The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city and members of its police department on behalf of a Providence woman whose free speech rights were allegedly violated when Providence police officers threatened to arrest her for leafletting on a public sidewalk.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 12 in Rhode Island District Federal Court, alleges an incident last February in which plaintiff Judith Reilly was told she could not distribute flyers outside of a Fricker Street building where Mayor David Cicilline '83 was giving a speech. The flyers criticized Cicilline's decision to reappoint Stephen Durkee to the City Plan Commission. Durkee had been accused of violating the state code of ethics, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims that Reilly and another man, Oscar Lemus, were approached by Providence police officers as they were distributing flyers on behalf of the Olneyville Neighborhood Association outside the Providence Career and Technical Academy Feb. 2, where Cicilline was slated to give his State of the City speech.
The officers allegedly told Reilly and Lemus that if they did not move across or down the street, they could face arrest.
Shortly afterwards, Reilly met Rep. David Segal, D-Providence and East Providence, who told her she was legally allowed to distribute the flyers in front of the academy, Reilly told The Herald.
But when Reilly and Lemus returned to their original locations, police officers — this time including Lieutenant Alyssa DeAndrade, one of the parties named in the suit — again told them to move, according to the lawsuit.
Reilly said the Providence Police did not offer a reason for requiring her to move.
A spokesperson for the Providence Police Department declined to comment.
Because Reilly's intention was to provide flyers to attendees of Cicilline's speech, she said she stopped leafletting when she was prohibited from standing in front of the academy.
"It was going to come to an arrest if we didn't move," she said.
Reilly contacted the ACLU soon after the incident, said Steven Brown, executive director of the group's Rhode Island chapter. She also filed a complaint with the Internal Affairs division of the Providence Police, but received a response back that expressed uncertainty that the officers were guilty of misconduct if they did not know that Reilly's demonstration was legally and constitutionally protected, Reilly said.
After receiving the letter, Reilly officially requested legal aid from the ACLU, Brown said.
"We think (the case) raises really basic First Amendment issues," he said.
The lawsuit calls for an injunction requiring the police department to implement a training system that would ensure officers were educated on the legal rights of civilians to peaceably protest.
In addition to DeAndrade, the suit names Providence Police Chief of Police Dean Esserman and Deputy Chief Paul Kennedy as defendants.
"I just don't want it to happen to anyone else," Reilly said.
