New York City sued over bag searches at subways

NEW YORK - New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly and the city were sued by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which claimed random searches of riders' bags at subway stations as an anti-terror measure violated US constitutional rights of privacy.

New York's random searches began on July 22 after a second set of bomb attacks on the London transit system.

"The policy of searching thousands of subway riders daily without any suspicion that they have done anything wrong is unprecedented, unproductive and unconstitutional," said NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman, whose organisation filed the suit on behalf of five New York city subway riders.

"It does exact a heavy toll on our freedom," she said, adding that the searches created only an illusion of increased security, invited racial profiling and held little promise of catching someone with explosives.

New York police began to search subway riders' backpacks after four coordinated explosions hit London's bus and underground train network two weeks after 52 people were killed by bombers attacking the underground and a double-decker bus.

At the time Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the new security measures, which have taken place at more than 400 of New York's subway stations and will continue indefinitely, were "a little bit" intrusive but necessary.

Gail Donoghue, of the New York City law department, said the searches struck a "balance between protecting our city and preserving individual rights."

"The city's policy of random subway searches meets all appropriate legal requirements," she said. "We are confident our position will prevail in court."

One of the plaintiffs, Brendan MacWade, 32, who was working in the World Trade Centre when it was attacked on September 11, 2001, said he felt "silly and rather violated" when police searched his duffel bag outside a turnstile at a subway station on July 22.

"These searches are not going to catch the terrorists," said MacWade.

He quoted American Benjamin Franklin in saying: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little safety will deserve neither and lose both."

- REUTERS