"Papiere, Bitte!" -- Arkansas City Imposes 24-hour Curfew, ACLU Cries 'Foul'

Officers armed with military rifles, some with laser sights, have been stopping and questioning passers-by in a neighborhood plagued by violence that's been under a 24-hour curfew for a week.
Chief Fred Fielder says only those acting nervous or lacking good reasons for being out get extra attention.

On Tuesday, the Helena-West Helena City Council voted 9-0 to allow police to expand that program into any area of the city, despite a warning from a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the police stops were unconstitutional.

..."Now, if somebody wants to sue us, they have an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will see it the way the way the citizens see it here," Mayor James Valley said. "The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK, and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution."