The MTA and NYPD used undercover and plainclothes officers to monitor Black Lives Matter protesters who staged die-ins in Grand Central Terminal, according to reports.
The surveillance included live updates from officers, including the number of protesters and their location at more than 30 protests between November 2014 and February 2015, as well as photos of individual activists, documents obtained by The Intercept reveal.
The monitoring of the Black Lives Matter activists was conducted by a coalition of MTA counter-terrorism agents and undercover cops, along with NYPD intelligence officers, the website said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority declined to discuss specifics about the agency’s response to the protests at the transit hub, but said safety was the No. 1 concern.
“We accommodate peaceful protest in our transportation system, while also ensuring that protest activities do not prevent customers from using the system for transportation,” spokesman Adam Lisberg said. “We take all appropriate police measures to ensure the safety and security of our customers, but we do not discuss the particulars of those operations.”
Activists involved in the movement, which gained momentum after a series of high-profile deaths of black men as the result of police encounters, said the MTA and NYPD were overreacting to peaceful protests.
Jose LaSalle, 46, the founder of the watchdog group Copwatch Patrol Unit, said he was upset, but not surprised, that his name and photo came up in the documents.
“It just makes me feel like I can’t practice my civil rights without feeling like somebody is going to be watching me,” LaSalle told the Daily News. “If you have a voice and use your voice, they think you might be a problem.”
A source with the MTA defended the tactics, saying the documents reveal nothing more than plainclothes officers monitoring, not undercover officers infiltrating, the group.
“If anybody thinks that we would have hundreds of protesters in one of the busiest locations in the City of New York at the height of rush hour, and we wouldn’t keep an eye on them, they have rocks in their head,” the source said.
The NYPD, mentioned in the documents as having provided photos and information to the MTA officers, defended its handling of the protests as well.
“We’re fully aware of the guidelines and procedures regarding demonstrations. Our legal bureau is consulted with when we choose to deploy our resources during protest events,” Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Stephen Davis told The News. “We fully comply with all the legal guidelines and mandates that relate to policing these events.”
