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Police abuse

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

October 21, 2013 Alyssa Figueroa, www.alternet.org
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 , ,
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.

Bloomberg Threatens Banksy With Arrest For Public Art

October 19, 2013 Jon Swaine, www.telegraph.co.uk ,
Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has aggressively and often illegally used the New York Police Department (often at great expense in fines and court orders) to attack protesters and to racially profile tens of thousands of New Yorkers is now threatening street artist Banksy with arrest. The artist is in the midst of "Better Out Than In," which he calls "an artists residency on the street of New York." While many New Yorkers seem to be enjoying his art -- flocking to search for it when he posts a photo and gives clues as to where it is located, Mayor Bloomberg promises to remove any art that is on public property. By backing the use of the NYPD to arrest Banksy for 'vandalism' it is very likely he has heightened the interest in Banksy's artist's residency in New York. I know we were enjoying watching Banksy from afar (in Baltimore) and now will be watching even more closely. Below the article describing Bloomberg's attack on street art is a photo display of some of Banksy's more iconic pieces of art.

National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality

October 18, 2013 Staff, www.revcom.us , , , ,
October 22, the 18th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, is less than two weeks away. So far, 15 cities in this country and one in Canada have announced plans to take to the streets on this day. This list needs to grow quickly. We need to have 50 or even 100 cities planning marches and rallies, cultural events, teach-ins, and more on O22. Look at the horrors being inflicted on people. Police killing innocent, unarmed people is about an everyday occurrence. And these cops are almost never punished in any way for these crimes. Recently in some outrageous cases where cops were brought into court for killing people, those courts have dropped the charges or overturned convictions of killer cops. All this is unacceptable and it must be stopped! BE THERE ON OCTOBER 22 TO SAY NO MORE!!

Actions In Solidarity With Mi’kmaq Anti-Fracking Protesters

October 18, 2013 Staff, www.idlenomore.ca , , ,
Our Mi'kmaq relatives need our support. Members of the Elsipogtog First Nation and supporters of the Anti-Shale, Anti-Fracking Nonviolent Action in New Brunswick (Canada) were under attack today because of state-initiated violence by the RCMP. Idle No More denounces this state violence and calls out to all of our supporters GLOBALLY to light your sacred fires or other peaceful actions to show support and alliance with the people of New Brunswick. Video of Ellen Gabriel Solidarity StatementToday, settlers and Indigenous protestors and Warriors were subjected to violent action from the RCMP for their participation in a legitimate peaceful nonviolent action defending their lands and asserting their sovereign duty to protect the land and the people. Stand in solidarity with the protestors by taking action below!

They Killed Him With The Whole World Watching

October 17, 2013 Stanley Howard, www.socialistworker.org , , ,
"Stanley Howard is a victim of torture by Chicago police and a former Illinois death row prisoner who was exonerated and pardoned by former Gov. George Ryan in 2003. While on death row, he cofounded the Death Row 10 along with other police torture victims. Though still imprisoned unjustly, Stanley works with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and writes regularly for its newsletter, the New Abolitionist. Here, he reviews the new book I Am Troy Davis, which tells the story of the innocent death prisoner murdered by the state of Georgia in 2011. Though he was killed, Troy Davis' struggle inspired people around the country to stand up against the racist death penalty."

Unarmed Teen Faces 20 Years After Being Paralyzed By Police

October 16, 2013 Rania Khalek, www.raniakhalek.com
Police say they saw a gun in Ford’s car and demanded he exit the vehicle, but he refused and tried to drive away, dragging an officer who had jumped inside the vehicle with him. Fearing for his life, the officer shot Ford five times, paralyzing him below the waist. Even if the police version of events is true, jumping into Ford’s car was a possible violation of police policy and may have been responsible for shifting the car’s gear into drive. Furthermore, no weapon was ever found. As Ford’s parents put it, “While we are not sure how the car shifted into gear once the officer jumped inside the vehicle, we are sure that our son was in mortal fear for his life as police harassed, threatened and hurled racial slurs towards him.”

Undercover Police, Just About Everywhere

October 16, 2013 Jim Dwyer,
New York City now has a sturdy legion of undercover officers who have taken up residence in many surprising regions of civic life. Much of this began in early 2003, when a federal judge lifted many restraints on spying by the Police Department. Before and during the Iraq War, the organization of antiwar rallies was regarded as a fit matter for police surveillance; so were the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rallies, as well as groups protesting at the Republican National Convention in 2004, and a range of Islamic facilities, from mosques to college student clubs. Undercover New York police officers showed up at activists’ meetings all over the country, carrying guitars and knapsacks. Handlers left money for them in the wheel wells of cars. Field reports were stamped “NYPD Secret.” Anyone who left a scrap of paper on the desk at the Intelligence Division’s headquarters in Chelsea was apt to get his or her knuckles rapped by the commander, a former Central Intelligence Agency man who brought that agency’s custom of fastidiousness to the mess of the city. The unrestrained surveillance in New York public life is the physical embodiment of what has been taking place online over the last decade under operations of the National Security Agency revealed by Edward J. Snowden.

FBI Manipulating Grand Juries To Intimidate Political Dissidents

October 15, 2013 , , ,
Grand juries have been a tool in the FBI's arsenal of intimidation and information-gathering tactics for decades. They were a hallmark of the Red Scare, COINTELPRO, and more recently the Green Scare, in which animal rights activists and environmentalists have been branded “eco-terrorists” by law enforcement. Over the past year grand juries have seen a resurgence as the FBI has cracked down on radical communities. Koch's case was preceded by a high-profile grand jury in the Pacific Northwest, where four people from Washington and Oregon were imprisoned for refusing to testify.

We Want Freedom: Black Panther Party Founded Today In 1966

October 15, 2013 Staff, www.popularresistance.org , , , , , , ,
"On October 15, 1966 the Black Panther Party was founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in response to rampant police brutality in Oakland. While ultimately decimated by state repression the Black Panther Party during the late 1960s and early 1970s was one of the leading organizations in the United States advocating not just for black liberation, but for socialism and social justice more generally. Below is the 1972 Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party. Dealing with issues of racism, police brutality, access to healthcare, housing, education, prisoners' rights, and US "wars of aggression" it is stunning how much of their platform remains relevant today."

Indigenous Rights Protesters Clash With Police At Anti-Columbus Day Demo

October 14, 2013 Jacob Chamberlain, www.commondreams.org , ,
Over 15,000 protesters gathered in Santiago, Chile on Saturday in an anti-Columbus Day demonstration to demand improved indigenous rights and a return of ancestral lands—521 years after Columbus began the European invasion of the Western Hemisphere. The protest was organized by the country’s largest indigenous group, Organización Mapuche Meli Wixan Mapu, "who have been in a long struggle with the government over ancestral land taken from them during colonization," Al Jazeera America reports. "We have nothing to celebrate” read a press release by Mapuche. Police turned water cannons on the protesters and dispersed the crowd after several protesters had thrown rocks at the police. The ongoing fight for indigenous land rights heated up on Wednesday, Santiago Timesreports, when a major police operation arrested 8 Mapuche activists as Chilean security forces cleared indigenous occupants from disputed land.

This Week In Pictures II

October 13, 2013 Staff, www.popularresistance.org , ,
This week in pictures provides a snapshot of resistance events that are taking place all over the world. Most of these photos were found on twitter and the events that are photographed were not covered on Popular Resistance. This week you will find people protesting the police shooting death of Javier Arrazola in Los Angeles, an immigrant's rights rally and protesters blocking a deportation bus, the Presidents of China and Indonesia singing happy birthday to President Putin, actions against Monsanto, actions in Cambodia for World Habitat Day, Palestinian musicians who challenged Israeli occupation, refugee actions and more.

Police Involved In Biker Assualt Infiltrated Occupy Wall Street

October 13, 2013 Staff, www.huffingtonpost.com ,
The undercover NYPD detective arrested in connection with the brutal assault of an SUV driver routinely spied on Occupy Wall Street members using the name "Albert." He was also arrested in his role as an OWS activist. DNAinfo reports at the height of the movement in 2011, Wojciech Braszczok infiltrated Zucotti Park and feigned sympathy for the protesters' cause to glean information that'd he'd then report to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Intelligence Division. He lived in the park, attended rallies, and even went to birthday celebrations of protestors.

“Take Back the Streets” Report Details Excessive Police Force Against Protestors

October 12, 2013 Staff, www.aclu.org , , , ,
In response to increasing restrictions on personal freedoms and civil protest, national human rights organizations from 10 countries this week launched the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO). They also released “Take Back the Streets: Repression and Criminalization of Protest Around the World,” a collection of case studies showing patterns of police crackdown and abuse against peaceful assembly, accompanied by concrete recommendations to expand free speech. "Fundamental rights and freedoms we enjoy are a direct result of protest movements of the past,” said Gastón Chillier, executive director of the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales in Argentina. “Freedom of speech and as a result, our societies, will only flourish if peaceful assembly is protected from excessive police force and government obstruction.”

Oakland Activists Confront Police War Games

October 9, 2013 Noura Khouri and David Judd, www.socialistworker.org , , , ,
"OAKLAND HAS played host each year recently to Urban Shield, a SWAT team exercise in which law enforcement teams from around the world practice, among other things, the use of force against protesters. But this year, community activists are calling on the city to refuse to turn the city's streets into a sprawling stage for urban war games[...]Urban Shield also reaches beyond the U.S., bringing together more than 150 local, state, federal and international agencies, as well as private defense contractors. In attendance will be police from Bahrain, Israel, Guam and Brazil, to name only a few of the participants with lengthy records of misconduct and human rights violations."
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