An ordinance concerning the protection of First Amendment rights of protesters,

Transcription

1 BOARD BILL NUMBER ELLYIA GREEN INTRODUCED BY: ALDERWOMAN MEGAN An ordinance concerning the protection of First Amendment rights of protesters, repealing ordinance..0, and enacting in lieu of it clarifying policies relating to improving police community relations with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and limiting the use of chemical agents. WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; and WHEREAS, from the Boston Tea Party to the Civil Rights Movement of the 10s, nonviolent protest has been a necessary component to shaping public policy in the United States; and WHEREAS, Missouri State law defines unlawful assembly as requiring mens rea and allows for more individuals to assembly than under current city ordinance; WHEREAS, Ordinance..0 is constitutionally vague and frequently misinterpreted; WHEREAS, local municipalities commonly establish ordinances to protect First Amendment Rights; and WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis has local control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; WHEREAS, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is charged with upholding the US Constitution; Page 1 of

2 THEREFORE, LET IT BE ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SAINT LOUIS AS FOLLOWS: Definitions (a) Chemical agent includes but is not limited to tear gas, skunk, inert smoke, pepper gas, pepper pellets, xylyl bromide (b) City means the City of St. Louis (c) Reasonable Amount of Time means an amount of time that is fair and appropriate for an individual or crowd to comply with officer instructions. (d) SLMPD means the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (e) Unlawful Act with Force or Violence means an act that intentionally causes, or attempts to cause, serious injury Repeal of Ordinance..0 Ordinance..0 shall be repealed. Establishment of a First Amendment Policy Persons and groups in the City of Saint Louis shall have a right to organize and participate in assemblies on the streets, sidewalks, and other public ways, and in the parks in the city, and to engage in assemblies near the object of their protest so they may be seen and heard, subject to reasonable restrictions designed to protect public safety, persons, and property, and to accommodate the interest of persons not participating in the assemblies to use the streets, sidewalks, and other public ways. Establishment of Policies Relating to Police Conduct In Accordance With the First Amendment Policy Page of

3 1 0 1 The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shall adhere to the following policies relating to the First Amendment Policy: (a) The SLMPD handling of, and response to, all assemblies shall be designed and implemented to carry out city policy on assemblies established in section three. (b)(1) Where participants in an assembly fail to comply with reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, the SLMPD shall, to the extent reasonably possible, first seek to enforce the restrictions through voluntary compliance and then seek, as appropriate, to enforce the restrictions by issuing citations to, or by arresting, the specific non-compliant persons, where probable cause to issue a citation or to arrest is present. () Nothing in this subsection is intended to restrict the authority of the SLMPD to arrest persons who engage in unlawful acts with force or violence directed at persons or property. (c) Where participants in an assembly, or other persons at the location of the assembly, engage in unlawful acts with force or violence toward persons or property, or unlawfully threaten violence, the SLMPD shall, to the extent reasonably possible, respond by dispersing, controlling, or arresting the persons engaging in such conduct, and not by issuing a general order to disperse, thus allowing the assembly to continue. (d) The SLMPD shall not issue a general order to disperse to participants in an assembly except where: (1) A significant number or percentage of the assembly participants fail to adhere to the imposed time, place, and manner restrictions, and either the compliance measures set forth in subsection (b) of this section have failed to result in substantial compliance or there is no reasonable likelihood that the measures set forth in subsection (b) of this section will result in substantial compliance; Page of

4 1 0 1 () A significant number or percentage of the assembly participants are engaging in, or are about to engage in, unlawful acts with force or violence toward persons or property; or () A public safety emergency has been declared by the Mayor that is not based solely on the fact that assemblies are occurring, and the Police Chief or Assistant Chief determines that the public safety concerns that prompted the declaration require that the First Amendment assembly be dispersed. (e)(1) If and when the SLMPD determines that an assembly, or part thereof, should be dispersed, the SLMPD shall issue at least one clearly audible and understandable order to disperse using an amplification system or device reasonably audible from 0 feet away that specifies the area the dispersal order applies to, and shall provide the participants a reasonable and adequate time to disperse and a clear and safe route for dispersal. The warning shall clearly, audibly state: 1) how much time individuals have to leave the area or stop the unlawful, violent behavior ) what clear exit route they can follow to leave the area, and ) the consequences of failing to comply. e)()dispersal orders shall not be enforced with the use of force until individuals have reasonable and adequate time to leave the area or stop the unlawful, violent behavior. Dispersal orders shall not be enforced with the use of force or arrest more than five minutes after it has been most recently announced. () Except where there is imminent danger of personal injury or significant damage to property, the SLMPD shall issue multiple dispersal orders and, if appropriate, shall issue the orders from multiple locations to ensure that all present at the assembly have heard and understood the order. The orders shall inform persons of the route or routes by which they may disperse and shall state that refusal to disperse may cause persons to be subject to arrest. Page of

5 () Whenever possible, SLMPD shall make an audio or video recording of orders to disperse and shall make that full recording public record. (f)(1) Where an assembly is held on a city street, sidewalk, or other public way, or in a city park, and an assembly plan has not been approved, the SLMPD shall, consistent with the interests of public safety, seek to respond to and handle the assembly in substantially the same manner as it responds to and handles assemblies with approved plans. () An order to disperse or arrest assembly participants shall not be based solely on the fact that a plan has not been approved for the assembly. (g) All law enforcement officers employed by SLMPD during assemblies shall receive appropriate training, including de-escalation techniques, key concepts of the National Incident Management System command and management, including Incident Command Systems, multiagency coordination systems, and policing consistent with the First Amendment. (h) No law enforcement officers employed by SLMPD shall take any action to prevent, interfere with, or retaliate against any individuals who lawfully exercise their right to witness, observe, record, livestream, comment on, or protest police activity. Notwithstanding the above, law enforcement officers may impose minimally intrusive restrictions to prevent individuals from interfering with officers ability to lawfully conduct their duties (i) Officers shall obtain supervisory approval, to be documented as soon as practicable, before issuing any citations or making arrests related to public protest activity, including violation of any state or local law. (j) No emergency area or zone will be established by using a police line to encircle, or substantially encircle, a demonstration, rally, parade, march, picket line, or other similar assembly (or subpart thereof) conducted for the purpose of persons expressing their political, Page of

6 1 0 1 social, or religious views except where there is probable cause to believe that a significant number or percentage of the persons located in the area or zone have committed unlawful acts (other than failure to have an approved assembly plan) and the police have the ability to identify those individuals and have decided to arrest them; provided, that this section does not prohibit the use of a police line to encircle an assembly for the safety of the demonstrators. (k) The SLMPD shall implement a method for enhancing the visibility to the public of the name or badge number of officers policing assemblies by modifying the manner in which those officers names or badge numbers are affixed to the officers uniforms or helmets. The SLMPD shall ensure that all uniformed officers assigned to police assemblies are equipped with the enhanced identification and may be identified even if wearing riot gear. (l) (a)(1) The SLMPD shall promptly process any person arrested in connection with an assembly to determine whether the person is eligible for immediate release and shall promptly release any person eligible for release. () The SLMPD shall promptly release any person arrested in connection with an assembly who, it is subsequently determined, should not be charged with any offense, or as to whom arrest documentation has not been prepared and preserved. (b)(1) The SLMPD shall require that an officer holding a supervisory rank document and explain any instance in which a person arrested in connection with an assembly who is eligible for immediate release or who is not charged with any offense is not released within hours from the time of arrest. () The SLMPD shall provide to any person not released within a reasonable time of arrest food appropriate to the person s health. (c) The Chief of Police shall issue an annual public report that: Page of

7 (1) Identifies the number of persons in the preceding year who were arrested in connection with an assembly and were eligible for immediate release or were not charged with any offense and were not released from custody within hours after the time of arrest; () Discusses the reasons for the delay in processing such persons for release; and () Describes any steps taken or to be taken to ensure that all such persons are released within hours from the time of arrest. Use of Chemical Agents The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shall adhere to the following rules of conduct pertaining to the use of chemical agents: (a) Officers shall only use chemical agents after an individual has caused or attempted to cause serious physical injury to another person, and only on that individual. (b) Officers shall provide warning before deploying chemical agents. SLMPD shall issue at least one clearly audible and understandable warning using an amplification system or device prior to using chemical agents. The warning shall clearly, audibly state: 1) where chemical agents will be deployed, ) how much time individuals have to leave the area or stop the unlawful, violent behavior, ) Page of

8 1 0 1 what clear exit route they can follow to leave the area, and ) the consequences of failing to comply. (c) Officers shall not use chemical agents against individuals or groups who merely fail to disperse and have not caused or attempted to cause serious physical injury to another person. (d) Chemical agents shall not be used on individuals who are restrained. (e) Warnings given prior to the deployment of chemical agents shall be made to the subject, fellow officers, and other individuals present prior to any chemical agents being used. (f) After the warning, officers shall wait a reasonable amount of time after providing the warning to allow the subject to leave the area or stop the unlawful, violent behavior with the warning. (g) Officers shall provide clear, unobstructed routes of egress prior to and during the deployment of chemical agents. Officers shall not block routes of egress prior to the deployment of chemical agents. Severability The provisions of this ordinance are severable. In the event any provision of this ordinance is determined to be invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby. Emergency Clause This being an ordinance providing for the preservation of public peace, health, and safety, it is hereby declared to be an emergency ordinance as provided by Article IV, Section 0 of the Charter of the City of St. Louis, and shall be effective immediately upon approval by the Mayor or its approval over her veto. Page of

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