Paying Off May Day

After rounding up some 14,500 persons during the antiwar May Day demonstrations in Washington two years ago, police and Administration officials made no secret of their pride in the way the situation was handled. They had avoided extensive violence, they pointed out, and prevented the city from being brought to a standstill. If the civil rights of some individuals had been curtailed, that was a necessary price for the maintenance of order. Now Washington is learning that the price is also measured in dollars and cents.

Washington's problem is that the police collected virtually no evidence; yet thousands of those arrested had to post bail or collateral of from $10 to $250. All told, fewer than 800 were ever convicted, most because they pleaded guilty or nolo contendere. The vast majority of cases had to be dropped--but not before many had already forfeited their bail money because police led them to think that that was tantamount to paying a fine and closing the case. Last week in a 3-0 ruling, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that many of the arrests had been so indiscriminate and the judicial machinery so clumsy that there was no justification for requiring bonds in the first place. The court indicated that an appropriate remedy would be for the city to return the money posted and expunge police records on request, unless it can show there was cause for an arrest. If everyone eligible applies, attorneys for the arrestees' class-action suit say that Washington may have to pay out more than $100,000, including costs of processing the claims.

The city's costs do not end there. In a civil suit, 24 doctors and medical students last week won $37,000 in damages. They had been arrested despite official assurances that they could render aid to injured or ill demonstrators. It was the second such damage award assessed against the city; the first, for $9,000, went to two Government employees swept up by police as they walked to work. There are at least 35 more such suits waiting on the docket.

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