By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Federal judges ruled on Wedneday that NYPD arrest records from the 2004 Republican National Convention, which include information about undercover officers, will remain secret.
Overturning a lower court ruling, Wednesday's decision came in response to the New York Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit contesting the arrests made during the RNC. The lower court had ruled that the NYPD was to release 1,800 pages of intelligence documents.
“As recent events only reinforce, undercover NYPD officers safeguard the public," Paul J. Browne, Deputy Commissioner of Public Information for the NYPD, said in a statement.
"The court recognized that protecting their identities and methods of operations is important to the public interest and crucial to undercovers’ safety and effectiveness," he said.
The ruling comes as a victory for the city's lawyers who have long been trying to keep the NYPD's confidential intelligence papers truly confidential.
“We are gratified the Court recognized that plaintiffs have no compelling need for these sensitive materials – which reveal the identities of undercover officers," said Celeste Koeleveld, Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Public Safety at the New York City Law Department.
"As the Court recognized, the information in the documents 'reinforces the City’s assertions that the public faced a substantial threat of disruption and violence during the RNC."
