Orders give police leeway to decide when to arrest someone for violating curfew, creating situations ripe for abuse, experts warn
Cities across the US have enacted curfews in an attempt to quell the unrest over the killing of George Floyd in police custody. But the selective enforcement of the curfew orders only underscores the demonstrators’ message about law enforcement abuses, civil liberties experts warn.
The vague, broad language in these orders gives law enforcement leeway to pick and choose when to arrest someone for violating curfew, allowing for situations that are ripe for abuse, experts said. In some cities, this has worked in protesters’ favor when police chose not to arrest them. But when police enforce an order in some cases and not others, the order becomes an arbitrary tool of control that often appears to violate protesters’ constitutional rights to assembly and free speech.
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