NYCLU Releases RNC Protest Report

The NY Civil Liberties Union released their report of problems during the Republican National Convention yesterday and you can read it in its 65-page PDF glory here. The NYCLU has many recommendations, from starting an independent agency to oversee the planning and management of protests to not detaining arrestees (of minor offenses) for long periods of time. Basically, treat protests and demonstrations more like street fairs and outdoor concerts, because protesting the government is akin to jamming during a Dave Matthews concert! It's definitely an important document because it outlines the issues of the convention, but it will be a cold day in hell when the NYPD actually takes it seriously: Police Commissioner Ray Kelly pooh-poohed the report, saying the NYPD was "a model of expert planning, professionalism and restraint" and the report is "a collection of old, untrue assertions and uncorroborated, self-serving statements by individuals who were arrested in the course of the convention." The other awesome revelation from the NYPD was that "police tapes of demonstrations typically are destroyed within a year unless they are needed in criminal cases." Oy, because it's not like tapes have been helpful to revealing the truth or anything.