ACLU: Police Brutality and Suppression of First Amendment Rights
in Puerto Rico Under the Constitution, Puerto Ricans are
entitled to the same fundamental rights and protections as all
U.S. citizens. But, over the last few years, police brutality
and limitations on freedom of assembly and expression in Puerto
Rico have escalated at an alarming rate. First documented by the
ACLU in 2004, instances of police brutality have increased both
in their frequency and intensity since 2008. Since Governor Luis
Fortuño came into power two years ago, peacefully protesting
University of Puerto Rico students have been subjected to
violent attacks and arrest, while female students have been
inappropriately touched by police officers during their arrests.
Legislative sessions have been closed to the public, and
protesters at the legislature have been pepper sprayed, beaten
and shot at with rubber bullets by police. Low-income, black and
Dominican communities have suffered ongoing police brutality -
including the use of lethal