MIAMI -- The AFL-CIO asked Wednesday for federal and state investigations into police conduct at the protests outside the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting last month.
A letter sent to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Gov. Jeb Bush also asked the two leaders to prosecute those who abused civil liberties and called for the resignation of Miami Police Chief John Timoney.
The protests turned sporadically violent in the final days of the trade talks. Some of the thousands of demonstrators threw objects and fired slingshots at officers; police hit protesters with batons, zapped them with stun guns and dispersed them with tear gas and pepper spray balls. More than 200 people were arrested.
Police blocked access to a union rally by ``deploying armored personnel carriers, water cannons and scores of police in riot gear with clubs in front of the amphitheater entrance,'' according to the letter by AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney.
A peaceful labor march of 8,000 to 10,000 demonstrators was cut off and police advanced on the protesters without provocation, the letter said. The crowd was not given a safe route to disperse and police used pepper spray and rubber bullets on people as they tried to leave, the letter said.
``This abuse at the hands of Miami police is an insult to the American labor movement, and to all Americans who believe in the basic rights guaranteed by our Constitution,'' Sweeney wrote. ``Not since the days of the civil rights movement have I witnessed such outrageous and inexcusable behavior by the police who are sworn to protect us.''
Gov. Jeb Bush and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Miami police also did not immediately comment, but in an earlier letter to the AFL-CIO, Timoney said his department will review the FTAA security operation and produce a public report. Timoney also defended the police action, saying police placed primary emphasis on avoiding the use of force.
``I very much regret every occasion when police have to resort to force to overcome a violent attack,'' he said in the letter, which was released last week.
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