Dear Mayor Reeves:
On behalf of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981), I wish to express our outrage at a recent abuse of police power in Cambridge: public employees trampled upon the First Amendment rights of a citizen and brutalized her for having the courage to stand up to her assailants. I refer to the case of Toni Marie Angeli, which was reported in the December 29 issue of the Boston Phoenix. Ms. Angeli was harassed by the police after Zona Photographic Labs developed photographs of her husband playing with their nude four-year-old son. Ms. Angeli, a full-time photography student at Harvard, had taken the pictures for one of her Harvard classes.
According to our constitution, the "National Writers Union is committed to freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression in all media, including print, film, and electronic media of any sort."
By your oath of office, Mayor Reeves, you are sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, including the First Amendment. If the First Amendment does not protect a mother from being harassed by city officials for taking harmless photographs of her own son, then the First Amendment in Cambridge is effectively null and void.
In January 1994, the National Executive Board of the National Writers Union unanimously adopted a resolution that stated, in part, "we urge our members to join us in opposing all anti- pornography and other pro-censorship legislation at the Federal, state, and local levels." Incidents such as the assault upon Ms. Angeli and her young son confirm our wisdom in passing this resolution without excepting so-called child pornography. Such incidents, unfortunately, are becoming more and more common and they do nothing whatsoever to protect children or anyone else. To the contrary, children are invariably harmed by the trauma of witnessing their parents physically attacked by uniformed government agents.
Child pornography is not the problem-child abuse is the problem. But since Cambridge law enforcement officials are apparently unwilling and/or unable to deal with real child abuse, they instead divert their taxpayer- supported resources to harassing law-abiding citizens. This is intolerable.
Under the circumstances, I believe that Ms. Angeli's behavior, as reported in the Phoenix, was not only understandable but commendable. Injustice will be compounded if she is forced to stand trial for having the courage to defend both her child and her Constitutional rights. The officers responsible for assaulting her must be suspended from duty pending a thorough investigation. And the citizens of Cambridge must publicly be reassured that steps will be taken to prevent further violations of our essential rights.
This is a serious matter, Mayor Reeves. Ms. Angeli has more than sufficient grounds for a colossal lawsuit against the city. We look forward to hearing from you in writing about what actions you will be taking.
The National Writers Union represents over 4,200 freelance writers nationwide. We are journalists, book authors, poets, fiction writers, cartoonists, academics, business and technical writers. Our membership comprises some of the most distinguished names in American letters.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Chatelle, Political Issues Chair
National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981 AFL-CIO
cc: Members of the Cambridge City Council; Zona Photographic Labs; Marjorie Heins, ACLU Arts Censorship Project; David Mendoza, National Campaign for Freedom of Expression; Leanne Katz, National Coalition Against Censorship; Judith Krug, American Library Association; Gara LaMarche; Human Rights Watch; Other Members of the Free Expression Network; Sarah McNaught, Boston Phoenix; Greg Reibman, The Tab; Nat Hentoff, Village Voice and Washington Post; Other Members of the Press