Officials interrupt phone service to stall protest

[gunslingingbird]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Transit officials said Friday they blocked cell phone reception in San Francisco stations for three hours to disrupt a planned demonstrations over a police shooting.

Officials with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, better known as BART, said they turned off the electricity to cell phone towers in four stations from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. The move was made after BART learned that protesters planned to use mobile devices to coordinate a demonstration on train platforms.

"A civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators," BART officials said in a prepared statement.

We saw this happen in Egypt just before Mubarak was ousted. This time it happened in the US. Was it necessary, or was it an overreaction? Also, do BART's actions infringe on peoples' rights, or do they protect the general public? I understand them not wanting overcrowded platforms (anyone who has ridden BART during rush hour can tell you that those platforms are crowded enough without demonstrations happening), but is it right to do it at the expense of other riders, potentially causing conflict for the passengers (the guy who is calling his wife to let her know he's gonna be late for dinner, or the doctor who needs to keep in contact with the hospital because a patient is in serious condition)? Are we still the "land of the free", or are we just spoon fed that belief?

Premium Link Upgrade