Police abuse

Oakland To Pay $654,000 To Vet Injured In Occupy Protests

December 13, 2013 Matthew Artz, www.oaklandtribune.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Occupy, Police abuse

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to pay $645,000 to settle the claim from an Iraq War veteran who was beaten by a police officer during an Occupy Oakland protest two years ago. The settlement with Kayvan Sabeghi, who suffered a ruptured spleen, is the largest awarded so far to anyone injured during a string of Occupy Oakland protests in late 2011 and early 2012. In July, the city agreed to pay $1.17 million to resolve 12 Occupy-related claims -- including that of Scott Campbell, who filmed a police officer shooting him in the leg with a lead beanbag. An officer then confronted him, yelling, "Get out of here!" When Sabeghi continued to hold his ground, the officer began beating him with his baton. Sabeghi was arrested and taken to jail before being taken to Highland Hospital. Oakland's legal bill from its handling of the 2011 Occupy protests should continue to grow. The case of Scott Olsen, a Marine veteran struck in the head and seriously injured by a less-than-lethal projectile, has not yet been settled.

Police Violence Won’t Stop Alliance Of Students And Workers

December 12, 2013 Laurie Penny, www.theguardian.com Resist! Police abuse, Student Activism, Worker Rights and Jobs, Youth

It's kicking off on campus again. Almost three years since nationwide college occupations, marches and strikes against tuition fee rises led to the first wave of crackdowns on student protest, undergraduates are mobilising, and meeting unprecedented retaliation. Last week in Bloomsbury, central London, students organising for fair wages for workers at their institutions said they were beaten bloody. There were mass arrests, and the sort of court injunctions banning all further protest that wouldn't be tolerated in any country that valued freedom of speech. "We are facing a concerted attempt to silence a nascent student movement before it gets off the ground," said Michael Chessum, president of the University of London union. However, despite the clampdown on protest, students, lecturers, service workers and their allies are planning to rally in their thousands tomorrow afternoon.

Police To Pay OWS Protester $82,000 For Beating

December 10, 2013 Daniel Beekman, www.nydailynews.com Resist! Occupy, Police abuse

The city will pay out an $82,500 settlement to an Occupy Wall Street activist who claims police beat him up and arrested him three times - the last instance booking him on a years-old public urination warrant for someone else, the Daily News has learned. Shawn Schrader, 24, said the beatdowns left him with a bleeding ear, a hurt thumb and nightmares about cops. "I settled my lawsuit because the police lawyers made it clear they would fight me tooth and nail on every claim," Schrader told The News. All charges against Schrader stemming from the three arrests were dropped. In the final arrest, on May 2012, Schrader claims intelligence officers used the urination warrant as a bogus excuse to suppress his free speech, interrogate him and throw a monkey wrench in the May Day protests he was helping to coordinate. He said an officer made his ear bleed, and growled, "Are you Occupy Wall Street people going to come back and demonstrate? Are you punks going to come back and keep showing up? Because every time you guys come back we're going to kick your asses."

London’s Biggest University Bans Student Protests

December 10, 2013 Staff, www.channel4.com Resist! Police abuse, Student Activism, Youth

The University of London - a body representing London universities including University College London, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Birkbeck and the London School of Economics - has banned protests on its campus for the next six months. Students who hold sit-in protests in an area in Holborn, central London, including the Senate House, the student union building, and the buildings of SOAS and Birkbeck, can be imprisoned. The president of the University of London student union, Michael Chessum, told Channel 4 News it was a "draconian" reaction and "a sign that the university had lost the argument". The court order obtained on the 4 December by the University of London bans "occupational protest" in the area for the next six months. Anyone breaching the order can be charged with contempt of court.

How The FBI Conspired To Destroy The Black Panther Party

December 9, 2013 G. Flint Taylor, www.inthesetimes.com Educate! Black Panthers, FBI, Police abuse, Racism

The FBI had, in fact, played a central role in the assassinations, and Hanrahan’s initial lies were only the top layer of what proved to be a massive cover-up. On Dec. 4, it will have been 44 years since a select unit of 14 Chicago police officers, under the direction of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan, executed a predawn raid on a West Side apartment that left Illinois Black Panther Party (BPP) leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark dead, several other young Panthers wounded and seven raid survivors arrested on bogus attempted murder charges. Though Hanrahan and his men claimed there had been a shootout that morning, physical evidence eventually proved that in reality, the Panthers had only fired a single shot in response to approximately 90 from the police. In the wake of the raid, Illinois BPP Minister of Defense Bobby Rush stood on the steps of the bullet-riddled BPP apartment and declared that J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were responsible for the raid. At the time, Rush had no hard proof to back up his claims. Over the course of the next eight years, however, activists and lawyers, myself included, would eventually discover the truth: The FBI had, in fact, played a central role in the assassinations, and Hanrahan’s initial lies were only the top layer of what proved to be a massive cover-up.

The NSA Is The Modern Stasi Evidence Of US Security State

December 8, 2013 Jack Dean, www.theoccupiedtimes.org Educate! NSA, Police abuse

‘The Stasi had a file on everybody’ was once a common trope used to favourably compare the ‘free’ West to oppressive Soviet societies. It has since become an emblem of the threat to privacy that an overreaching security state will embody. When Edward Snowden exposed the surveillance apparatus maintained by the US and its partners, it made the Stasi look like rank amateurs. East German spies had only managed to fill filing cabinets in one small office building in Berlin. The amount of floorspace required to hold the NSA data (if stored in like-for-like printed files) would cover mainland Europe. News cycles obscure history, creating isolated media ‘events’ from which our reactions can be guided for carefully designated periods of time. The most advanced and, let’s remember, ongoing system of surveillance in history becomes forgotten, only to be referenced in an occasional throwaway final sentence whenever an article about US relations is published. The proliferation of surveillance has operated in tandem with technological development.

Ukraine: From EU Deal To Revolution, The First Three Days.

December 7, 2013 Mychailo Wynnyckyj, www.evolution-news.com Resist! Europe, Police abuse, Ukraine

Events in Kyiv are evolving VERY quickly. Last week, mass protests in Ukraine represented an attempt to pressure President Yanukovych to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. After Saturday’s early morning attack by riot police on protestors camped in Independence Square, a paradigm shift occurred: this is not about Europe anymore. People on Ukraine’s streets are no longer calling for EU integration – or if they are, this is now a peripheral demand. Ukrainians now simply want a change of government. The word “revolution” – chanted by demonstrators – seems to sound increasingly believable. I note this because Ukrainians living abroad are gathering today (Sunday December 1) in many world capitals to demonstrate their support for Ukraine’s eurointegration. I suspect many EU leaders also believe this issue is still salient to Ukraine – indeed this was the message from two Polish speakers (including former PM Yaroslav Kachinsky) on Independence Square today. However, to the people on the streets of Kyiv, European integration is an issue that a NEW government will have to turn to – eventually. Right now, they (we) are demonstrating because they have lost all faith in their current government – a government that dared to savagely beat defenseless students in the dead of night.

Police Kill Protesters In Turkey Hundreds Of Thousands Mourn In Streets

December 7, 2013 Staff, www.en.firatajans.com http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/police-killed-two-people-in-yuksekova-flash.htm Resist! Police abuse, Türkiye

Thousands staged a march in Hakkari's Yüksekova district on Friday evening to protest against the ongoing attacks on the cemetery of eight HPG (People's Defense Forces) guerrillas in the Orman neighborhood. Among the demonstrators were also BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) executives, mayors, activists of Peace Mothers Initiative, MEYADER, TUHAD-FED, KURDÎ-DER and Gever Culture and Art Centre. Police attacked the mass without any warning, using rubber bullets and intense tear gas, and pressure water. Clashes erupted as youths responded to the police attack. Two people, Reşit İşbilir (35) and Veysel İşbilir (34), were killed as police opened fire on demonstrators. Two men are said to be industrial workers. Witnesses speaking to DIHA (Dicle News Agency) said Reşit İşbilir was hit by two bullets, one on the heart and the other on the right hand. People rushed to Yüksekova state hospital after bodies were taken there. Special operation teams surrounded the hospital with armored vehicles and blocked the relatives of the casualties. Police teams also threw tear gas canisters into the hospital, and broke the windows and doors with their guns.

De Blasio’s New NYPD Commissioner Would Have Crushed OWS

December 6, 2013 John Del Signore, www.gothamist.com Educate! De Blasio, Police abuse, Racism

Capital New York reports that incoming NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, known for his "broken windows" approach to law enforcement during the Giuliani administration, told a former New York City official that if he were commissioner during Occupy Wall Street he would have "cleared them out right away." And during a speech in Manhattan last year, Bratton bluntly stated that "You can't allow people to occupy public space." Bill de Blasio's transition team did not respond to our request for comment on Bratton's Occupy Wall Street remarks. But it's not just Occupy Wall Street supporters who may be disappointed by our new commissioner's fascist disregard for the Constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Although the NYCLU tentatively embraced de Blasio's choice for commissioner yesterday, Bratton has been an enthusiastic supporter of the controversial stop-and-frisk tactic. In an interview with the New Yorker earlier this year, Bratton "emphatically endorsed" stop-and-frisk.

Mexico: One Year Anniversary Of President Marked With Protests

December 4, 2013 Staff, www.revolution-news.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Human Rights, Police abuse

This 1st day of December 2013 celebrated the one year anniversary of President Enrique Peña Nieto and one of the reasons that many unhappy citizens with this victory, as well as many of us don’t support the energy and economic reforms again took to the streets to demonstrate peacefully. However through different twitter accounts we can see that it was not so peaceful. The people said that the arrests were arbitrary and were even undercover cops and that while some leaked members were damaging public property the police of the city stopped only girls.

Call For Aid, Solidarity With Anti-Frackers In Romania

December 4, 2013 Mort, www.beforeitsnews.com Resist! Corporatism, Energy, Environment, Fracking, Government, Police abuse

After facing strong opposition from local community and from a strong national movement of support, Chevron had to scale down activities in Pungesti. Until last night, when the assault started at 5 AM! Police and CHEVRON joined forces to dismantle the local resistance group camped right on the field where Chevron plans to explore for shale gas. After 2 months of resistance, 40 people were beaten, arrested on their own land and taken to the nearest town for further investigations. The Spokesperson from the Jandarmerie cannot be reached, the media does not have access at the site, and the road to Pungesti is blocked by Chevron equipment and Police intervention cars. Children cannot go to school at this point. The road is also blocked for anyone else, the villagers cannot go to work, the press is kept kilometers away from Pungesti.

40th Anniversary Of The Murder Of Fred Hampton

December 4, 2013 Mike Gray, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Movies, Police abuse, Racism, Video

Mike Gray one of the people who made the film below, The Murder of Fred Hampton, was someone I worked closely with for many years on ending the war on drugs. He was a writer, documentary filmmaker and activist, sadly he died this year, but his work lives on. We discussed Fred Hampton and his murder multiple times. He explained what made Hampton so powerful, so scary to power structure. It was the sense you got when you were near him, Mike said, you felt he was not compromised, he stood and said 'this is my space and the truth will be heard. I will stand up to the power structure without fear.' KZ The Murder of Fred Hampton began as a film portrait of Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party, but half way through the shoot, Hampton was murdered by Chicago policeman. In an infamous moment in Chicago history and politics, over a dozen policeman burst into Hampton's apartment while its occupants were sleeping, killing Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark and brutalizing the other occupants.

Driving While Black,” Now “Waiting While Black”

December 2, 2013 Neetzan Zimmerman, www.gawker.co Educate! Police abuse, Racism, Student Activism, Youth

A police officer arrested three teens last week as they were standing outside a store in downtown Rochester, New York. Their crime: Waiting for a school bus. The three boys — Raliek Redd, 16, Deaquon Carelock, 16, and Wan'Tauhjs Weathers, 17 — are star athletes at Edison Tech high school, and were waiting to be taken to a basketball game when they were spotted by an officer. It seems the store adjacent to their pick-up spot was being monitored by police due to past complaints from the owner of teens loitering outside. The officer asked the teens to disperse, but they explained that they were waiting to be picked up by a bus. The officer again asked the teens to disperse. "We tried to tell them that we were waiting for the bus," Wan'Tauhjs told WHEC. "We weren't catching a city bus, we were catching a yellow bus. He didn't care. He arrested us anyways." While they were being handcuffed, their coach, Jacob Scott, arrived at the scene and attempted to reason with the cop. "He goes on to say, 'If you don't disperse, you're going to get booked as well," Scott recalled. "I said, 'Sir, I'm the adult. I'm their varsity basketball coach. How can you book me? What am I doing wrong? Matter of fact, what are these guys doing wrong?'"

Video: Amber Lyon On Peace, Love and Pepper Spray

December 2, 2013 AbMartin, amberlyonlive.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Media, Occupy, Police abuse, Video

Abby Martin Interviews Amber Lyon on the US protest movement, the security state and corporate media; and her next project the healing of psychedelic drugs. Amber Lyon is a three-time Emmy Award- winning author, journalist, filmmaker, and photographer obsessed with hackers, human and animal rights, and revolutions. She is the founder of the investigative news site Muckraker.com. Lyon has a passion for exposing human rights violations against protesters during revolutions. For her documentary, ‘iRevolution’, Lyon examines social media’s critical role in galvanizing the revolutions and exposing human rights abuse in Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain. ‘iRevolution’ won a 2012 New York Festivals International Television and Film Gold World Medal Award and Lyon was nominated as a Livingston Award Finalist for the documentary. Lyon continues to investigate ongoing cases of excessive use of police force against journalists and protesters in the United States. Lyon was crushed underneath a crowd in Chicago, directly shot at with less lethal weapons in Anaheim, and forced to inhale pepper spray more times than she can count, all while using submersion journalism to photo-document protesters in the U.S. for an upcoming photo book set to be distributed in major retailers nationwide in the fall of 2013.

Justice Coalition for Police-Killed Teenager Andy Lopez Founded

December 1, 2013 Shepherd Bliss, www.portside.org Organize! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse, Racism

A new, powerful coalition of Latino, social justice, green, progressive Democrats, student, civil liberties, peace, and other groups has emerged in Sonoma County, California. The killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by sheriff's deputy Erick Gelhaus on October 22 unites them. Over forty members of diverse groups met--many who had never been in a room together--on November 19 to strategize about how to keep the strong momentum going in response to the slaying of Lopez. Many of those who spoke identified themselves as mothers or fathers, who felt the pain of the parents whose son was taken from them. Lopez was killed while walking near his home with a toy rifle. This slaying has gotten regular front-page coverage locally and has been widely reported around the United States and internationally.

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