Police abuse

Activist Beaten Unconsciousness By Police Faces 7 Years

February 11, 2014 Aviva Shen, www.thinkprogress.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse, Video

Over one weekend in March 2012, police arrested more than 70 Occupy Wall Street activists in a violent altercation in New York City’s Zuccotti Park. Among those arrested was then 23-year-old graduate student Cecily McMillan, who suffered a seizure while allegedly being beaten unconscious by police. On Monday, McMillan will go to court to face up to seven years in prison over felony charges that she assaulted a police officer with her elbow. McMillan and her lawyer say the violence began with an officer grabbing her breast from behind, making her swing her elbow back to hit the person groping her. Soon after her arrest, McMillan showed hand-shaped bruises on her chest and arms in an interview with Democracy Now.

Canadian Government Spies On Pipeline Opponents

February 10, 2014 Mark Hume, www.theglobeandmail.com Educate! Environment, Police abuse, Surveillance

"Environmental and aboriginal groups opposed to Enbridge Inc.’s proposed pipeline across British Columbia say federal law enforcement agencies are spying on them and they want the “intimidating and anti-democratic” practices stopped. In a news conference on Thursday, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association announced it has filed complaints with the agencies overseeing the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The BCCLA said it appears that covert agents monitored meetings and other activities of the pipeline opponents who participated in the National Energy Board hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway project, and that CSIS and the RCMP then shared their intelligence with the oil industry and the NEB."

Young Tibetan Mining Protester Dies After ‘Torture’

February 9, 2014 Rigdhen Dolma, www.rfa.org Resist! China, Mining, Police abuse

Mining operations in Tibetan regions have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms of disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment as they extract local wealth. “Last year, a large number of Tibetans in Driru resisted Chinese mining at Naglha Dzambha , and China reportedly arrested many of them for leading the protest,” Samdrub said. On Dec. 19, a Chinese court in Driru handed jail terms of up to 13 years to three Tibetans—Choekyab, Tselha, and Trinley Tsekar—for opposing work at the mine. Following the anti-mining protest in May, Driru county became the center of a campaign by Tibetans resisting forced displays of loyalty to the Chinese state.

Thousands Protest New Internet Law In Turkey

February 8, 2014 Staff, www.rt.com Resist! Internet Freedom, Police abuse, Türkiye

Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds of protesters rallying against “draconian” internet laws approved by parliament. Police approached the crowd along Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue and fired water cannons from behind armored vehicles as protesters tried to march to the city’s main square. "Everywhere is bribery, everywhere is corruption," protesters chanted. As riot police fired water cannons at protesters, some of them responded by throwing stones or setting off fireworks aimed at law enforcement officers. The new bill was passed late Wednesday by the parliament dominated by the Erdogan’s AKP party. If the president approves the legislation, it would give authorities the power to block web pages without a court order within just hours.

NATO 3 Acquitted Of Terrorism Charges, Guilty Of Lesser Charges

February 7, 2014 Erin Meyer and Quinn Ford, www.dnainfo.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse

The three men known as the NATO 3 were convicted of mob action and possession of incendiary devices Friday — but were found not guilty of the terrorism charges leveled against them. Smiles crept across the faces of NATO 3 supporters after the long list of verdicts was read at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse just after 4 p.m. Friday. When the crowd of supporters realized the NATO protesters were not guilty of terrorism charges, the supporters exchanged hugs and wept. There was no immediate emotion from the defendants — Brian Church, Jared Chase and Brent Betterly — who are now scheduled to be sentenced on the lesser charges Feb. 28. The men have been in custody since their May, 2012 arrests. They were convicted of mob action and two counts of possession of incendiary devices. Those two counts were: possession with intent to commit arson and possession with knowledge that another person intended to commit arson. Their lawyers said those charges could bring anywhere from 4 to 30 years in prison.

DEA Manual Teaches Police How To Lie About Using NSA Info

February 6, 2014 Bruce A. Dixon, www.blackagendareport.com Educate! NSA, Police abuse

New disclosures now allow us to see online the DEA training manuals with which Drug Enforcement Administration agents are taught to coach local police departments across the country how to lie about their chains of evidence and sources, how to willfully violate the law and cover their tracks in thousands or tens of thousands of cases every year in order to fill the cells of the US prison state with drug defendants. This is not hype. This is not exaggeration. It's the literal truth. You can read the DEA's own manuals online at Muckrock.Org

Privacy Advocates Plan To Sue Oakland Over City ‘Spy’ Center

February 6, 2014 Katie Rucke, www.mintpressnews.com Resist! Oakland, Occupy, Police abuse, Surveillance

The Oakland Privacy Working Group, a coalition of civil liberties advocates, announced on Monday it would file a taxpayer lawsuit against the city of Oakland, Calif., if city officials continued to construct the Department of Homeland Security-funded Domain Awareness Center, which it says violates the First and Fourth Amendment rights of Oakland residents. Scheduled to go live in July 2014 and funded almost exclusively by a $10.9 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the DAC will link cameras around the city with ShotSpotter gunshot detectors, license plate readers, Geographic Information Systems mapping, social media feeds and more. “We have access to a large group of internal documents obtained through a Public Records Act request,” Hofer said, adding that thousands of internal emails from City of Oakland staff show that the true intent of the DAC is monitoring political demonstrations.

Building A Movement Of Peace Teams

February 6, 2014 Jessica Anderson, www.mettacenter.org Create! Nonviolence, Police abuse, Wars and Militarism

Meta Peace Team is conceptualized as a way to plan, train, and deploy peace teams where invited both domestically and internationally—again not to take sides or to “fix” problems, but to create space for people to come up with their own solutions to conflicts. The teams are made up of people who are trained in violence de-escalation techniques, committed to the internal work of personal centering so as to be able to overcome fear in the midst of violence, and willing to work collaboratively and with consensus processes. They believe that conflict per se can be constructive but that the use of violence to deal with conflict tends to be destructive—and, accordingly, they see the core of their mission as protecting people from violence no matter where that violence comes from or toward whom it is directed. And, they “walk their talk.”

Utah TPP Activist Violently Arrested

February 1, 2014 Staff, www.revolution-news.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, TPP

A protester was slammed to the ground violently and suffered repeated blows to the back after three security officer subdued him at a demonstration against the TPP Trans~Pacific Partnership. “We were there just to do a very peaceful protest against the TPP and this whole thing just took us completely by surprise and I was shocked,” said an fellow demonstrator who witnessed the attack. “It was such a brutal response from these officers; so violent. It seems way overkill and uncalled for.” Lionel Trepanier, of Salt Lake City, had left a backpack on a table on the grounds of the Bennett Federal Building. After leaving the plaza for a moment around 3:15 pm, Trepanier reentered the plaza to grab his bag. An officer stopped him.

Defense Puts Government On Trial In NATO 3 Case

January 31, 2014 Kevin Gosztola, www.dissenter.firedoglake.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Nato 3, Police abuse

Prosecutors from the state of Illinois are deeply bothered by defense attorneys’ focus on police conduct in the criminal investigation into the “NATO 3″ and the surveillance operation conducted prior to targeting the defendants. It would seem the prosecutors’ panic is a reaction to media coverage and commentary on the trial and not merely what effect it could have on the jury. The media has been focusing on police tactics, which have been the subject of defense cross-examinations of witnesses. The Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn wrote that the “NATO 3″ might be “three stooges.” He added, “The picture that’s emerging from the coverage is of a trio of inept stoners with inchoate violent impulses and delusions of grandeur and feck who were egged on by undercover cops and then grossly overcharged by an overheated state’s attorney’s office.” “So far I’ve seen no evidence of the menace and scheming implicit in the charge of terrorism,” Zorn added.

NYC Withdraws Appeal In Stop & Frisk, Agrees To Settlement

January 30, 2014 press@ccrjustice.org, www.ccrjustice.org Resist! Police abuse, Racism

After 14 years of litigation and decades of community action, plaintiffs’ counsel and Mayor Bill de Blasio reached an agreement which will result in the withdrawal of the City’s appeal of the landmark stop-and-frisk case, Floyd v. City of New York, brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, and co-counsel Beldock, Levine & Hoffman and Covington & Burling. In the Floyd case, a federal class action lawsuit seeking only injunctive relief, the district court found the City liable for a decade-long pattern of discriminatory and unconstitutional stops-and-frisks. Said lead CCR attorney Darius Charney, “We look forward to working with the communities directly affected on the streets every day to come up with solutions that protect the rights of all New Yorkers.” Said co-counsel Jonathan Moore of Beldock, Levine and Hoffman, “This agreement to drop the appeal in this case vindicates the findings by judge Scheindlin and provides the opportunity for the NYPD to reform policies and practices that the district court found unconstitutional. However, the agreement is only the beginning. All the parties have much work ahead to implement remedies that will bring meaningful change to the NYPD.”

Portland Seeks $7,116 From Occupier Who Sued Over Pepper Spray

January 26, 2014 Aimee Green, www.oregonlive.com Educate! Occupy, Police abuse

Liz Nichols is the Occupy Portland protester whose image became widely known for being blasted in the face with pepper spray by a Portland police officer in fall 2011. She sued the city for excessive force but lost after a four-day trial in August in U.S. District Court in Portland. She had sought $30,000, noting the excruciating pain of pepper spray in her eyes and throat -- and the ensuing nightmares, depression and worsening eczema. But the jury sided with Portland, and so the city was entitled to recover its costs of defending itself. Deputy city attorney David Landrum said he offered to drop the city's pursuit of costs if Nichols agreed to waive an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He called one of Nichols' attorneys with the offer. Nichols, 23, is a college student at Portland State University. At the time of her federal trial, she also was working as a janitor. Nichols decided to appeal. So the city sought its payback. On Oct. 18, federal judge Michael Mosman signed off on the $7,116 that Nichols now owes.

Largest Protest Settlement In History – Unlawful 2004 RNC Mass Arrest

January 16, 2014 Staff, www.nyclu.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse

New York City has agreed to pay nearly $18 million for the arrest, detention and fingerprinting of hundreds of protesters, journalists, legal observers and bystanders during the 2004 Republican National Convention – the largest protest settlement in history. The NYCLU filed the first cases following the Convention and has been central to the legal challenge to the NYPD’s actions. “No lawful protester should ever be treated like a criminal in New York City, or anywhere else in the United States,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “This historic settlement must serve as a reminder to New York City and government across the country that the right to protest is a fundamental pillar of a fair and functioning democracy. And it is the role of government and law enforcement to not only tolerate protest, but protect and defend it.” The 2004 RNC prompted hundreds of thousands of people to participate in lawful demonstrations in New York City. Despite the peaceful nature of the gatherings and the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to protest, the NYPD engaged in mass arrests, including of more than 1,800 protesters, bystanders, legal observers and journalists. The Department then fingerprinted everyone and held hundreds for more than 24 hours at a filthy, toxic pier that had been a bus depot.

Kelly Thomas’ Father Won’t Stop “Until We Get Justice”

January 15, 2014 Staff, www.latimes.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse

The father of Kelly Thomas told reporters Tuesday that he viewed a jury's decision to acquit two Fullerton police officers in the beating death of his son as one setback in a "prize fight" in which there are still "several rounds to go." Two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty Monday in the beating death that was captured on film, and charges against a third officer will be dropped. Ron Thomas, Kelly's father and a former sheriff's deputy, said at a news conference that the verdict was in no way the last word. “I look at this like a prize fight," he said. "It’s not over, we still have several rounds to go.” Thomas appeared at the news conference with attorney Garo Mardirossian, who said a civil case the family was planning to bring would expose another jury to far more testimony.

Meet The Ordinary Americans Who Exposed FBI Spying

January 14, 2014 Bill Boyarsky, www.truthdig.com Educate! Police abuse, Surveillance, Wars and Militarism, Whistleblowers

"“A nightmare was unfolding,” said Bonnie Raines, 72, her hair—long in her youth—cut short, her face pretty, clear and determined. “I took what was outrage and horror about what was going on and I realized I had to take it somewhere.” John Raines, handsome at 80, looked at her with love and pride as she spoke. “At one rally, I had one of my children on my back and not only did they take my picture, they took her picture,” she said.John Raines said, “We knew they were systematically trying to squash dissent and dissent is the lifeblood of democracy.”

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