Police abuse

Armed Cops Raid Reporter’s Home, Seize Files

October 28, 2013 Lisa Simeone, www.abombazine.com Educate! Civil Rights, Police abuse

Armed agents bashing down your door before dawn, while you're still asleep in bed or in the shower or on the toilet, pointing guns at you and screaming, scaring the shit out of you and your children, and often, one of their favorites, shooting your family pet? And sometimes, for good measure, raiding the wrong house? Where does this happen? And how often? In the USA. Every day. Every day. Over 100 times every day. Don't believe it? Then you don't know what's going on in your own country. Maybe you should watch something other than American Idol or Homeland or MSFuckingNBC and read something more than just emails from MoveOn or your Fearless Leader who sits in the White House.

An Occupy Activist’s New Cause: Drug Raids And Police Abuse

October 28, 2013 Radley Balko, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Drug Policy, Occupy, Police abuse

Two men with different approaches to both politics and activism are leading Utah's police reform movement. Connor Boyack is the libertarian pragmatist, the negotiator and the policy wonk. Jesse Fruhwirth is the far-left idealist, the sign-toting activist and the revolutionary. It was Fruhwirth who organized a rally against police brutality at the Utah state capitol in March, and another in support of Matthew David Stewart in Ogden in April. Stewart, an Army veteran, was awaiting trial on murder charges, after a botched raid on his house to serve a drug warrant ended in the death of a police officer.

Pack The Court Tuesday In NYC: Oral Argument Stop & Frisk

October 28, 2013 Vincent Warren, ccrjustice.org Resist! Police abuse, Racism

Pack the court on Tuesday, October 29, at 11 a.m. for oral argument in Floyd, et al. v. City of New York Oral argument will be held in the successful challenge brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, along with co-counsel Beldock, Levine & Hoffman, LLP and Covington & Burling, LLP, to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) stop and frisk practices. Floyd was brought on behalf of the millions of New Yorkers illegally stopped and frisked by the NYPD over the past eight years and was the first – and largest – federal class action lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s stop and frisk practices. In August, District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ordered a sweeping reform process after she found that the NYPD has engaged in a widespread practice of unconstitutional and racially discriminatory stops and frisks. Later that month, the Mayor and the City appealed her decision and filed a motion to stay the reform process, which Judge Scheindlin rejected. Now the Mayor and the City have filed a motion for a stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Protests For Justice In Killing Of Andy Lopez By Sonoma County Sheriffs

October 27, 2013 Eyder Peralta, www.npr.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse

For the third day in a row, hundreds of demonstrators took the streets of Santa Rosa, Calif. to protest the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy. As The San Francisco Chronicle reports, Andy Lopez was walking to a friend’s house on Tuesday to return a toy rifle. When police encountered him, they mistook the toy rifle for an AK-47 assault rifle. “By lunchtime, the line of demonstrators stretched for two blocks as they made their way north on Mendocino Avenue to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, about three miles away. “‘We are here to support the family and to show Andy we are going to get justice for him,’ said Maria Arreguin, a ninth grade Elsie Allen student who had known Lopez since second grade. “She said the deputies responsible ‘deserve to get fired and be in jail.’ “One demonstrator had sign reading, ‘A badge is not a license to kill.’”

From Gandhi To Occupy: The Story Of Peaceful Protest

October 27, 2013 Jamie Merrill, www.independent.co.uk Strategize! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Occupy, Police abuse, Video

From battles to end racial segregation to local struggles to protect rare habitats, the captive crew of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise is following in a rich tradition of peaceful protest. But according to one of Britain’s foremost experts in civil disobedience, the nature of protest is changing. David Mead of the University of East Anglia’s Law School said that over the past 30 years there has been a radical shift towards protest and campaigns aimed at rogue corporations, not governments. “The mass protest march isn’t quite dead, but it’s very much secondary,” said the author of The New Law of Peaceful Protest. “Instead, protesters are more likely to engage with particular groups or organisations they dislike, whether they are polluting firms, oil companies or arms manufacturers.” Brian Fitzgerald, the head of mobilisation at Greenpeace International, agreed. “Corporations can be more responsive to pressure than many governments. Brent Spar and the campaign against Shell in the 1990s was a great early example of this. It was Shell that buckled over sinking the Brent Spar oil rig in the North Sea, not the UK government.

New York Communities Mobilize Against Police Brutality

October 27, 2013 By Resist! Police abuse

Rallies against policy brutality were held throughout 30 U.S. cities last Tuesday, according to the event organizers. Recent victims of policy brutality in New York City included 37-year-old Kyam Livingston from the West Indian neighborhood of Flatbush, who died in a Brooklyn jail cell in July after complaining about stomach pains for several hours without receiving medical attention. “Time and time again, police brutalize and kill people and continue to walk away. So that creates a climate where brutality is okay, and it's accepted and it's covered up,” said Daniel “Majesty” Sanchez, an activist and hip-hop artist who hosted a know-your-rights workshop at Tuesday’s rally in NYC.

VIDEO: Lee Camp “Are Local Police Preparing For War?”

October 26, 2013 Lee Camp, www.youtube.com Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse, Wars and Militarism

SWAT team use has increased 1,500% in the past 20 years, and military equipment is now being bought up by local authorities to the tune of over $500 million a year. America's streets are looking more and more like a war zone. Last week, in a small county in upstate New York with a population of roughly 120,000 people, county legislators approved the receipt of a 20-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, donated by the US Defense Department to the county sheriff. Between the Armored Personnel Carriers locking down main streets in major American cities – mimicking our MRAPs in Afghanistan – or Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) and Special Forces units canvassing our country, if we're not careful, this militarization of our domestic policing will make-over America, and fast.

Oakland Protests “Urban Shield” Convention; 2nd Anniversary Of Eviction

October 26, 2013 Staff, www.contracostatimes.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Occupy, Police abuse, Video

The second anniversary of the eviction of Occupy Oakland was remembered on the same day as protesters marched through Oakland opposing the urban policing convention 'Urban Shield.' About 100 protesters gathered Friday evening at Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland to commemorate the second anniversary of the eviction of the Occupy Oakland encampment from the plaza and the police crackdown on the subsequent protest. Those gathered spoke out against police violence, whacked a pig-shaped piñata and dined on roasted pig. Many people marched to the rally from the downtown Oakland Marriott, where they had protested all day outside the Urban Shield 2013 conference, where vendors were pitching weapons and equipment to law enforcement agencies gathered for a three-day training exercise.

Marissa Alexander Still In Jail, Re-Prosecution Likely

October 25, 2013 Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Police abuse, Racism

Marissa is still incarcerated. Prosecutors Rich Mantei and David Thompson told reporters that Alexander would be returned to jail for the retrial and, as before, would have no possibility of bond. “The opinion doesn’t say anything about the facts of the case,” Thompson said. “We’re going to make pretty much the same argument, because the facts haven’t changed.” On the morning of Friday, November 1, a status hearing will take place where the state will either drop the case or set dates for moving ahead with a re-trial. Supporters of Marissa are asking that letters, faxes, and calls be made to Prosecutor Angela Corey asking that she drop the case.

ACLU Asks DoJ To Investigate New York City Police

October 25, 2013 Michael Doyle, www.mcclatchydc.com Resist! Police abuse, Racism

The American Civil Liberties Union and some 120 other organizations on Thursday formally asked the Justice Department to investigate the New York City Police Department for alleged civil rights abuses. The civil rights, faith, community, and advocacy groups are urging DoJ's Civil Rights Division to probe what the critics are calling NYPD's "discriminatory surveillance of American Muslim communities." The letter states: "As shown by the NYPD’s own documents, for over a decade, the Department has engaged in unlawful religious profiling and suspicionless surveillance of Muslims in New York City (and beyond). This surveillance is based on the false and unconstitutional premise, reflected in the NYPD’s published “radicalization” theory, that Muslim religious belief, practices, and community engagement are grounds for law enforcement scrutiny."

UC Pepper Spray Cop Gets $38K In Worker’s Comp

October 23, 2013 Joe Garofoli, www.sfgate.com Educate! Police abuse

Former police Lt. John Pike, who gained a degree of infamy for his role in the incident, was awarded the settlement Oct. 16 by the state Division of Workers Compensation Appeals Board. The claim "resolves all claims of psychiatric injury specific or due to continuous trauma from applicant's employment at UC Davis." The incident that resulted in the $38,059 settlement happened Nov. 18, 2011, on the UC Davis quad during a demonstration opposing tuition increases. On the widely circulated video, Pike is seen dousing protesters for about 15 seconds with orange pepper spray. Pike was suspended with pay afterward. According to a database of state worker salaries, he earned $110,243 in 2010, the last year for which figures are available. Pike received more than 17,000 angry or threatening e-mails, 10,000 text messages and hundreds of letters after the video went viral, according to the police union.

Banksy Arrested By New York Police?

October 23, 2013 Michelle Young, untappedcities.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Police abuse

A few days ago we published an article, Bloomberg Threatens Banksy With Arrest For Public Art, that described how Mayor Bloomberg had spoken out against Banky's public art and approved the use of police force against his "Better Out Than In" artists residency in New York. We also included a photo array of some of Banky's iconic art work. Today, as reported below, a notice was put up his website saying that the exhibit for the day had been cancelled due to police activity. The report below indicates that Banksy and two of his colleagues may have been arrested this morning. From the report: Today Banksy put up on his Instagram the message, “Today’s art has been cancelled due to policy activity.” A commenter wrote, “Friend at 79th precinct said they nabbed banksy and 2 helpers in the act this morning around 6:00 a.m. :( They have them on video at another location too.”

Last Scheduled Brooklyn Bridge Case, Like Most Others, Is Dismissed

October 21, 2013 Colin Moynihan, www.nytimes.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Occupy, Police abuse, Video

There were two incidents that helped to spark the early days of the Occupy Movement. One was the pepper spraying to two women who were already under arrest without cause, the other was the arrest of more than 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge. From the videos it looked like the police were leading the protesters onto the bridge, then they trapped them with police on both sides and made 700 arrests. Now, two years later of the 732 arrests that day, 690 have been dismissed. There is a civil suit pending against the NY police for these mass arrests. Two years after more than 700 people were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge roadway for participating in an Occupy Wall Street march, the last scheduled criminal case found its way to a courtroom in Manhattan this month. Of the 732 arrests made on the Brooklyn Bridge, 680 cases were dismissed, 195 at the request of prosecutors, 40 by the court and 445 contingent on defendants’ not being arrested again within six months.

4 Police Brutality Victims’ Families Share Stories Before National Day of Protest

October 21, 2013 Alyssa Figueroa, www.alternet.org Resist! Police abuse

While police brutality is gaining national attention, the October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation will take place for its 17th year on Tuesday in nearly 50 cities across the country. The protest was first organized in 1996, by a diverse coalition of groups and individuals who wanted to bring about resistance to police brutality on a national level. Kathie Cheng, an organizer with the coalition, said that while national dialogue around police brutality declined after 9/11, there has since been a resurgence as more people are standing up and documentation has increased. The coalition also works on the Stolen Lives Project, which monitors killings by law enforcement agents. Cheng said the October 22 rally is important in reminding people that police are supposed to serve the people, not behave in a brutal fashion.

‘Defending Future Commons: The Gezi Experience’

October 21, 2013 Ozan Karaman, www.antipodefoundation.org Educate! Commons, Police abuse, Türkiye

The 2013 uprising in Turkey commenced with a call by a handful of activists to guard a park located adjacent to Taksim Square – the most centrally-located public square in Istanbul – from the Istanbul Municipality’s bulldozers. As a part of the redevelopment plan for the whole square, the PM Erdoğan and the Istanbul mayor had repeatedly informed the public of their decision to redevelop Gezi Park into a building complex, to contain a parking garage, museum, shopping mall, and high-end housing. The demolition team arrived on the night of May 27, but was not able to proceed thanks to the resistance of the activists on guard, some of whom lay in front of the bulldozers. The following day the bulldozers were accompanied by a substantial police force, which brutally quashed the protestors through extensive use of tear gas and brute force. A small portion of the Gezi Park was demolished that day.

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