Police violence

Chicago Police Have Serious Problem With Pointing Guns At Children

June 23, 2019 Ruth Milka, Nation of Change. Educate! Chicago, Children, Police violence

A family in Illinois has filed a lawsuit claiming that Chicago police officers used excessive force against an 8-year-old child during a raid on their home. Chicago police arrived at the Wilson family home on March 15th with a search warrant and ordered Dominique Wilson and her three children out of the home at riflepoint. They then handcuffed multiple family members, including 8-year-old Royal Wilson. Royal was handcuffed for 35-40 minutes and suffered bruising to his wrists. The lawsuit claims that not only was excessive force used but that all three children are traumatized at being held at gunpoint and are having trouble sleeping due to nightmares and anxiety. “They made me stand up straight and my hands behind my back, and they had them tight,” Royal told CBS Chicago. “My legs were shaking.”

French Police Crack Down On 30th ‘Yellow Vest’ Protest

June 9, 2019 Staff, Telesur Resist! France, Police violence, Yellow Vest

The French government said 10,300 people demonstrated across the country, up from 9,500 last weekend. French police violently clashed with protesters Saturday at the 30th consecutive weekend of "yellow vest" demonstrations, using tear gas and water cannons in the southern city of Montpellier. Demonstrators Saturday said they would continue to protest over Macron's policies. "We're still (fighting) for purchasing power, at this moment, for everyone; because we take into account that he (President Macron) has offered some small things, but often it's what's been previously taken away," said Sebastian, a postal service worker.

Police Violence Against Gilets Jaunes Sparks Broad Backlash

March 10, 2019 By Oliver Haynes, New Internationalist Resist! France, Police violence, Yellow Vest

The gilets jaunes, or 'yellow vests', have been met by an increasingly heavy handed police response. The 15th of December in Paris saw this reach an absurd peak when there were 2,200 protestors on the streets and over 8,000 police. They were ubiquitous. On the 15th they were so numerous that they could consistently split groups of gilets jaunes from merging to form a bigger mass. Ironically, this was one of the calmer weekends in terms of crowd numbers, police violence and casseur presence. Other times though the police response was devastating.

Vigilantes With A Badge: Warrior Cops Endanger Our Lives And Freedoms

August 30, 2018 John W. Whitehead, Rutherford.org Educate! Police, Police violence, State Violence

I have known a lot of good cops, I have defended a lot of good cops, and I have been fortunate to call a number of good cops friends. So when I say that warrior cops—hyped up on their own authority and the power of the badge—have not made America any safer or freer, I am not disrespecting any of the fine, decent, lawful police officers who take seriously their oath of office to serve and protect their fellow citizens, uphold the Constitution, and maintain the peace. My beef is with the growing squads of warrior cops who have been given the green light to kill, shoot, taser, abuse and steal from American citizens in the so-called name of law and order. These cops are little more than vigilantes with a badge. Indeed, it is increasingly evident that militarized police armed with weapons of war who are allowed to operate above the law and break the laws with impunity have not made America any safer or freer.

Police Union Is Lobbying To Expand Powers To Tase People Who Don’t Pose A Threat

May 21, 2018 By Michael Arria, Inthesetimes.com Educate! Lobbying, Police, Police violence, State Violence

The San Francisco Police Officers Association is aggressively pushing a ballot measure that would allow police to use tasers on members of the public even if they aren't violently resisting. If passed, the city’s police officers would be able to electrocute people who pose no physical threat or resist arrest as a result of mental illness. Last November, San Francisco’s Police Commission approved tasers for the city’s police. This March, it finalized a policy for how those tasers should be used. That policy, which is backed by Police Chief Bill Scott and San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, requires police to implement de-escalation tactics before using their tasers. However, the San Francisco Police Officers Association, with a membership of roughly 2,200, believes that these criteria are too narrow.

Huge Racial Disparities in US Police Use of Force

April 22, 2018 Edited By German Lopez, VOX Educate! Police violence, Racism

Black people are much more likely to be shot by police than their white peers. An analysis of the available FBI data by Vox's Dara Lind found that US police kill black people at disproportionate rates: Black people accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2012, even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population. Although the data is incomplete because it's based on voluntary reports from police agencies around the country, it highlights the vast disparities in how police use force. The disparities appear to be even starker for unarmed suspects, according to an analysis of 2015 police killings by the Guardian. Racial minorities made up about 37.4 percent of the general population in the US and 46.6 percent of armed and unarmed victims, but they made up 62.7 percent of unarmed people killed by police.

Police Urging Anti-Protest Bills in at Least 8 States Since Trump’s Election

April 22, 2018 By Simon Davis-Cohen and Sarah Lazare, In These Times Educate! Democracy, Police abuse, Police violence

Law enforcement is pressuring legislators to clamp down on protests—and specifically, on protests against police violence. “Cops are going to keep pursuing ways to keep themselves above the fray and unaccountable for the things they do,” says Tony Williams, a member of the MPD150, a police abolitionist project that recently released a “150-year performance review of the Minneapolis Police Department. “It's a naked case of self-interest more than anything else.” Minneapolis police aren’t alone: According to research conducted for In These Times in partnership with Ear to the Ground, law enforcement in at least eight states—Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington and Wyoming—lobbied on behalf of anti-protest bills in 2017 and 2018. The bills ran the gamut from punishing face coverings at protests to increasing penalties for “economic disruption” and highway blockage to criminalizing civil protests that interfere with “critical infrastructure” like oil pipelines.

Families Of Police Victims Create Community Amidst Tragedy

March 30, 2018 Staff, Unicornriot.ninja Resist! police brutality, Police violence

Unicorn Riot was live for the Remembering Cordale Handy Memorial Banquet, which featured emotional speeches by mothers and families impacted by police violence, entertainment, a keynote speaker, community organizer speakers, dinner, dancing, giveaways, and more. The family members and mothers have created a community of solidarity for each other, and that love was on full display with Kim Handy-Jones and the others continually expressing gratitude towards the community that has opened their arms to them. After being welcomed by the evenings emcee, Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds, Kim Handy-Jones opened by pointing out the “mother’s table” on the other side of the ballroom, where mothers, aunts, and wives of police killings were seated, she said, “I’m looking at some strong women right there at the mother’s table that are putting up the fight”.

Understanding How Media Protects The Status Quo

February 11, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance. Newsletter #NoDAPL, Education, Immigration, Media, Police violence, Poverty, Racism

Corporate media outlets in the United States represent the interests of the wealthy elites. They distract the public with meaningless tidbits such as what a celebrity said or did, rather than bringing attention to critical issues. As FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) frequently reports, in the off chance that the media does cover a movement, the coverage is generally biased against the movement. As a result, a useful tactic for getting attention is to go where the media are and present a clear visual message through giant banners and other techniques.

Erica Garner’s Death And Collateral Damage Of Police Violence

January 4, 2018 By Thandisizwe Chimurenga, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Eric Garner, Police violence, Racism

NEW YORK – Erica Garner — the 27-year-old daughter of Eric Garner, whose July 2014 death by an NYPD chokehold was filmed and went viral — died Monday as the result of suffering a massive heart attack on Christmas Eve brought on by an episode of asthma. Since the death of her father – whose killer was never indicted by a grand jury – Erica had been an outspoken national advocate for justice for all victims of police brutality. She even appeared in a television commercial for then-presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Saturday’s heart attack was actually the second for Garner. In addition to suffering from asthma like her father, Erica gave birth to a boy this past August, Eric Garner III. Much has been written in 2017 about the crisis of black maternal mortality.

Urgent Action For Democracy In Honduras

December 1, 2017 Staff, www.ggjalliance.org Resist! Democracy, Election fraud, Honduras, Police violence

By the Grassroots Alliance for Global Justice. Tegucigalpa, Honduras – Just before midnight on Wednesday November 29, a crowd of several thousand anti-fraud protesters in Honduras - including numerous young children - was tear-gassed repeatedly by a military police tank and riot police outside of the INFOP – the building where all of the ballots and tally sheets from last Sunday’s elections are being stored and counted. The incident took place three tense days after national elections left both sides claiming victory, but official initial results pointing to a five percentage point victory for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship’s candidate Salvador Nasralla. After several days delay, numerous irregularities and unexplained transmission outages, Wednesday afternoon official results began to show a slight advantage for the incumbent Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story

November 19, 2017 Unicorn Riot, www.unicornriot.ninja Resist! #NoDAPL, Oil and Gas, Pipelines, Police violence

By Unicorn Riot. Black Snake Killaz is a feature-length documentary film about the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. This film explores actions taken by water protectors to stop the construction of the oil pipeline and highlights actions taken by law enforcement, military, and corporate mercenaries to quell the months-long protest. Black Snake Killaz timelines the historical events that unfolded in Standing Rock throughout 2016 and brings you the raw experience from many frontline actions to protect the water. Although the Dakota Access Pipeline is completed, the impact of the movement will be long-lasting.

Newsletter: Dissent Under Attack By Government & Corporations

November 18, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Criminal Justice, Dissent, Inauguration Day, Media, Police violence, Social Media, Trump

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. It is often hard to tell how close popular movements are to success or whether they are even a threat to the status quo power structure. Despite vigorous protests, it is common to worry whether or not movements are having an impact. One tell-tale sign is when government and big business interests take action to stop or silence a movement. These days, there is a lot of push back against resistance movements in the United States. While it may be riskier for us when they fight back, it is a positive sign and means that the movement needs to escalate, build power and increase its pressure.

Despite Police Violence, Catalans Vote Today

October 1, 2017 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Catalonia, Democracy, Independence, Police violence, Spain

By Popular Resistance. Spain - Catalonians across the region in Spain today voted on a referendum for independence in the face of often severe police violence by the Spanish civil guard. The vote was held even though Spain's Constitutional Court declared it illegal. Despite being evenly split on the issue of independence, 70 percent of Catalonians favored holding a vote on the referendum as an expression of their democratic rights. Catalonia is a region around Barcelona. It has a distinct language and culture. The region is wealthy overall and makes up one fifth of Spain's gross domestic product. The campaign for independence has been underway for a number of years.

March For Racial Justice: Thousands Rally In DC

October 1, 2017 John Zangas and Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Police violence, Racism, Trump, Women's Rights

By John Zangas and Anne Meador for DC Media Group. Washington, DC - Tens of thousands marched for racial justice on Saturday, calling for racial equality, an end to police violence and white supremacy. Black women carried the lead banners for the March for Racial Justice, accompanied by Native Americans drumming. Many marchers displayed messages of disapproval of President Trump regarding his divisive comments about the NFL protests against police violence and his inadequate Puerto Rico relief efforts. The marchers were joined by a group of a thousand Black women who had just marched from the Capitol to join them at Lincoln Square Park.

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