MELBOURNE, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union claims political bias in the surveillance work of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office at public rallies and protests by targeting liberal and anti-war groups.
The civil liberties group has collected more than 640 pages of public records on surveillance work and plans to take its concerns to county commissioners with demands for change.
"If you're part of the peace movement or you're against the (Bush) administration, you can pretty much bet your personal information is going to be on file," said Kevin Aplin, vice president of the ACLU's Brevard chapter.
Bruce Parker, director of the sheriff's investigative support unit, maintains his unit does not pick on liberal or anti-war groups.
The 3-year-old unit has conducted clandestine surveillance at least a dozen times at political, religious and race-based rallies and demonstrations.
Aplin is seeking a protest-monitoring policy and an audit of surveillance costs. The ACLU believes sheriff's agents have targeted liberal events for greater surveillance than conservative events.
Before a Melbourne peace rally in February 2003, an undercover sheriff's agent infiltrated a planning meeting at a cafe, records indicate. Orlando, Vero Beach and Melbourne police also were consulted, and deputies photographed some of the 200-plus participants.
In contrast, more than 1,000 people attended a Rally for America supporting U.S. soldiers the following month. Two sheriff's agents were assigned to watch for counter demonstrators after a speaker received anti-Semitic e-mails, Parker said. Records show no photos were taken, no license plates were recorded, and no files were created of anyone present.
"We're looking for anarchists that are going to commit violent acts," Parker said.
Sheriff Jack Parker has created a committee to evaluate departmental policies and procedures, and some changes are expected in guidelines for the investigative support unit.
The ACLU started looking into surveillance practices in January after Melbourne police videotaped people at an anti-Bush rally at City Hall. The department has said it has changed its policy and no longer videotapes demonstrations unless it suspects an imminent threat of violence.