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An American teenager who organized a Black Lives Matter rally in her northern New Jersey city said officials sent her a $ 3,700 bill for police overtime.
NJ Advance Media reported Friday that Emily Gil, 18, of Englewood Cliffs, received a letter earlier this month from Mayor Mario M. Kranjac requesting payment of $ 2,499.26 “for police overtime. caused by their protest ”.
A civil liberties defender called the move “shocking.”
Hollie Adams / Getty Images
ARCHIVE – The Black Lives Matter protests have occurred around the world.
Gil, a recent high school graduate, had organized a July 25 protest in the city, across the river from higher parts of Manhattan.
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She said she called for actions like increasing affordable housing in the city and chided Engelwood Cliffs for failing to implement it over the years.
The letter from the city said it had not met with officials prior to its protest, and required them to quickly draw up security plans.
Gil said he did not meet with them in person over concerns about the coronavirus, but made an offer to meet through Zoom, which was not accepted, and then officials stopped responding to him.
He said he had contacted Kranjac after receiving the invoice, but got no response.
Kranjac told NJ Advance Media that the protesters’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly were respected, and that Gil was wrong to link affordable housing to his protest.
“As with any privately sponsored event that takes place in the township and requires police security, an invoice was sent to the organizer for police overtime, as it would be unfair to require our residents to financially support a private event, ”he said.
The Associated Press e-mailed Kranjac seeking comment.
Four Democratic members of the City Council issued a statement opposing the Republican mayor’s decision and said they would seek to cancel the bill.
They said he owed the teenager an apology.
Jeanne LoCicero, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, told The Associated Press, “The idea of sending a bill to protesters is shocking.”
He said that although it had been tried before, he had not heard of any other city attempting something similar during protests in recent months.
