ACLU, Fur Protester Sue Birmingham Police Over Arrest

An animal rights activist and the American Civil Liberties Union allege that officers with the Birmingham Police Department violated her civil rights during a downtown protest last December, a lawsuit states.

Beth Delaney, a member of the Southeast Michigan Animal Rights Team (SMART), and the ACLU claim the officers violated her free speech rights by arresting her outside Ceresnie & Offen on Dec. 15. The suit, filed in Detroit federal court Thursday, also accuses the department of misusing the city’s loitering ordinance to disperse, cite and arrest political activists who stand on city sidewalks to display signs and distribute literature.

“As long as we’ve had sidewalks, we’ve had people who use them to exchange ideas and persuade their neighbors of their views,” said ACLU Staff Attorney Dan Korobkin. “The rights to assemble, petition, protest and leaflet without police interference are vital to American democracy and nowhere are those rights more protected than on our public sidewalks.”

Specifically, the 15-page lawsuit alleges the two officers that responded to the scene of the SMART protest forced her to continuously move up and down city sidewalks, upon penalty of citation and arrest, even though the city’s loitering ordinance contains no “keep moving” requirement.

Delaney, who carried a sign with a picture of two rabbits and the message “Fur Kills; Don’t Buy It,” was with a group that handed out pamphlets downtown for about 45 minutes after lunchtime. Officers allowed one member of the group to remain outside the store because he kept moving during the protest, but arrested Delaney when she refused and questioned the officers, the suit alleges. 

The officers handcuffed Delaney, took her to the police station and charged her with loitering, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail upon conviction. The charge was eventually dismissed in 48th District Court.

“Birmingham police have always pressured us to keep moving because of this basic loitering ordinance, but I never thought I would be arrested and charged with a crime,” Delaney, of Ferndale, said in a press release. “I think it’s important to speak out when our free speech is threatened because if we let it go, it could happen anytime and to anyone.”

Police Chief Don Studt said he just learned about the lawsuit on Thursday and deferred comment about it and the incident to City Attorney Tim Currier. Currier will be out of the office until next week and could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday, officials said. 

The suit asks a federal judge to declare the officers violated Delaney's rights under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Constitutional Amendments, and to prohibit Birmingham officers from interfering with the constitutional rights of protesters. It also asks for a jury trial, and undisclosed monetary damages, costs and attorney fees.

No court date for the case was set as of Thursday.