NYC civil rights summit this week ... a PTH member's testimony on disorderly conduct

This Thursday, January 21 in NYC, the Civil Rights Campaign of Picture the Homeless is hosting a summit on the NYPD's unconstitutional use of the Disorderly Conduct statute

[ see PTH member Indio's personal testimony below... ]

Disorderly Conduct Summit

Thursday, January 21

at 7pm

at Center for Constitutional Rights, 666 Broadway, 7th Fl  [one block below 3rd St]

Many people in NYC know that tickets and arrests for "disorderly conduct" have been used by the NYPD unconstitutionally, with the alleged violation not even specified. Individuals from sectors of the city's population that have been targeted with police harassment have their lives messed with, get caught-up in the police-court-jail system, are pressured to plead guilty, made to pay a fine they can't afford, etc.

Please join the organizations and individuals at this summit for discussion and action-planning -- to organize to stop the illegal harassment and criminalization of homeless and non-homeless people through the use of the Disorderly Conduct statute.

For more background, Picture the Homeless member and Street News editor Indio offers his testimony:

The Police Department has been ticketing and arresting people for disorderly conduct -- this is an unconstitutional statute and enforcement.  Case in point...

Some time ago I was in Washington Square Park, sitting on a park bench talking with a friend.  A few minutes later, two police officers asked us for our IDs.  We gave the officers our IDs -- and then were issued disorderly conduct tickets.

When we asked the officers why, we were told that there were three empty beer cans under the bench that they assumed were ours.

When we said that the cans weren't ours, that we don't even drink beer, we were told, "Tell it to the judge."  We ended up just pleading guilty, and the judge gave us "time served."  

This harrassment is unconstitutional!  Please join us at our January 21 New York City summit, and let's figure out how to stop this illegal harassment of homeless and non-homeless people.