Man arrested during RNC starts legal action against New York

[TexasStooge]

By SAMUEL MAULL - Associated Press Writer

A man who says he was just trying to buy theater tickets when he was arrested along with hundreds of anti-Republican National Convention protesters two weeks ago took the first step Monday toward filing a $100,000 false-arrest lawsuit against the city.

Mark Perro, 21, whose parents live on Long Island, filed a notice of claim alleging that on Aug. 31, while the convention was at Madison Square Garden, he was falsely arrested, was physically and verbally abused and was denied his right to a lawyer for nearly 48 hours.

Perro's notice of claim, believed to be the first stemming from the more than 1,800 arrests during the four-day convention, was filed at the comptroller's office and the law department, a required first step before someone can sue the city or its agencies. The lawsuit can then be filed after 90 days.

Law department spokeswoman Kate O'Brien Ahlers said her office had received Perro's notice of claim and was studying it.

Perro, a public relations executive, said he left his office at 17th Street and Union Square West shortly after 7 p.m. and was walking to the Irving Plaza Theater when encountered a protest march and a police officer who stopped him.

When the officer told Perro he could not pass 16th Street and Irving Place, Perro replied that he was not involved in the protest march, his legal papers say. The officer told Perro to stand aside and he would be allowed to leave soon, the papers say.

Perro's lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, said his client told the officer, "I'm not a demonstrator; I'm just trying to get to my house."

A short time later, the papers say, Perro and several hundred other people were "ensnared and confined by (New York Police Department) officers in a mesh, net-like device." The papers say Perro soon was handcuffed and taken to a holding area at Pier 57.

At Pier 57, Perro's papers say, he was imprisoned with 500 other people in a makeshift 50-by-30-foot enclosure made of fencing and barbed wire where there was no running water or other amenities except for a portable toilet.

"The floor was dirty and stained with grease and oil, and there were hazardous-materials warning signs all around," Perro's papers say.

Perro says he was held there five or six hours before being moved (still handcuffed) to a smaller similar area.

His papers say that in his first 10 hours of imprisonment "the only food he was provided was an apple and cereal" and that at no time during his detention was he allowed to bathe or clean himself.

Perro says police took him from Pier 57 to the Manhattan Criminal Court building downtown around 3 p.m. on Sept. 1 and he was processed while handcuffed to four other people. About 7 p.m., he says, he called his father - the first call he was allowed.

Gottlieb said Perro's parents, who live on Long Island, "were beside themselves."

Perro was in a holding cell in the courthouse basement with 20 to 30 other people for another 24 hours.

Gottlieb said police gave Perro a desk appearance ticket with an Oct. 8 court date and released him around 6 p.m. on Sept. 2. The ticket was for parading without a permit and disorderly conduct, violations less serious than a misdemeanor.

Perro's claim says he is asking $100,000 for violation of his civil rights, false arrest and economic loss because he was unable to work while detained.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

[stormie_skies]

Good for him! There are several other similar lawsuits pending also ...

[greeng13]

go get 'em perro!!!

[Lindaloo]

Okay wait a sec. He was told by a police officer to wait a few minutes then he would be allowed through? Um okay, he proceeded and was arrested. He will lose. Sorry.

[stormie_skies]

Linda, the main cause of action in the lawsuit is the denial of legal rights & due process, I believe. Many people caught in these mass arrests were held in unhospitable (to say the least) and unsanitary conditions for extended periods of time, and were not allowed to contact legal council or their families for two days or more. For those issues, it wont matter if he was rightfully arrested or not.

[Lindaloo]

He will lose.

[yoda]

He will lose.

Not true. He will win his case... just watch.