Police to videotape protesters in case they do anything wrong:
Chicago police are expected to videotape anti-globalization demonstrators today under intelligence-gathering powers they have regained from the courts after a two-decade ban.
Department rules that took effect Oct. 25 also permit officers to pose as members of groups as long as the intelligence-gathering has a legitimate law-enforcement purpose. And the rules let officers surf the Internet to scan groups’ Web sites for information about them.
“In the past, you could only turn on the camera after a crime was committed, and you could only film the commission of a crime,” said Larry Rosenthal, a deputy corporation counsel for the city. “Now, we will have cameras out there to document demonstrators’ misconduct, as well as police misconduct if it occurs.”
Harvey Grossman, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he fears camera-wielding police would scare people from exercising their constitutional right to protest.
“Is the cost worth the benefit?” he said. “What about city employees who want to protest corporate policies? Do you think they want their photo in a police dossier?”