Police abuse

Inspector Who Pepper-Sprayed Protesters Is Ordered to Appear Before Panel

November 28, 2013 Joseph Goldstein, www.nytimes.com Resist! Occupy, Police abuse

The police commander whose pepper spraying of several women sparked sharp criticism of theNew York Police Department’s response to the Occupy Wall Street protests has been ordered to appear before investigators and account for his actions, a state judge has ruled. The effect of the ruling is to reopen the disciplinary case against Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna more than two years after the pepper-spraying episode. The matter had appeared closed after the district attorney’s office in Manhattan decided against criminal charges and the Police Department concluded its internal inquiry by docking Inspector Bologna 10 vacation days. But in a decision issued Friday, Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court ordered that Inspector Bologna submit to an interview by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent city agency that investigates police misconduct. Inspector Bologna appeared before the review board in August but declined to answer any questions. Police officers are typically required to submit to interviews by the civilian complaint board. But Inspector Bologna’s position was that an 18-month time limit for initiating disciplinary proceedings against civil servants had already passed. Justice Lobis rejected that argument . . .

Activist Videos Border Patrol In Over 300 Searches

November 27, 2013 Tracy Oppenheimer, www.libertycrier.com Resist! Police abuse, Privacy, Surveillance, Video

“This is not increasing our security, in fact, it’s making us less secure. It’s just feeding an empire building, it’s feeding agency budgets, and job security for various law enforcement agencies,” says the University of Arizona’s Terry Bressi of in-country immigration checkpoints. Bressi sat down with ReasonTV’s Tracy Oppenheimer to discuss these checkpoints and their implications for civil liberties. Bressi estimates that he has been stopped by border patrol between 300-350 times. After his first encounter, he started carrying cameras and audio recording equipment, and has since been videotaping his checkpoint interactions. He says this holds officers accountable for their actions, and he hopes that by posting these videos online, citizens will become more aware of their rights. “A federal agent who is standing in the middle of a public highway, wearing a public uniform, collecting a public paycheck while seizing the public absent reasonable suspicion has no expectation of privacy,” says Bressi in regards to filming border patrol agents.

Woman Sues After Officer Sprays Her Vagina With Mace

November 26, 2013 Ryan Luby, www.kob.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse

A New Mexico woman claims she suffered for weeks after a Bernalillo County corrections officer strip-searched her and sprayed mace in her vagina. “It’s tantamount to torture,” Peter Simonson, the Executive Director of ACLU of New Mexico said in an interview with 4 On Your Side. The ACLU, on behalf of Marlene Tapia, filed a federal lawsuit this week two years after the alleged ordeal occurred -- two years after Tapia first contacted the organization. Simonson said civil rights cases are complicated to build, but that his staff filed the case within the two-year statute of limitations.

Anti-Austerity Cops Face Off Against Riot Police in Portugal

November 23, 2013 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org Resist! Austerity, Police abuse

Defending their pensions from the threat of ever-deepening austerity cuts, as many as ten thousand off-duty police officers and state security agents in Portugal found themselves on the other side of the barricades Thursday night as they faced down their on-duty colleagues in riot control gear. With a march through Lisbon that ended at the steps of parliament, the angry police and security union members broke through security fences, and even briefly occupied the entrance to Parliament before the night was over. The proposed cuts in public pensions are being demanded by the nation's creditors in exchange for a government bailout package received in 2011. As Agence France-Presse reports: Thousands of Portuguese police officers, paramilitary police and other security officers took to the streets of the capital to protest the government's latest austerity measures. Police in plain clothes massed outside parliament, where they broke through a security cordon to briefly occupy the steps leading up to the building.

Video Catches Constant Police Harassment At Convenience Store

November 23, 2013 Julie K. Brown, www.miamiherald.com Educate! Police abuse, Racism, Video

Earl Sampson has been stopped and questioned by Miami Gardens police 258 times in four years. He’s been searched more than 100 times. And arrested and jailed 56 times. Despite his long rap sheet, Sampson, 28, has never been convicted of anything more serious than possession of marijuana. Miami Gardens police have arrested Sampson 62 times for one offense: trespassing. Almost every citation was issued at the same place: the 207 Quickstop, a convenience store on 207th Street in Miami Gardens. But Sampson isn’t loitering. He works as a clerk at the Quickstop. So how can he be trespassing when he works there?

Meet Me at the Bill of Rights: America’s Common Ground

November 19, 2013 Rivera Sun, www.risingsundancetheater.com Strategize! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Police abuse

United we stand, divided we fall. The old adage appears to be the maxim of the elite: keep the populace divided and they will do the dirty work of subduing themselves. Keep the people fragmented and they will never be able to overthrow the elite. Keep the masses fighting over crumbs tossed from ivory towers and they will never seize the treasure troves that the wealthy horde. Throughout all of history, this is how the masses are controlled by the few. United we stand, divided we fall. Political leaders haul the old phrase out of storage to rally us to their causes, support their wars, and frighten us into obedience. They quickly stuff it out of sight, however, when people start to organize together. For beneath its common understanding as a warning, it also contains the formula for revolution. United we stand . . . many of us find it laughable to contemplate unity among the seemingly deeply polarized American people. Every conceivable bone of contention is tossed at us by the media. We are told that even the smallest political issue leads to shouting matches. Families don’t dare discuss politics at the dinner table. The pundits tell us that Americans could never come together . . . liberals and conservatives are oil and water. They don’t mix. And so, divided we fall, exactly as the powerful intended.

A Call For A Crowdsourced Worldwide Wave Of Action ~ #www

November 16, 2013 Resist! Corporatism, Democracy, Environment, Finance and the Economy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Occupy, Police abuse, Surveillance, Whistleblowers

Let's pick a three-month span, perhaps throughout this coming spring, and unite our collective actions into an unprecedented Worldwide Wave that cannot be ignored by anyone. Let's crowdsource a relentless global wave of action that protests the corrupt, while also rallying around and celebrating effective alternatives and solutions to the vast problems we are confronted by. Imagine thousands of nonviolent guerrilla armies swarming corrupt targets and rallying for viable solutions for a sustained three-month cycle. If we begin preparing now, a massive spring offensive can lead to a summer of transformation. Staying true to the vital nature of the movement, you lead, in your own way. Pick whatever issues concern you most and run with them, knowing that likeminded people throughout the world will also be fighting in solidarity, in whatever way they can, at the same time you are. This time the police state will not be able to crush us. We will not have stationary targets. We will be everywhere, fluid and evasive. The movement will be an unstoppable crowdsourced, decentralized and autonomous revolutionary force. We will engage in a diversity of nonviolent tactics, from large-scale mobilizations to small daily acts. Most of you already know the actions and tactics that are needed. Our ability to take part in civil disobedience is multiplied by our ability to easily record the actions on video and spread them throughout the Internet. By flooding social media with these inspiring videos, we will create a positive feedback loop that translates into more action on the ground. Radical change is urgently needed, so let's make transforming the world the cool thing to do. Let's create a culture of transformation. Let's blaze a contagious nonviolent wave of action through mass consciousness, signaling the end of the old world, ushering in a new paradigm. Now is the time.

Video: Police Recruiting Activist To Spy On Students & Political Groups

November 16, 2013 Rob Evans and Mustafa Khalili, www.theguardian.com Educate! Police abuse, Student Activism, Video, Youth

The police recruitment tactics described below are not unique to the UK, but would also not be unusual in the United States or many parts of the world. A police officer has been covertly filmed attempting to recruit an activist to spy on Cambridge university students and other campaigners. The activist secretly recorded this meeting with a police officer who had asked him to become an informant. Here, the officer names some of the proposed targets of the surveillance: students, environmentalists, anti-fascists and UK Uncut campaigners against tax avoidance by big business. We are not revealing the identities of the police officer and activist. A Cambridgeshire police spokesperson said: 'Officers use covert tactics to gather intelligence, in accordance with the law, to assist in the prevention and detection of criminal activity'

Jeremy Hammond Sentenced To Maximum Sentence, 10 Years

November 15, 2013 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Jeremy Hammond, Police abuse, Surveillance, Whistleblowers

Hammond at sentencing: "The acts of civil disobedience and direct action that I am being sentenced for today are in line with the principles of community and equality that have guided my life. I hacked into dozens of high profile corporations and government institutions, understanding very clearly that what I was doing was against the law, and that my actions could land me back in federal prison. But I felt that I had an obligation to use my skills to expose and confront injustice—and to bring the truth to light. Could I have achieved the same goals through legal means? I have tried everything from voting petitions to peaceful protest and have found that those in power do not want the truth to be exposed. When we speak truth to power we are ignored at best and brutally suppressed at worst. We are confronting a power structure that does not respect its own system of checks and balances, never mind the rights of it’s own citizens or the international community."

The Smartest People in Seattle Politics

November 14, 2013 Dominic Holden, Cienna Madrid, Anna Minard, Ansel Herz, Jen Graves and Paul Constant, www.thestranger.com Create! Education, Food and Agriculture, Housing, Occupy, Police abuse, Women's Rights

Having political smarts isn’t about brokering power. True political geniuses are bringing policy to the table and suturing it to the flesh and bones of our city. They’re working, usually behind the curtain, to change conversations about what’s possible. Seattle is wealthy. It’s educated. And the voters are liberal. We’ve got everything it takes to become a national model for building mass transit, closing achievement gaps in schools, innovating environmental policy, and treating everyone equitably. But way too often, the same cast of self-satisfied schmucks hogs the limelight while settling for a career of unmemorable civic housekeeping. For instance, the Seattle City Council lacks a vision for a citywide light-rail system while instead making noisy fanfare over largely inconsequential tweaks to the city budget.

A Veteran, Activist, And Teacher: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

November 12, 2013 ColHopkins, www.colbyhopkins.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse

David is a veteran who served his country, a teacher who serves his students, a son who cares for his elderly father, a father who works tirelessly to make a life for his children, and a citizen who only wants to utilize his rights and freedoms as an American. But he is still unable to return to work for 12-18 months because the DOE is appealing its case. Even though David had initially won, the witch-hunt against him continues. In a gross injustice by the NYC DOE, he has been presumed guilty until proven innocent over and over again. Now, being unable to work for almost two years, David is struggling to provide for his daughter and two-year-old son.

Anal Probe for a Traffic Stop?

November 10, 2013 Allison Frankel, www.aclu.org Educate! Police abuse

David Eckert was pulling out of a Wal-Mart parking lot when police officers pulled him over for failing to stop at a parking lot stop sign. Police ordered Eckert to step out of his vehicle, and that's when he committed the highly suspicious act of "clenching his buttocks." The officers' natural reaction? This man must be hiding narcotics in his anal cavity. Being pulled over for a minor traffic violation is never a pleasant experience, but these Deming, New Mexico police officers took it to an atrocious new level, forcing Mr. Eckert to undergo a colonoscopy, anal probes, and defecation in a search for drugs. Yes, you read that correctly: the War on Drugs is being waged on minor traffic violators with enemas and sedatives. After pulling Mr. Eckert over, officers obtained a search warrant for an anal cavity search and drove Eckert to a Deming hospital. In the one act of sanity in this insane saga, doctors at that hospital refused to conduct the search, saying it would be unethical. Undeterred by such ethical concerns, police then . . .

NYPD Chief Kelly To Go To JPMorgan?

November 10, 2013 Mark DeCambre and Beth DeFalco, nypost.com Educate! Finance and the Economy, Police abuse

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly who put in place racially abusive police practices like 'stop and frisk' and who worked closed with Wall Street to protect the interests of big finance rather than the constitutional rights of OWS, is now negotiating a job with JPMorgan. Kelly denies he is in negotiations, since that would be illegal, but the article below goes into detail about his likely seven figure salary and the areas he would be focusing on as the head of security for JPMorgan. The relationship between the megabank, which has recently admitted serious wrong-doing and is negotiating to pay the largest fine in history, with the NYPD during Kelly's tenure was very friendly. Indeed, the bank donated $4.6 million to NYPD. Kelly has in the past worked for the Wall Street firm, Bears Stearns, which failed in the 2008 economic collapse and was bought by JPMorgan at 7% of its value two days before the sale. The sale was funded by more than $50 billion in loans from the NY Fed to JPMorgan.

Mi’kmaq Warriors Jailed Before Trial Plead Not Guilty

November 10, 2013 Mi’kmaq Warrior Society, http://sacredfirenb.com Resist! Energy, Environment, Fracking, Indigenous Rights, Police abuse

Three members of the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society, held in custody since the day of the violent raid by RCMP officers on a peaceful anti-shale gas encampment, plead not guilty in the New Brunswick Provincial Courthouse on Friday Nov 8th. Aaron Francis, Germaine “Junior” Breau and Coady Stevens have now been held in custody for three weeks, currently at the Southeastern Correctional Centre, with no date for trial set at this time. Alison Menard, the lawyer who is representing the three Warriors in court says “We would like to see them get their trial dates as quickly as possible, as they have been remanded without a trial.” The three young men have been refused access to phones and visits, and some have even been assaulted by corrections officers in custody. “I know these men are not guilty of the charges being laid here by the Crown.” states Annie Clair, who is Junior’s mother and was also present the day of the raid, “They are peaceful men with good hearts. Thanks to everyone who has continued to give us the support we’ve needed.”

Greek Police Raid Occupied And Worker-Run TV Station

November 8, 2013 Jerome Roos, www.roarmag.org Resist! Media, Police abuse

Just before dawn this morning, at 4am, eight squads of riot police stormed the headquarters of Greece’s former public broadcaster ERT in Athens. The station had been occupied by its workers since June this year, following an unprecedented presidential decree that effectively shut down the former state broadcaster overnight. The government order triggered mass protests and prompted the station’s 2.600 employees, who were set to lose their jobs from one day to the next, to defy state orders and resume broadcasting under workers’ control. When riot police assaulted and shut down the station’s transmission antennas, the workers continued broadcasting online.

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