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Even though the NYPD's written policy of blanket surveillance of demonstrations has been enjoined by a federal judge, the scope of the police spying is not widely known. The official police rationale for videotaping public events—that it helps to "prevent and detect terrorist activity"—hints at the vast potential applications of the policy in a time of public anxiety over the possibility of terrorist acts.

The NYPD has employed what amounts to 360 degrees of surveillance at demonstrations since the Handschu rules were modified in February 2003. In particular, there was a massive mobilization of video surveillance at the 2004 Republican National Convention. The police department used high-tech equipment and techniques to spy on members of the public, including a high-powered camera carried on a blimp; a military-style, infrared, thermal-imaging camera on board a $9.8 million helicopter; and a concealed video camera worn by an undercover officer who mingled with crowds at a public gathering. Generally, these live images were beamed back to One Police Plaza over the NYPD's microwave network. After the RNC, the spying continued at anti-war events, racial justice protests, rallies to fight Global AIDS and many others.

Using military jargon, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly bragged about the NYPD's formidable arsenal of surveillance equipment:

We also employed new technology that enhanced our command and control. This included ongoing, real-time images of conditions throughout the City.

In addition to strategically placed television cameras in and around Madison Square Garden and at other key locations in the City, our new police helicopters were equipped with advanced video equipment as well. The newest innovation in this connection was the use of a blimp to establish an advanced observation platform. It fed real-time images in startling clarity to our planners on the ground.

[source: NYPD Press Conference, 3 September 2004]

Let's look at some of what the NYPD's sophisticated technology has garnered. You can make up your own mind if the collection of video seen below is useful to "prevent and detect terrorist activity," or if it might serve other purposes.

The three video clips below were shot by NYPD officers on August 27, 2004 during the Republican National Convention. The footage has been edited into short segments for web viewing.

What is perhaps most remarkable is that all of the cameras converge on Union Square Park at exactly the same time. Along with the ubiquitous TARU police officers using handheld camcorders, the blimp cam, the helicopter cam and the covert body cam were deployed at the same moment in time and space.

Blimp cam

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The Fujifilm corporation loaned its blimp to the NYPD for a week during the RNC. The letters "NYPD" and a police shield logo were emblazoned on the blimp, along with the Fuji logo, branding the blimp with a double logo.

The first scene on the clip shows people from the antiwar group Not in Our Name lying on the grass in Central Park, spelling out a giant "NO" with their bodies. Every so often the camera operator focuses on some young women lounging nearby who do not seem to be part of the antiwar event. The hovering blimp cam seems almost to float above this tranquil scene. It might even be a pretty picture if it were not for the fact that we are viewing this all through what appears to be a military targeting scope superimposed on the frame.

When the camera zooms out, what seems like half of the island of Manhattan comes quickly into focus. The blimp cam has a truly awesome depth of field and range.

The NYPD Fuji blimp continues downtown to Union Square Park where it floats above the assemblage of parkgoers and bicyclists gathering for the Critical Mass ride. Once again the camera appears to shadow a young woman around the park just long enough to give the impression that some girl-watching might be going on. A man stares directly up at the blimp, giving rise to the insight that staring directly at an aerial observation platform allows a perfect view of your face. Occasionally the blimp cam turns on its infrared capability for reasons that are unclear.

Body Cam

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An undercover police officer wears a "lipstick camera" with audio capability concealed on his body.

The undercover officer rides his bicycle (while making several illegal maneuvers in traffic) to a rendezvous point in Union Square Park. In the park he meets up with other undercover police officers, one of whom sports a camcorder over his shoulder. The three undercover police officers mingle with the bicyclists who are gathering to take part in the Critical Mass bicycle ride.

We cannot know for certain, but it is very possible that the video from the body cam was transmitted live over a special wireless system that was put into place specifically for the Republican Convention. There were at least two such systems that were tested during the RNC. World Air Waves had an RNC contract to provide a system including wearable video cameras to the NYPD. The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security funded "Smartnets," a pilot project to transmit a live, two-way video signal by piggybacking on the local public television station's digital signal.

Helicopter Cam

>> Watch helicopter-cam

The NYPD used several of its high-tech helicopters equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance cameras to monitor demonstrations during the RNC. At least one of those helicopters was purchased by the police department using a $9.8 million counterterrorism grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Bell 412 helicopter is equipped with military-style infrared imaging, a "Nightsun" searchlight whose strength is measured in tens of millions of candlepower, and the capability of transmitting a live television signal over microwaves to commanders located in One Police Plaza or anywhere else in town with the appropriate receiver.

This brief clip begins with the helicopter using only its infrared camera, while flying over the "W" hotel in the northeastern part of the Union Square neighborhood. Hundreds of bicyclists take off on their group ride, appearing as ghostly black-and-white skeletons in the footage. After this short clip ends, the helicopter follows the Critical Mass around Manhattan.