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Police abuse

Mi’kmaq Warriors Jailed Before Trial Plead Not Guilty

November 10, 2013 Mi’kmaq Warrior Society, http://sacredfirenb.com , , , ,
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 ,
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.

Police Violence: Cops on Steroids

November 8, 2013 Sabrina Rubin Erdely, www.menshealth.com ,
Just call them Juicers in Blue. With their rippling physiques and flair for battling bad guys, they call to mind a flesh-and-blood Justice League--or at least a casting call for a Van Damme movie. And these three men are hardly isolated examples. Cops have long been a hush-hush subset of anabolic steroid users, says Pennsylvania State University sports-science professor Charles Yesalis, Sc.D., author of The Steroids Game. "Most of the police officers I've known who have used these drugs consider them a tool of the trade." The phenomenon cuts across the country: In recent years, cops in nine states have been accused of steroid-related crimes. Like the four Norman, Oklahoma, police officers whose steroiduse was uncovered during a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation last fall, and who were fired. Or the Tampa, Florida, cop who gave a drug dealer a thousand Ecstasy tablets from a police-impounded car in exchange for steroids and was sentenced to 2 years in 2003. Or the Pennsylvania officer who in 2002 pleaded guilty to steroid possession--and to selling 'roids to two other cops.

CA Police Brutality Coalition Calls Andy Lopez Killing ‘Police Terrorism’

November 7, 2013 Christina Arechiga, www.popularresistance.org
A statewide police brutality organization charged that it was more than ironic that on October 22 – the same day that thousands of people were protesting "police terror" across the country and at the State Capitol in Sacramento – a Santa Rosa Sheriff's Deputy gunned down 13-year-old Andy Lopez here. "We are heartbroken and outraged that Andy Lopez was murdered by Erick Gelhaus of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department. We demand police terror on American citizens stop immediately. We demand Justice for Andy Lopez, his family and his community," said Christina Arechiga of the CA Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality.

Suing The Undercover Boyfriend Cop

November 7, 2013 Melissa Thompson, www.mirror.co.uk/
Smiling into the camera’s lens, Helen Steel and John Barker look like the perfect happy couple. But now when Helen sees the holiday snap it fills her with feelings of anger and betrayal. Because though John told her he loved her and wanted to grow old with her, he was in fact an undercover policeman who spied on her friends and disappeared as soon as his mission was over. “For years I’d look at that photo and think how blissfully happy together we seemed,” says Helen. “But now I see me as young and naïve, and him in a position of power knowing he’s going to disappear from my life very soon leaving me completely bereft.” "We talked lots about having children – he said he was an only child and wanted a big family.” Helen was an anti-capitalism activist when John came into her life in 1987. He worked for the Met Police’s Special Demonstration Squad but posed as a like-minded individual to gather intelligence on her and her friends.

Police Killing Of Teenager Andy Lopez Ignites Latino Community & Youth

November 7, 2013 Shepherd Bliss, www.alternet.org ,
The killing of 13 year old Andy Lopez has outraged Latinos and the broader community here of 160,000, located in California's wine country one hour north of San Francisco, where thousands — many of them teenagers in middle school like Lopez — have streamed into the streets in recent days calling for new police laws and the swift punishment of officer Erick Gelhaus, an Iraq war veteran and former sergeant who was a known advocate of using deadly force in conflict situations. Gelhaus was on a routine patrol through Southwest Santa Rosa's predominantly Latino neighborhood on Tuesday, October 22, when he saw Lopez carrying what he believed to be an AK-47. After phoning in a "suspicious person report," Gelhaus ordered Lopez to turn around but within seconds, before the boy had a chance to react, Gelhaus shot him with seven rounds, including one in his buttocks. The second deputy traveling with Gelhaus, who never fired a shot, said he didn't even have time to get out of the vehicle before the boy lay fatally wounded on the ground.

Obama Administration Approves Pro-Murder Border Patrol Policy

November 6, 2013 Staff, www.bnhr.org , ,
Southern New Mexico. Today’s decision of the Obama Administration to disregard and ignore the calls and recommendations to change Border Patrol’s protocols in the use of lethal force against unarmed immigrants and border residents is irresponsible and reprehensible. The announcement of the Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher represents a major regression in the attempt to make border enforcement personnel accountable and opens the door for more incidents of institutional violence at the border and against immigrant families. The Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) condemns this reckless decision of the Administration that fails to bring justice for those who have lost their lives due to wrongful shootings of Border Patrol agents.

Baltimore Families Speak Out Against Police Brutality

November 3, 2013 Baltimore BLOC, www.youtube.com , , , ,
Baltimore Families United Against Police Brutality attend the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus Town Hall meeting on "The State of Black Maryland" Twenty-seven anti-police brutality activists attended the meeting, which included the mother of Christopher Brown, ex-boyfriend of George Booker Wells III, sixteen family members of Tyrone West, and a man who was beaten by some of the same officers involved in the death of West. After the moderator, Delman Coates, the Senior Pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church, neglected to call on any family members who wanted to ask the panel questions, members began speaking out demanding that their concerns be heard. Four different family members made statements, and in response to each the Coates simply guided the discussion elsewhere, as to avoid any meaningful response from the panel.

Moms for Marijuana: Time to End the War on Families

November 3, 2013 Mercedys McNight, www.ladybud.com , ,
There are many more heartbreaking stories of children being torn from their families, their lives dragged through the hell of the family law court system, and some even lost to their families forever through forced adoption, all because family protection agencies, court systems, and specialists refuse to realize that marijuana is not dangerous and does not present the immediate harm required by law to remove a child from their family. The most heartbreaking consequence of these situations is that children are being thrown into the homes of strangers, away from everyone and everything they know and love. Immediate harm is required by law to remove a child from his or her home. The science and toxicology of cannabis have proven that cannabis is NOT harmful. But surely, ripping families apart is. This will not change on its own. It is time for us to stand together and demand change of these archaic, inhumane, and destructive policies. Numerous chapters of Moms for Marijuana International and several other local cannabis activist groups have coordinated rallies to protest against CPS involvement in the lives of cannabis consumers and demand the return of these babies to their parents. Coordinated rallies are scheduled for November 12, 2013

Millie And The Lords

November 2, 2013 Staff, www.millieandthelords.com , ,
Have you ever looked around at the world and said “This isn’t right”? Have you ever passionately longed for a way to change the world? The Young Lords did!!! This is the story of Milagros Baez, a Puerto Rican woman in Spanish Harlem who longs for a different life. A life where she is loved, respected and valued. A life where she does not see suffering in her community. A life where Blacks , Latinos, and Whites have equal access to society’s resources, and are not stopped and frisked by police without reasonable cause for suspicion. But for Millie, a world like that seems impossible. With no one to believe in her, Millie doesn’t even believe in herself. She spends her days and nights as a cashier at a local grocery market. An avid reader, Millie fantasizes about going to college and becoming a writer. But in her world, this is not a realistic goal. With no one on her side, she is resigned to living in the projects of El Barrio and working as a cashier for the rest of her life. But when Millie meets Mateo, a former Young Lord, her life is transformed.

Appeals Court Allows Stop And Frisk; Removes Judge

October 31, 2013 Joseph Ax, www.reuters.com , ,
A U.S. appeals court froze court-ordered reforms to the New York City Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisk program and removed the judge who found the police tactic unconstitutional because she "ran afoul" of the judicial code of conduct. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling was at least a temporary victory for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NYPD, who have argued that stopping, questioning and frisking suspicious people has led to a steep decline in crime rates. The three-judge panel said its ruling should have no impact on the merits of the case, but was a rebuke of Scheindlin, who became a hero of civil rights and civil liberties groups when, in August, she struck down parts of stop-and-frisk. The court's removal of U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin from the case was an exceedingly rare action and an indication of how displeased the judges were with her.

Oakland Police Give Surveillance Footage of Protest to Activst’s Employer, Gets Him Fired

October 31, 2013 sosadmin, www.privacysos.org ,
It appears as if the police used surveillance camera footage paired with records in private and public databases to identify the activist and find out where he works. The police then allegedly called his employer and notified them that, while the activist said he had been sick, he was really out at a protest confronting the police. He was subsequently fired. The protest the activist attended was a rally in opposition to Oakland’s hosting of regional, DHS-funded ‘Urban Shield’ exercises. These are paramilitary style disaster response trainings that occur nationwide thanks to funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Thousands of law enforcement officials participated in Oakland’s Urban Shield operation this year.

(De)Occupy Protesters In Hawaii Receive Jail Time

October 30, 2013 Staff, www.kitv.com , , , ,
Two (de)Occupy protestors were sentenced to prison on Monday. They were found guilty of obstructing government operations after refusing to move when city crews were citing and removing tents from the sidewalk at Thomas Square. If Catherine "Sugar" Russell is feeling remorse for obstructing government operations, she didn't show it. Neither did Blade Walsh. But, both face time in jail for their actions while the city was removing tents and other items from sidewalks. "My father would be proud to have me protecting people," said Russell. "He instilled integrity, charity and standing up for those who need help. I am pono. Blade is pono. Madori is pono and (de)Occupy Honolulu is pono." Russell describes herself as a "protesting houseless advocate."

Banksy Remixed To Protest Cops’ Alleged Role In Motorcycle Rampage Assault

October 30, 2013 John D, el Signore, By, www.gothamist.com ,
This piece is located on the corner of 178th St and St Nick's, where Alexis Lien was beaten by a group of motorcyclists, one of whom was an undercover cop that spied on Occupy Wall Street Protestors. This is the first piece in Banksy's New York residency where he has altered one of his previous works, the Protestor, depicting him as the under cover cop who smashed Alexis Lien's window. He seems to be saying that your typical violent protestor, is probably a cop. The gang of motorcyclist is replaced by scooter cops, notorious for harrassing peaceful critical mass bike rides, looks on smilingly, fully supportive of this violent behavior This particular piece seems to be commenting on the NYPDs active roll in traffic violence, which kills more than 250 New Yorkers every year. When undercover police officers take up helmets and smash windshields and off-duty cops drive drunk and kill pedestrians on sidewalks, it should be no surprise that they show up to the scene of children being run over by reckless drivers and declare No Criminality Suspected.

NY Top Cop Ray Kelly Booed From Brown Univ. Stage

October 30, 2013 Staff, www.providencejournal.com ,
New York's police commissioner Raymond Kelly was booed off the stage at Brown University and did not get to speak Tuesday afternoon. Kelly was to deliver a lecture Tuesday at Brown on "proactive policing." Kelly was to discuss his time as head of the New York Police Department and his efforts to drive down crime in a lecture called "Proactive Policing in America's Biggest City" on Tuesday afternoon. Before the lecture, some students and social justice activists marched, carrying signs that stated "Stop & frisk doesn't stop crime" and "Stop police brutality," to protest the Kelly's police department's stop-and-frisk policy and its surveillance of Muslims.
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