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Statement On NYPD Mass Subway Shooting Over $2.90

Yesterday, the NYPD shot Derell Mickles, a Black man in Brooklyn for the alleged "crime" of jumping a turnstile. This marks the second NYPD shooting in just 48 hours. Amidst a landscape where Democrat political figures swiftly condemned recent assassination attempts on Donald Trump, proclaiming that "violence has no place in America," we ask: where is this sentiment when it comes to the NYPD shooting Black men? Once again, the state used the hollow excuse of "fare evasion" to justify an assassination attempt on a Brooklyn man. This is not an isolated incident but a pattern of state violence targeting the working class in general and Black people in particular.

Quiet Rollout Of Cop Cities Across The US Meets Growing Resistance

On June 11, a week after a police training facility in Richmond, California, broke ground, organizers from the Stop Cop City Bay Area Coalition marched to the Overaa Construction headquarters in protest. Citing concerns over rising police militarization and repression in the predominantly Black and Latino area, the protesters — joined by local residents — called on Overaa workers to boycott the $30 million construction deal. “By furthering the militarizing and surveillance of our city — and coordinating law enforcement resources across the region, including ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] — they’re actually making our cities into Cop Cities,” said Refilwe Gqajela, a community organizer with the Anti Police-Terror Project in California’s Bay Area.

Do Civilian Review Boards Work?

In the years following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, states and localities across the country introduced hundreds of pieces of legislation meant to address police violence. Many of those new laws included the creation of civilian police accountability boards: civilian-led groups that receive complaints about police misconduct and have the power to advise police departments on potential consequences. These boards were a kind of low-hanging fruit for people looking to make immediate changes to policing, says Rachel Moran, founder of the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic.

Hundreds Of Police Smother Palestine Solidarity Protests Outside DNC

Israel’s assault on Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis is not getting much airtime on the main stage of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Inside the convention hall, Democratic leaders act as if the death toll of 40,000 Palestinians is an uncomfortable fact to avoid during a celebration of party unity. But outside the convention, where protesters gather alongside the long columns of police guarding a massive security perimeter, Palestinian liberation is center stage — at least until riot cops intervene. With only a few fleeting references to Gaza in speeches at the convention, some Democratic leaders have attempted to placate the thousands of protesters outside by declaring support for a ceasefire deal that remains elusive after months of negotiation.

Police Arrest Several Journalists While Cracking Down On DNC Protest

During the Democratic National Convention, Chicago police aggressively cracked down on a protest outside of the Israeli consulate. Officers carried out a mass arrest that included multiple members of the press, according to several independent reporters that were on the ground. Josh Pacheco, a photojournalist from New York City, and Olya Fedorova, a freelance photojournalist, were singled out by police and arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct.” Police reportedly damaged Pacheco and Fedorova’s camera equipment during their arrests, and they were released from the Area 3 police station in the early morning after being held in police custody for nearly 10 hours.

DNC Swarms With Police As Activists March For Palestine, Abortion Rights

Protests against the Democratic National Convention DNC) kicked off on Sunday night with hundreds of people marching for Palestinian liberation and reproductive justice under a notably heavy police presence in downtown Chicago. The Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws march showcased the palpable anger greeting Democrats in the streets as they arrive in Chicago for three days of celebrations ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’s official nomination for president. The protest was organized by a coalition of Palestine solidarity, LGBTQ and reproductive rights groups that are frustrated with the Democratic Party’s failure to halt U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza and protect abortion rights in the decades before the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Chicago Firefighters Protest For New Contract During 2024 DNC

Chicago, IL — Just blocks away from the United Center, where the 2024 Democratic National Convention is being held, Chicago firefighters are protesting for a new contract. Patrick Cleary, President of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, said they’ve “been without a contract with the city for over three years” and are “trying to turn up the heat” by protesting during four days of the DNC. Cleary said the main issues are manning variances, Battalion chief aides the need for 20 more ambulances. “The city has neither accepted nor rejected our proposals. They’ve been dragging their feet for three years and we’re trying to turn up the heat.”

Inside The Turbulent, Secret World Of An American Militia

Last February, some 20 men and their wives gathered for dinner at an upscale restaurant in Spokane, Washington, for their annual Valentine’s Day celebration. The men weren’t just friends; they did community service work together. They had been featured on local television, in khakis and baseball caps, delivering 1,200 pounds of food to an area veterans’ center; they were gearing up for their next food drive, which they called Operation Hunger Smash. A few days after the holiday, the men went camping in the snow-speckled mountains outside Spokane, where they grilled rib-eyes and bacon-wrapped asparagus over a bonfire.

Police Must Respect Journalists’ Rights To Freely Report On DNC Protests

Hundreds of journalists are expected to converge on Chicago to cover the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19-22 – and they must be allowed to do their jobs unimpeded. The city’s plan to “streamline” mass arrests during the convention, by processing arrestees at a makeshift court at the Area 3 police station at Belmont and Western, does nothing to alleviate the threat mass arrests pose to journalists. The plan, reported by the Sun-Times last week, is supposedly for the arrestees’ convenience: It’ll be easier for them to get home on public transportation that way. But “catch and release” arrests are never convenient for journalists, or their readers.

The Path For Abolishing The Police Already Exists

America watched in horror this spring as armed phalanxes of police assaulted peaceful pro-Palestine protesters on campuses across the nation. The raids on student encampments ranged from dubious arrests to snipers on campus rooftops. This most recent episode of widespread police aggression only reinforced Americans’ belief that law enforcement is quick to violent escalation.  Last year, a nationwide ABC News-Washington Post survey of 1,003 adults found that only 39% of Americans polled were confident police were adequately trained to avoid excessive force, and only 41% believed they treated Black and white people equally.

Police Chief Who Led Raid On Newspaper Charged With Obstruction Of Justice

Topeka, Kansas — A former central Kansas police chief who led a raid last year on a weekly newspaper has been charged with felony obstruction of justice and is accused of persuading a potential witness for an investigation into his conduct of withholding information from authorities. The single charge against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody alleges that he knowingly or intentionally influenced the witness to withhold information on the day of the raid of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher or sometime within the following six days. The charge was filed Monday in state district court in Marion County and is not more specific about Cody’s alleged conduct.

Palestinian Demonstrators Are Back In Haifa And Facing Police Oppression

Since Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza began in October 2023, an all-out attack against Palestinians under Israel’s control elsewhere has been underway as well. In the West Bank, which, together with Gaza and the Syrian Golan Heights, Israel occupied in 1967, there are daily and nightly raids by the occupation army and the settlers. Hundreds have been killed, and almost 10,000 new political prisoners have been taken with many being tortured. In the process, whole communities have been driven from their lands. In the 78% of Palestine that has been occupied since 1948-49, and where those Palestinians that survived the ethnic cleansing are formally citizens of Israel, all democratic rights were suspended as of October 2023 and a terror campaign started against Palestinians.

Waves Of Protests Follow Police Killing Of Sonya Massey

On July 6, 36-year-old Black woman Sonya Massey was shot and killed by white police officer Sean Grayson after inviting the police into her own home, seeking protection from a potential intruder. On July 22, body camera footage was released to the public of Massey’s killing, shocking the nation and harkening to previous examples of police violence against Black people. The body camera footage that has emerged has shed light on a particularly disgusting case of police impunity. As a result, protests have erupted over the past few weeks across the country, including in major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Four Just Stop Oil Supporters Arrested By Greater Manchester Police

Four Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested after an operation by the Greater Manchester Police. In recent weeks Just Stop Oil has been taking nonviolent action with groups internationally to demand governments establish a Fossil Fuel Treaty, to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. [1] A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: Just Stop Oil supporters are always fully accountable for our actions and as such the four arrested today will accept any legal consequences. Accountability is a core feature of nonviolence, which is at the centre of Just Stop Oil’s mission. We take action because we want a safe and stable society. Delivering a Fossil Fuel Treaty that ends oil and gas by 2030 is an essential step for our Government to prevent massive disorder.

Community Holds Public Hearing For Police Murder Of John Zook Jr.

On Wednesday, July 10 in Westland, MI, several organizations, along with family and community members, organized and attended a public hearing about a young Black man — John Zook Jr. — who was killed by police on June 18 after he called emergency services on himself in the midst of a mental health crisis. The event, organized and sponsored by several groups, including Survivors Speak, Black Coffee, Detroit Will Breathe, Washtenaw County General Defense Committee, and others, began with speeches by family members. Attendees heard from John’s sister, his brothers, and his father. John’s brothers were the first to arrive at the scene of the shooting.
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