RI ACLU settles lawsuit against the PPD for 2013 protest

PROVIDENCE, RI- The ACLU of Rhode Island announced today a $100,000 settlement was reached in a lawsuit against the Providence Police Department for violating the first amendment rights of two protesters back in 2013.

According to a statement released today by the ACLU, Shannah Kurland and Gladys Gould were peacefully protesting during a fundraiser for then-candidate Gina Raimundo at Roger Williams Park Casino when Providence police asked them to step back. The two complied initially, but as they were asked to move further off the property Kurland refused to do so. “She just said that, you know, she had a right to be there. Unless they were going to arrest her, she was going to stay there and continue to protest,” explained the pair’s attorney, Richard Sinapi.

Shannah was placed under arrest for refusing to comply with police. “Their rights to peaceably assemble and protest in a public park were infringed,” says Sinapi. After seven years of negotiations, a settlement agreement was reached awarding $13,000 each to Kurland & Gould with an additional $74,000 in attorney’s fees. “Now more than ever we have an urgency to keep using our public speech and voice it in public places that are protected by the First Amendment.  We must keep using it in order not to forget that we do have a right that’s protected by the Supreme Court. The police must understand that this is a right that’s guaranteed by the Constitution and just like any other right, we need to embrace it,” says Gould.

Sinapi says while he credits the City for coming to an agreement, he believes there is more work to be done. “Police train countless hours in the use of firearms, self-defense..it’s a dangerous profession, and they should protect themselves and the public. I am offering to train the City of Providence Police Officers for no charge on this area of fourth amendment law.”