to challenge the racial imbued ideology of police-ism: the belief that all urban problems must be addressed primarily or exclusively through the lens of policing. And we are gratified that Chief Judge Gregory saw the importance of that challenge.鈥�
Plaintiff Erricka Bridgeford, co-founder of Baltimore Ceasefire 365: 鈥淭his victory has me in joyous tears. It reminds me to keep using our individual voices and our collective work to shift the culture of things. It reminds me that in the midst of all the hard work left to do, we are actually making history, each day. Today, I feel HOW we are our ancestors' wildest dreams.鈥�
Plaintiff Kevin James, community organizer and hip-hop musician: 鈥淚鈥檓 glad we could stop the Baltimore Police Department from spying on ninety percent of Baltimore every day. I hope other police departments recognize this victory and pass on bringing spy planes to communities they鈥檙e supposed to serve.鈥�
