With the Inauguration a little more than a week away, D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp is sending a bill to Mayor Anthony Williams for approval that would strengthen the rights of protesters in the District.
From the Post:
The bill sets crowd control standards for police that prohibit preemptive actions, including using police lines to encircle and trap demonstrators and using wrist-to-ankle restraints on nonviolent demonstrators.
From the Post’s brief on the Council move, it is not clear whether the mayor will sign the bill. Councilmembers, led by Ward 3’s Kathy Patterson, have questioned the tactics of the Metropolitan Police Department when dealing with large protests, especially after the Pershing Park incident of 2002.
