Police in Oregon accused of surveillance of activists – Minnesota lawyer

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon is suing the city of Medford, alleging that its police department is illegally monitoring progressive political activists without suspicion of criminal activity.

City officials stressed that they were not monitoring the groups because of their views or constitutionally protected activities, but only to prepare for potential impacts on public safety, such as traffic disruptions, conflicts between protesters and counter-protesters, and property damage.

In the early 1980s, after it was revealed that Portland police had been regularly surveilling civil rights, racial justice, and other groups, the Oregon State Legislature passed a law prohibiting law enforcement from collecting information about the political, religious, or social views or activities of any individual or group unless it was directly related to a criminal investigation.

According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Jackson County District Court, Medford police have been monitoring the activities and social media accounts of people supporting a range of causes, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, drug overdose prevention and providing services to the homeless, for several years.

The lawsuit is based on police emails and other documents initially obtained through public records requests via the website info4publicuse.org.

It alleges that police violated the law by monitoring or infiltrating social media accounts or groups to obtain information about protests, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and a “Bans off our bodies” demonstration to mark the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down federal abortion rights in 2022.

“The Medford Police Department is blatantly flouting a 30-year-old state law that prohibits this type of surveillance,” said Kelly Simon, legal director for the ACLU of Oregon, in a written statement. “Their doubling down is a blatant sign of impunity for those we trust to enforce the law.”

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Medford City Attorney Eric Mitton denied this.

“The purpose of reviewing publicly available information on social media channels is not to analyze or judge the political, religious or social views of individuals, but to meet legitimate police interests with regard to public rallies and protests,” he wrote.

Mitton's email also included a statement from Medford Police Chief Justin Ivens, who said the police department's top priority is keeping the public safe while upholding constitutional rights.

“We use publicly available information to plan and staff events that have public safety implications,” Ivens said. “This allows us to address potential safety concerns while protecting those exercising their constitutional right to free speech.”

Among the emails cited in the lawsuit were some that showed police monitoring activists' social media for information about a drive-in movie screening tied to Juneteenth activities in 2020 amid broader demonstrations against Floyd's death; about demonstrations related to a COVID-19 outbreak at a local jail; and about any plans for protests related to the Supreme Court decision. Dobbs Cancel decision Roe v. Wade.

The lawsuit says public records show police maintained a “file” on local LGBTQ+ and abortion rights nonprofit Rogue Valley Pepper Shakers, which allegedly includes screenshots of its Facebook page.

Other documents included emails about Stabbin Wagon – an organization that works to provide clean syringes, overdose treatment medications and contraception to vulnerable and homeless people – as well as public statements from founder Melissa Jones criticizing police raids on homeless encampments.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Pepper Shakers, Stabbin Wagon and Jones.

“Instead of investigating real security threats, the Medford Police Department is wasting resources spying on someone like me who just wants to take care of his neighbors,” Jones said in a statement from the ACLU.