Ferguson

Ferguson and Beyond – Next Steps to End Police Brutality

October 27, 2014 Staff, www.clearingthefogradio.org Strategize! Ferguson, Mass Incarceration, Michael Brown, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder, Racism

This edition of Clearing The FOG Radio, co-hosted by Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, focuses on where the movement against police abuse is going. With the decision of the grand jury possible any day now, and the likely result being no indictment according to law enforcement leaks to the press, how should the people of Ferguson and the nation react? What would be a constructive to response for the lack of justice for Michael Brown? And, what should the movement be demanding. In the first half hour two guests who have worked in Ferguson as part of the movement for justice for Michael Brown discuss next steps, the mood of the community and how those of us outside Ferguson can help. In the second half hour, two African American activists in Washington, DC and New York City comment on the situation, not only in Ferguson but regarding police abuse nationally. In DC, Kymone Freeman has been part of the #DCFerguson coalition and in NYC, Glenn Ford long-time commentator on African American issues and editor of Black Agenda Report comments. Ford proposes that rather than "community policing" we need "community controlled policing" that includes the ability of communities to remove officers who are racist or abusive.

75 Days Later, The Movement Only Grows

October 27, 2014 DeRay Mckesson, www.ebony.com Organize! Ferguson, Law, Michael Brown, police brutality, Social Movement

The power of the movement which has largely come to be known as “Ferguson” is that it started because regular people---young people---armed with smartphones and frustration, came outside their homes and said “Enough is enough.” In those initial days, we learned about Mike Brown's death and the police's response to the manifestation of a community's pain through Antonio French's vines, Brittany Noble's Instagram videos, and the tweets of Tef Poe and Netta Elzie. There was a time when a movement would have required the gloss or veneer of an established activist group to gain traction. Ferguson disrupts this notion that organized struggle requires an organization. Ferguson showed us that there is a way to respect the autonomy of individual actors while maintaining a uniformity of purpose.

Popular Resistance Newsletter – Managed Democracy, Expendable People

October 26, 2014 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Climate Change, Criminalization, Democracy, Ferguson, Fracking, Homelessness, Michael Brown, Oil & Gas, Poverty

As the elections draw near, the plutocracy and crisis of democracy become more visible. There are reports of ‘dark money’ in record amounts influencing races. An obvious example of this took place in Richmond, CA, home of a large Chevron refinery, last week when Chevron funded a ‘new non-profit’ that hosted a ‘civil rights icon’ to stump for pro-business candidates. Steve Early called him “big oil’s reverend for rent.” We’ve written before about the studies which show that the interests of the wealthy are represented in our public policy instead of the needs and interests of the public. For example, on October 19, several IRS whistleblowers exposed that corporations are being allowed illegally to avoid paying billions in taxes while individuals and small businesses are punished. And Drs. Bruno and Burns describe how Coca Cola has infected medical associations and undermined reform. Sheldon Wolin wrote about this in “Democracy, Inc.”

Missouri Police Prepare For Backlash

October 26, 2014 Staff, www.AP.org Resist! Ferguson, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Michael Brown, Police abuse, police brutality, St. Louis

“I know there’s a lot of anxiety, there’s a lot of fear, anticipation” about that announcement, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who was put in charge of security in Ferguson in the days after Brown was killed and is now part of a coordinated command with local police. But “I have a lot of hope.” Law enforcement officers expect to receive at least a day’s notice before a grand jury announcement. That should provide time for them to execute security plans but may also allow demonstrators to prepare. “The moment I learn that there is, in fact, a non-indictment, then there’s going to be an organized protest,” said Eric Vickers, a black St. Louis attorney and civil rights activist. Wilson’s description of events was leaked recently, as was an autopsy report that showed Brown had marijuana in his system and was shot in the hand at close range. Wilson has alleged Brown was trying to grab his gun in the SUV. “It appears that it may be calculated to soften the blow if there is no indictment,” said Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who directs the school’s Criminal Justice Clinic. Amnesty International on Thursday released a report documenting what it described as human rights abuses by police during the protests following Brown’s death. The report accuses police of violating citizens’ rights by intimidating protesters using riot gear, aiming high-powered weapons at people, using tear gas, firing rubber bullets and flash-bangs, and setting curfews. St. Louis city police recently spent $325,000 upgrading helmets, sticks and other “civil disobedience equipment,” said Police Chief Sam Dotson.

Activists Demand Comprehensive Data On Police Killings

October 25, 2014 Renee Lewis, www.aljazeera.com Organize! Ferguson, Law, police brutality, Police the Police

Activists who mobilized after the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown said Wednesday they have collected 200,000 signatures backing their demand that federal agencies address a nationwide trend of police violence with major reforms — including the collection and release of comprehensive data on how many Americans are killed by law enforcement officers each year. In the aftermath of Brown’s Aug. 9 death following what police say was an altercation with an officer in Ferguson, Missouri, rights groups and researchers have complained of a startling lack of official national figures on police killings.

Amnesty Int’l: Ferguson Police Abused Human Rights

October 25, 2014 Carey Gillam, www.reuters.com Resist! Ferguson, Human Rights, police brutality, Police the Police

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Police in Ferguson, Missouri, committed human rights abuses as they sought to quell mostly peaceful protests that erupted after an officer killed an unarmed black teenager, an international human rights organization said in a report released on Friday. The Amnesty International report said law enforcement officers should be investigated by U.S. authorities for the abuses, which occurred during weeks of racially charged protests that erupted after white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9. The use by law enforcement of rubber bullets, tear gas and heavy military equipment and restrictions placed on peaceful protesters all violated international standards, the group said.

It Will ‘Never Be The Same’ If Wilson Isn’t Indicted

October 25, 2014 Mariah Stewart and Ryan Reilly, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Ferguson, Law, police brutality

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Five people, including a legal observer who said he was simply walking back to his car, were arrested outside the Ferguson Police Department Wednesday night as protesters gathered to call for the arrest of Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August. The officer's case is currently being reviewed by a grand jury, which must decide whether or not to indict Wilson by January 2015, though a decision expected within the next several weeks. Amid rampant speculation that the jury will side with Wilson, protesters on site predicted more turmoil in Ferguson in the event of an acquittal. Authorities estimated that about 200 people gathered outside the Police Department Wednesday.

Slave Patrols Alive & Well Across America, Part II

October 23, 2014 Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, www.blackagendareport.com Educate! Ferguson, police brutality, Police the Police, Vonderrit Myers

There has long been a playbook for police departments across America—after police officers, predominantly white, kill unarmed citizens who are predominantly black. We can trace this to its origins in the Deep South, during the early days of human trafficking in America when it was called "slavery." Today's iteration of African human trafficking in America goes by various MOs, all with politely toned down labeling: "racial profiling," "gentrification," "the prison-industrial complex." Yet, if we were honest with ourselves we would call this systemic lethality what is it – the renewal of the slave posse’s license to kill black people. After Michael Brown, 18 was profiled and executed on August 9th as he walked in the street with a companion, the Ferguson police department was happy to release a video that on casual viewing appeared to show Brown just minutes before his execution manhandling the much smaller clerk in a local market where Michael appeared to be shoplifting cigars.

#O22: Day Of Protest Against Police Brutality

October 22, 2014 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Ferguson, Police abuse, Racism

Today was the 19th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. People protested against intensified police killings and abuse, torture conditions inflicted on tens of thousands of incarcerated people, widespread use of solitary confinement, mass incarceration and young people being treated like criminals, "guilty until proven innocent." Continuing the defiant protests going on in Ferguson, MO in response to the police killing of Michael Brown, people from coast to coast participated in the heightened resistance to police murder all across the country. Against this backdrop, people in more than 50 cities across the United States took to the streets and protested in other ways. From Atlanta to Oakland, hundreds turned out with a strong message and strong actions - shutting down highways and marching past police barricades. Here are some of the best moments in photos and tweets from the actions:

Negotiations Led To End Of Occupy SLU Protest

October 22, 2014 Koran Addo, www.stltoday.com Resist! Ferguson, Occupy, police brutality, Racial Justice, St. Louis

For six days last week, protesters lived in tents near St. Louis University’s clock tower, flying an upside-down American flag and talking to students as they walked by about inequality and systemic racism. For many on campus, Occupy SLU was a polarizing event that garnered support from a significant number of people on campus, confused others and triggered hostility from many, including some parents, who wanted the protesters gone. The latter group got their wish on Saturday when protesters packed up their tents and left. What seemed like an abrupt ending to a protest that many people suspected could linger for several weeks, was actually the result of negotiations between SLU’s new president and protest organizers.

Police Get Mike Brown Mural Removed In Trenton

October 21, 2014 Jenna Pizzi, www.nj.com Resist! Art, Ferguson, Michael Brown, New Jersey (NJ)

TRENTON – A mural was painted over Monday afternoon after Trenton police expressed concern that the painting, depicting Michael Brown, a Ferguson, Mo., teen who was fatally shot by police in August, sent the wrong message about community and police relations. The painting depicted Brown’s face with the caption “Sagging pants … is not probable cause.” Will "Kasso" Condry, the artist behind the mural, said he wanted to start a conversation about racial profiling. The Trenton Downtown Association elected to remove the image after hearing concern from police officers that the mural sends a negative message about the relationship between police and the community. The mural was painted by artists from the Sage Coalition about two weeks ago on a gate covering the entrance to a vacant storefront on the corner of North Broad and Hanover streets to cover an illegal advertisement for a nearby liquor store.

Smashing Pumpkin Protest At Prosecutor’s Office

October 20, 2014 Kevin Gosztola, www.dissenter.firedoglake.com Resist! Ferguson

Protesters approached the St. Louis County Justice Center while holding pumpkins marked “racism,” “police brutality” and “white privilege.” They planned to smash the pumpkins in front of the police station to make a point about the disparity in media coverage of primarily white college students rioting in Keene, New Hampshire, and media coverage of reaction in Ferguson, Missouri, to white police officer Darren Wilson who killed an unarmed black teenager named Mike Brown. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that protest organizer Derek Laney was arrested “after he held the pumpkin” over his head and “decried the shooting” of Brown before smashing the pumpkin “at the feet of officers stationed about 10 feet from the Justice Center door.” He protested the fact that Keene State College students were called “unruly” or “drunken revelers” and accused of merely “causing a ruckus” while community residents upset in Ferguson were labeled “rioters” or “thugs.”

It’s Legal To Film Cops

October 20, 2014 Christopher Mathias, www.huffingtonpost.com Organize! Ferguson, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Journalism, Media, police brutality, Police the Police, Racial Justice

NEW YORK -- It's becoming clearer and clearer that smartphones have ushered in a new era of police accountability. Since mid-July, when a bystander on Staten Island filmed the death of Eric Garner in a prohibited police chokehold, at least eight other unsettling videos, most of them captured by smartphone, have emerged showing instances of apparent excessive force by NYPD officers. Four such videos have appeared this month alone. Although police might intimidate bystanders into thinking otherwise, it's perfectly legal to film the cops -- not only in New York, but everywhere in the U.S. -- as long as you don't get in their way. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, encourages people to keep using their phones to film troubling police incidents. The more people who post these videos online, she said, the more likely it is that other people will reach for their own phones when they see cops doing something questionable.

Political Scientist Detained Before Trip To Ferguson, Missouri

October 19, 2014 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Ferguson, Police abuse

I was being held to prevent me from traveling to Ferguson and continuing the work I have been doing there and elsewhere regarding corruption in government and law enforcement. The problem was the “doctor.” I’ll explain why–I put that in quotes–and the administration. I was legally entitled, and they were required, to have a psychiatrist review my case within 24 and 48 hours. A day after I was taken in – I met with a person purporting to be that psychiatric doctor and the whole institution purporting that. She was demeaning and dismissive – and as I pressed her – she clearly had no idea either about psychiatry. It started to become obvious to a “social worker” who had no business being present, that I was “on” to her. I told her that they had no legal or medical basis to hold me – and she said she could not release me. I stated as doctor she had that authority. She denied it-a first sign [to me] of a problem. I later found out she wasn't a doctor.

St. Louis University Responds To Occupation

October 19, 2014 Fred P. Pestello, www.slu.edu Create! Activism, Education, Ferguson, Racism

This week has been a challenge for many of us, including me. Unlike some with whom I spoke, I have never been followed by security throughout a department store, had taxicab drivers refuse to pick me up, or been seated by the bathrooms of a half-empty restaurant. But those indignities — and far worse — are not uncommon to people of color, including our students, faculty and staff. Many of their life experiences, described to me in stark and painful terms, have weighed on me as peaceful demonstrations and teach-ins have played out this week. Also weighing on me has been the concern expressed by some students and parents who were worried about a non-peaceful outcome to this demonstration.

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