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Armando Martinez
(Note: Articles Appear in Reverse Chronological Order)
Tab 8
Americas summit in November. Timoney asked the city commission to outlaw golf balls during
the protests. Not just golf balls but also "ball bearings, marbles, paint balls or other solid shapes
made of rubber, plastic, metal, wood, or any other similar hard substance." By which the chief
means anything in the known universe that could possibly be launched as a projectile.
With all due respect to our new chief, throwing something at a cop is already unlawful, so why
the need to criminalize golf balls? I know the motive is to protect police and civilians, but at this
rate we'll be requiring the protesters to march naked with their slogans painted on their chests.
Local ACLU president Lida Rodriguez-Taseff sums it up tartly: "You don't outlaw the object,
you outlaw the behavior." If the ordinance passes, she said her organization may sue.
For his part, Timoney isn't worried. He reports the proposed law is virtually a word-for-word
copy of one enacted in Los Angeles, which survived legal challenges. "It just gives us greater
discretion," he says soothingly. "We're not going to lock up people for having golf balls. If
you've got golf balls, you're going to be told you can't go into the protest area."
When it comes to cops and crowds of rowdy protesters, the word "discretion" sounds like an
invitation to detain just about anyone. ("Hey, kid, that belt of yours has a metal buckle. Come
with me.")
Other items he wants to prohibit at the expected protests (in addition to water balloons!) are gas
masks. The reason? When he was police commissioner of Philadelphia during the 2000
Republican National Convention, protesters used tear gas on police, not the other way around.
"I've never used gas on a crowd in 35 years," Timoney boasts. "And I have no intention of using
gas now. Doesn't mean I won't, but I don't intend to."
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