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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (40731)	3/29/2004 10:44:04 AM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

When you visit Michigan, be careful at any rallies. Grand Rapids, Mich., police monitored anti-war rallies, chief says Undercover city officers were sent to monitor anti-war meetings and rallies when opposition to the war in Iraq began to mount last year, the police chief confirms. War opponents say the surveillance infringed on their civil rights. The officers were assigned to the demonstrations because authorities had received information that activists planned illegal measures such as blocking downtown traffic, Police Chief Harry Dolan told The Grand Rapids Press. He said police had reason for heightened concern because 12 people had been arrested at a January 2003 demonstration protesting an appearance by President Bush. Those arrests were made for refusing police orders to disperse. Anti-war activists accused undercover police of threatening to arrest one protester if she identified officers she recognized. Abby Puls, 24, said she was leaving a rally when undercover officers called her over to their car. She claims one of the men in the car hinted she could lose her job at the Kent County courthouse if judges found out she was "choosing sides" on the war. The officer also said she could be arrested for "hindering and opposing" a police investigation if she identified them, Puls said. Dolan would not identify the officers but confirmed that they threatened Puls with arrest if she identified them. He said they did so because they feared their safety could be compromised. Dolan said the officers denied threatening her job. sfgate.com lurqer