Miami · Not one of the 231 people arrested during anti-globalization protests last week was locked up for violating a new city law that police officials said would keep the police and the public safe if demonstrations became violent.
The law, passed by city commissioners less than one week before the Free Trade Area of the Americas meetings took place, banned rocks, brass knuckles, and rifles -- and seemingly innocuous objects such as water balloons, super-soakers and thick sticks on protest signs.
Critics who said it would allow authorities to trample on free speech say the fact that police did not arrest anyone for violating the law shows it was never needed.
They worry that police will use the law to make arbitrary arrests in minority communities long after anti-globalization demonstrators have left town.
"It will be used as a tool for abuse against blacks and Hispanics," said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, president of the Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It needs to come off the books."
City officials may repeal the law.
"If it turns out that it was something that was unnecessary, I think we'll have a significant debate at the City Commission," City Commissioner Johnny Winton said.
Police Lt. William Schwartz said that just because the law was not used to arrest people does not mean it was not needed. Instead, he said, it served as a deterrent, keeping many demonstrators from bringing objects that could harm the police.
Schwartz said that on at least one occasion police cited the law to demonstrators who carried a large sign made out of plastic pipes that were too long. The demonstrators dismantled the sign, he said.
Still, the restrictions did little to deter small groups of violent protesters who police say sometimes carried rocks, slingshots, marbles and bolts in their backpacks.
None of those people were charged with violating the law -- a misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail -- because officers could not accurately determine whom the items belonged to in the midst of confusion.
Instead, many protesters were charged with unlawful assembly, resisting arrest and failure to obey a police order.
Of the 231 arrests, 194 were for misdemeanors, 30 for felonies. Seven of those arrested were juveniles.
By late Monday, only 16 of those arrested last week remained behind bars, according to jail spokeswoman Janelle Hall.
Naomi Archer, an activist with South Floridians for Fair Trade and Global Justice, said she is more concerned about the people who were arrested -- and with documenting police abuses -- than about future implications of the law.
"Whether the ordinance existed or not, the officers had a plan and they didn't let any law or lack of law get in their way," she said.
Diana Marrero can be reached at dmarrero@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5005.
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