ACLU sues Metro officer over dispute on free-speech rights

Jace Radke

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 11:20 a.m.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against two Metro Police officers in federal court on Wednesday for what it says was a violation of a religious group's free speech at the Fremont Street experience last August.

The suit claims that officers G. Madison and Sgt. Richard Collins denied First Amendment rights to five members of the Abundant Life Community Church on Aug. 2 near Fremont and Eigth streets.

The suit adds that the groups' Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights were also violated, and seeks monetary damages from the department.

"The crux of the suit is that these men were accosted by police for distributing religious publications on a public street," Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada ACLU, said. "The ACLU and the plaintiffs are pursuing this suit so that people's rights are not violated again in a similar fashion."

According to the arrest report, Sgt. Richard Collins stopped Pastor Michael Robinson and parishioners Jeremy Hendrick, Anthony Rogers, Raymond Dumbres and John O'Donnell after seeing them "aggressively panhandling religious handbills" by stopping and surrounding people, then preaching to them.

At least four pedestrians that night had to step into the street to get around the members of the evangelical group, who were handcuffed and arrested for pedestrian interference, police said.

Robinson tells a different version of the events, saying that his group was debased by the police officers and was not interfering with surrounding pedestrians.

"Obviously we would not participate in that type of action because it would defeat our purpose to give hope in God's name," Robinson said. "We were walking single file when the officer first stopped us and we responded with courtesy and humility to what he said."

Police said the group repeatedly refused to move and at one point "started yelling in a loud voice to Sgt. Collins, 'God will get him,' and 'God will hold him accountable.' "

The group was taken to the city jail, where they were stripped searched and held overnight, Robinson said. "We were shocked and outraged by the whole thing," Robinson said. "As a minister sitting there naked with female officers in the background, it was extremely embarrassing."

Strip searches are standard procedure especially in cases of suspects awaiting transport to the Clark County Detention Center, where the group went to await arraignment, a city spokeswoman said.