November 25, 1986: Ryan Thomas, a 5-year-old Atascadero kindergartner infected with the AIDS virus, was readmitted to school after the ACLU/SC intervened. The boy scuffled with another student and was kicked out of school by administrators afraid he would transmit AIDS to his classmates.

But a court found that five years after AIDS was first identified in the U.S., medical evidence showed "there is really nothing to fear from this child." The ACLU/SC Open Forum called it the first federal decision allowing children with HIV/AIDS to attend school. Ryan Thomas died on Thanksgiving Day in 1991.

The ACLU continues to fight the stigma of HIV status and protect the privacy of people with HIV/AIDS. We also are working to expand treatment in jails, nursing homes and other facilities where people with the virus do not have equal access. An estimated 1 million Americans live with HIV/AIDS, and as many as 280,000 people with the virus may not know they are infected, according to evidence cited in a 2003 report by the ACLU AIDS Project. Click here to read the report (pdf).

Photo: Ryan Thomas with his father, Robin, in 1986.

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The ACLU/SC has asked the L.A. Police Department to explain its pepper-spray policy following an incident caught on video. In the video, an officer sprays a man who appears to be handcuffed and sitting in the back seat of a police car.

"In the wake of this alarming footage, the Department has not rushed to address justified public concern," stated a letter to the L.A. Police Commission. "The public is entitled to know what conduct the LAPD thinks is acceptable."

The spraying incident, which happened last year but came to light only this month, is one of several disturbing videos that have raised questions about L.A.'s commitment to police reform. Another video uploaded to the popular website YouTube.com showed an officer repeatedly punching a suspect in the face while another sat on his chest.

"The ACLU has long advocated for increased police accountability in order to enhance public safety," said ACLU/SC executive director Ramona Ripston in a statement. "The fact that this incident only came to light after being posted on a popular website dramatically illustrates how far we are from that ideal."

Above: ACLU/SC's Mark Rosenbaum speaking about the lawsuit with City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, at left.

In March a shocking video showed a woman in a hospital gown lost on a busy downtown L.A. street. Now the ACLU/SC is suing the hospital that dumped her on Skid Row wearing just two hospital gowns, a diaper and a pair of socks.

"In this city, we don't 'dump patients' as if they were disposable rubbish," said ACLU/SC legal director Mark Rosenbaum.

The lawsuit comes after months of negotiations with Kaiser Permanente to end the practice. The L.A. City Attorney has also filed criminal and civil charges against the hospital chain for its treatment of the 63-year-old homeless woman pictured in the video.

In the video shot from a security camera at the Union Rescue Mission, a taxi pulled up in front of the entrance and out of view. Moments later, a woman wobbled down the street. A few minutes later a representative from the mission met her and escorted her inside.

The woman, who was from Gardena not downtown L.A., had no money, no identification other than a hospital bracelet, and no medication or personal belongings when she was released from a Kaiser hospital in Bellflower. Three days later, she was readmitted to a local hospital.

The lawsuit states that Kaiser "has engaged in this conduct with full knowledge that the persons it transports to Skid Row will not continue to heal or recuperate in that setting."

Last year, several groups were in negotiations with Kaiser to prevent further dumping of patients, but the hospital made no commitment to end the practice.

Public Counsel and law firm Girardi and Keese join the ACLU/SC in the suit.