Police officers used excessive force - striking demonstrators with charging horses and using pepper spray to disperse crowds - against anti-war protesters at a Feb. 15 rally in Manhattan, a report by the New York Civil Liberties Union charged yesterday.

"What the police did February 15 was an embarrassment to the city, but it was no accident," said Donna Liberman, the NYCLU's executive director. "The city appears to have a blind spot for the civil liberties."

Michael O'Looney, the Police Department's chief spokesman, said police officials have found that officers acted professionally.

"More than 100,000 people came to New York on February 15 to peacefully voice their opinions," O'Looney said yesterday in a statement. "There were limited arrests and no serious injuries."

More than 250 people were arrested, mostly on misdemeanor charges.

The NYCLU, in a 40-page report chronicling police actions at the rally, called for an end to the use of physical force against peaceful protesters and warned that next year's Republican convention in Manhattan will likely attract thousands of demonstrators.

"We hope that the city and the Police Department will learn from the mistakes of Feb. 15 so that we do not have the same problems next year," said Christopher Dunn, the NYCLU's associate legal director.

The report, based on information supplied by 350 witnesses, accused the police of using horses to charge into crowds, hitting protesters with pepper spray, denying legal counsel to those arrested and forcing some to stand chained together in the freezing cold.

"Despite the obvious danger and the presence of children, mounted officers pressed through the crowds in an effort to clear the streets," the report alleged. "They were followed by baton wielding riot police who knocked protesters down in an attempt to push them onto the sidewalk."

On a positive note, the NYCLU said criticism of the Feb. 15 police action had forced the city to abandon its no-march policy, and it noted that a peaceful antiwar march was held March 22.

"Nonetheless, important work remains to be done to safeguard our basic liberties," the report concluded. "We will defend the right to protest, to leaflet, to march, as often as necessary."

The NYCLU said it will send copies of the report to the Police Department and the Mayor's office.

Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

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