Bay Area Rapid Transit authorites knew denying cell phone service might be unconstitutional.

SAN FRANCISCO - The idea to cut wireless communications to quell a brewing protest - a tactic that has put San Francisco's subway system in the middle of a global free speech debate - first came to the agency's chief spokesman in the middle of the night.

Bay Area Rapid Transit spokesman Linton Johnson said Tuesday that he was lying awake early Thursday when he was struck by the thought of shutting off power to the agency's wireless networks.

He sent an e-mail to BART police, who had asked employees for all ideas -"good or bad, constitutional or unconstitutional," Johnson said.

BART Police Deputy Chief Ben Fairow responded that he liked the idea, and interim general manager Sherwood Wakeman, formerly the agency's top lawyer, signed off on the plan, Johnson said.


Links:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRANSIT_PHONE_JAMMING?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-16-20-23-50

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/bart-pulls-mubarak-san-francisco