Militarized police

Uniting To Transform US Policing

October 17, 2014 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Organize! Inequality, Militarized police, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder, Racism

Throughout the nation the issue of police brutality, including killings of unarmed people, is a common problem. It is part of a criminal enforcement system that has pitted police against people in ways that are very destructive to the fabric of the nation. DOJ is taking or has taken action involving three dozen law enforcement agencies during the Obama era. To turn this moment of awareness and activism into an effective movement, we need an agenda to transform policing so police play a constructive role in the community. At the inspiring FergusonOctober actions, protesters put forward a list of demands that provide an agenda for a movement to fix policing in America. People need to unite around the resulting agenda from the killing of Michael Brown and so many others across the country. At the same time, people need to act on their own to create the world we want to see, e.g. instituting Cop Watch and forming citizen groups to define the police they envision. Finally, we need to recognize the connections between police abuse with the broader issues of an unfair economy, environmental destruction, racism and government corruption. Uniting to build a mass transformative movement is the only path to the changes that are needed.

Thousands Rally For Justice In #FergusonOctober

October 11, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Ferguson, Militarized police, Police abuse, police murder

People from coast-to-coast joined the people of Ferguson and St. Louis County calling for justice in the killing of Mike Brown. Below are a series of tweets that give a sense of the massive protest held in St. Louis today. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch describes the scene: Thousands of demonstrators from across the country marched in downtown St. Louis Saturday, chanting "We are Mike Brown," as part of a series of events to protest police violence nationwide. "We're fighting for our lives,'' St. Louis activist and rapper Tef Poe told the crowd. The march started in the middle of Market Street at 15th Street and ended at Kiener Plaza. The crowd chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot,""No justice, no peace," and "United we stand, divided we fall." Police used barricades to keep traffic away from the crowd. Officers patrolled on bicycles and foot. But unlike the protests in August after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown, St. Louis police avoided any visible show of force during Saturday's downtown march.

First Night Of Protests In FergusonOctober Weekend

October 11, 2014 Staff, www.bigstory.ap.org Resist! Ferguson, Militarized police, Police abuse

"It's important for this country to stand with this community," said protester Ellen Davidson of New York City, who was making her second trip to the St. Louis area since Brown's death. "This community is under siege. ... The eyes of the world are watching." On Saturday, the protests shift to downtown St. Louis, hours before the Cardinals host the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the National League Championship Series. And on Monday, a series of planned — but unannounced — acts of civil disobedience are to take place throughout the St. Louis region. "I'm not planning to get arrested," said Davidson, who was meeting up with other protesters from Illinois, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee. "But I do plan to do what I believe are in my rights as a protester. If I get arrested, that's on the people who arrest me."

Holder Prosecuted Whistleblowers & Journalists, Not Bankers & Torturers

September 25, 2014 Kevin Zeese, greenshadowcabinet.us Educate! Bankers, Campaign Finance, Chelsea Manning, Corporate crime, Edward Snowden, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Freedom of the Press, Julian Assange, Marijuana, Media, Medical Marijuana, Militarized police, NSA, Occupy, Occupy Movement, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder, spying, Torture, War On Drugs, Wars and Militarism, Whistleblowers, Wikileaks

We urge President Obama to replace Holder with a public interest not a corporate lawyer; that will put the rule of law before corporate power. This appointment is an opportunity to shut the revolving door between big business and government. We also hope the next attorney general will put rule of law ahead of the security state, prosecute torture and other war crimes, protect privacy from US intelligence agencies and protect Freedom of Speech, Assembly and Press. Finally, we hope to see an attorney general that will confront the war culture that has allowed the president to ignore the constitutional requirement that Congress is responsible for deciding when the US goes to war, not the president; and one who respects international law and requires UN approval before the US attacks another nation.

Militarized Cops Pretend To Fight Terrorists In Oakland

September 14, 2014 Julia Carrie Wong, www.vice.com Educate! militarism, Militarized police

The public side of Urban Shield is a two-day trade show at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Oakland—an event filled with the corporations that cater to “anyone who has a gun,” as a salesperson for Safariland described it to me. But away from the convention center, 35 teams of six to eight police officers—mostly from local police departments, but also including some from South Korea, Singapore, Philadelphia, and Texas—compete to see who can best respond to to 31 different terrorist or emergency scenarios at locations around the Bay Area. The teams rotate through the scenarios for 48 hours with just one scheduled 30-minute nap (on bunk beds in cells at the San Francisco County Jail). The question of whether Urban Shield is an essential training experience worth a significant investment of taxpayer money or a chance for grown men to run around and play war games was bubbling beneath the surface the whole time. Paul Hess, the ACSO Emergency Services Supervisor who gave me and a group of nine other journalists and corporate sponsors a tour, boasted that Urban Shield was the “largest terrorist field response anywhere in the country.” However, he went on to say, “Really what we’re building here is camaraderie. How often do we get to get into the field and exchange and play with other agencies?”

Reporter Kicked Out Of SWAT Show For ‘Unauthorized Photos’

September 8, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Media, Militarization, Militarized police

Shane Bauer, a reporter in Mother Jones' San Francisco bureau, covering criminal justice, social justice, and human rights, was reporting on the Urban Shield police event in Oakland, including taking photographs. Bauer is a well-known journalist who spent two years imprisoned in Iran co-authoring A Sliver of Light about the event. Bauer's photographs documented the extreme militarization of policing as well as the way police SWAT team members think. In a tweet on Sunday he reported that his press credentials were taken away for taking 'unauthorized photos.' Bauer was also thrown out of an American Correctional Association meeting earlier this year because they did not like his tweeting of the event. He published a collection of his tweets from the SWAT team convention on Storify. Below are some highlights of some of the photographs he took at Urban Shield. The SWAT Convention was widely protested and the mayor of Oakland announced they would not be coming back next year. A full report on Bauer's visit at the Urban Shield Convention will be published by Mother Jones. Here's what they don't want people to see:

Victory! ‘Urban Shield’ Finished In Oakland

September 7, 2014 Anna Lekas Miller, www.wagingnonviolence.org Resist! Militarization, Militarized police, Police abuse

On Friday, around 300 protesters blocked Broadway between 9th and 11th streets in downtown Oakland, protesting the second day of the eighth annual Urban Shield convention. The event could not have occurred at a more timely moment. Only a few weeks after images of SWAT teams in riot gear pointing military-grade assault rifles towards peaceful protesters and arresting dozens in the streets brought the hyper-militarization of the police to national attention, the Urban Shield convention is taking place in downtown Oakland, bringing together law enforcement forces from around the world for a two-day trade show followed by a series of trainings taking place throughout the Bay Area. Late Friday, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan announced in a press conference that the convention will not be returning to Oakland next year. Despite the victory, many activists recognize that resisting events like Urban Shield, and other manners of police militarization will be a long battle.

Washington, DC: Another March For Mike Brown On Saturday

September 5, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Militarized police, Police abuse, police murder, Racism

There have been a series of protests in Washington, DC since the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. These marches have brought hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand people, into the streets of Washington, DC to call for the arrest of Officer Wilson and an end to racism, militarized police. March to U Street For Mike Brown Rally Begins at 7 PM at The African American Civil War Memorial and Museum 1925 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20001 Sponsored by American Muslim Alliance The Answer Coalition National Black United Front Part for Socialism and Liberation We Act Radio

Civil Rights Leaders Declare State Of Emergency In Black Communities

September 4, 2014 Staff, www.ibw21.org Organize! Drug War, Militarized police, Police abuse, Racism

Dr. Ron Daniels, President of IBW, framed the discussion by reiterating that there is a “State of Emergency” in Black America, particularly in marginalized inner-city communities which he called “America’s “dark ghettos.” Dr. Daniels emphasized that the killing of Michael Brown and scores of other young Black men must be seen within the context of massive disinvestment in urban neighborhoods and unconscionable levels of joblessness and economic underdevelopment. He suggested that in the minds of political leaders and much of the White public, Black people live in “dangerous communities with dangerous Black men” who must be heavily policed and incarcerated in order to have peace, safety and stability. These fears and machinations were the genesis of the War on Drugs and other racially biased criminal justice policies and practices targeting the Black community.

Over 1,000 Protest In Ferguson, Call For Highway Shutdown

August 31, 2014 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Militarized police, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder, Racism

More than 1,000 people protested in Ferguson today. There was a call to action at the event. Organizers at the rally called on demonstrators to drive on Interstate 70 and other area highways at 4:30 p.m. Monday, turn their hazard lights on and stop their vehicles for four and a half minutes to symbolize the four and a half hours that Mr. Brown’s body lay in the street. “We’re going to tie it down, lock it down,” Anthony Shahid, one of the lead organizers of the rally, told supporters from the stage at a park. The following week, if the coalition’s demands were not met, including that Officer Wilson be fired and arrested on charges of murder, another four-minute traffic shutdown would occur on two days instead of just one, he said.

Ferguson: ‘Pilot Program’ For Community Response

August 31, 2014 Kevin Gosztola, www.dissenter.firedoglake.com Educate! Ferguson, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Militarized police, Police abuse

The National Lawyers Guild had legal observers on the ground in Ferguson to monitor protests against the killing of unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. They were also present to help with jail support for community residents. But, while working, four of the NLG’s observers fell victim to the police occupation they were trying to help Ferguson fight and were arrested. As Dennis Black, one of the legal observers arrested, commented, “Ferguson is a pilot program of what’s to come when communities respond to police brutality.” He and others had traveled from Detroit to see a preview of what police might do to squelch uprisings there. Black and two other volunteers were arrested on August 21 about 10:30 pm.

DC: March And Rally to Demand “Justice For Michael Brown”

August 29, 2014 Black United Front, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Ferguson, Militarized police, Police abuse, police brutality, Racism

Saturday's march and rally are specifically demanding the arrest of Officer Darren Wilson, the demilitarization of the police, and the institutionalization of civilian review boards of the police with the right to hire and fire. The Call to Action for Saturday explain: "Residents of the District of Columbia, just like millions around the country recognize that at the root of Ferguson are the social, racial and economic injustices that exist nationwide. They know that Ferguson could really be anywhere and Michael Brown could be any young Black male. According to a report by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, every 28 hours a Black person is killed by a police officer, security, or vigilante in the United States.

Rally At DOJ For Mike Brown & Against Police Brutality

August 26, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Militarization, Militarized police, police brutality

On Wednesday, August 27 at 4pm, activists will rally outside the Justice Department to call on the Attorney General to help secure justice for Michael Brown and the people of Ferguson, Missouri, as well as an overhaul of US law enforcement tactics in order to stop police brutality and the militarization of our police forces. The rally speakers will feature the following legal experts and community organizers: Institute of the Black World President Ron Daniels, No FEAR Coalition leader Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, No FEAR Coalition Director of Communications Kevin Berends, Nathan Sheard of CODEPINK, Matthew Fog of Bigots With Badges, Veterans For Peace National President Patrick McCann, Reverend George Gilbert, Attorney Nkechi Taifa, and Ayanna Gregory. After the rally, the group will march to Busboys and Poets on 5th & K St NW to attend “Ferguson and Beyond – The Way Forward,” a town hall meeting on police killings of black men which begins at 6:30 PM.

New ‘Hands Up United’ Issues Call To Action And Demands

August 24, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Organize! Ferguson, Militarized police, Police abuse

A new coalition called Hands Up United has formed around the events in Ferguson, MO that is working for accountability in the case of the police murder of Michael Brown and for new policies at the national level to reduce police brutality. According to their website, HandsUpUnited.org, the coalition includes "local organizations leading on the ground in Ferguson, such as Organization for Black Struggle, Missourians Organizing for Reform, Empowerment, and others. The National Demands reflect demands developed by organizations such as Freedom Side and Dream Defenders." They are calling for a nationwide student walk out on Monday, August 25, the day of Michael Brown's funeral which would have been his first day of college if he were alive. The website states: "Youth in Ferguson are calling for a student walkout to honor Mike Brown and protest police violence and racial profiling. On Monday, August 25th, stage a walkout on your campus. Commit to walking out for Mike Brown and create an event to invite others to join you."

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