Cops in Fatigues Throw Protester into Unmarked Car at G-20 Protests and Drive off

Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet at 11:43 AM on September 25, 2009
They may have been cops, but the video still reveals the militarization of police work. Muriel Kane at Raw Story shares a statement released by security at the G20:

"Military members supporting the G20 Summit work with local law enforcement authorities but do not have the authority to make arrests. The individuals involved in the 9/24/09 arrest which has appeared online are law enforcement officers from a multi-agency tactical response team assigned to the security operations for the G20. It is not unusual for tactical team members to wear camouflaged fatigues. The type of fatigues the officers wear designates their unit affiliation.

Prior to the arrest, the officers observed this subject vandalizing a local business. Due to the hostile nature of the crowd, officer safety and the safety of the person under arrest, the subject was immediately removed from the area.”

Read more at Raw Story.

Pittsburgh Police Riot, Attack Students

Posted by Staff, AlterNet at 8:57 AM on September 26, 2009

"The only figures breaking any laws on that calm campus were the cops themselves."
The video below comes to us from John Ennis. The reader who sent it our way writes:

As you'll see, the students were (a) not numerous, and (b) not really doing much of anything, but sort of hanging out. And yet the cops were suited up for heavy combat (in some galaxy far, far away), and came down hard on.... nothing. They lobbed gas grenades, dragged people off, etc., as if there were a riot going on. But the only figures breaking any laws on that calm campus were the cops themselves.

The Police Code of Silence - The problem and the solution

From, "Blue Must be True" - The police Code of Silence is a self-perpetuating danger to public safety.

The only way it will be overcome is when laws requiring complete transparency of all police conduct and training are in place and the public is allowed, by law, its inherent right to oversee law enforcement. That is the only way to significantly change the police culture which fosters the Code of Silence.

In order for that to occur, many people, civilians and ethical law enforcement officers, need to get on board. For some civilians, it may mean getting off the couch. For some police, it may mean growing a backbone.

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Judge Rules: "It's OK To Give Police The Finger"

By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Memo to cops everywhere: You can't cite someone for giving you the finger.

That's essentially what a federal judge ruled yesterday when he said a city police sergeant was wrong to cite a Regent Square man for flipping him off in traffic three years ago.

U.S. District Judge David Cercone granted summary judgment to David Hackbart, who said in a federal suit that Sgt. Brian Elledge violated his constitutional rights by issuing him a citation in 2006.

"Elledge's response to Hackbart's exercise of his First Amendment right was to initiate a traffic stop and issue a citation for disorderly conduct," the judge wrote. "Clearly, Elledge's conduct was an adverse action in response to Hackbart flipping him off."

The case will now proceed to trial in U.S. District Court on the underlying claim that the city doesn't adequately train its officers to know when they're violating someone's rights.

The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that giving someone the finger, even a police officer, is protected free speech.

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How British Police Are Criminalizing Peaceful Protest

There is a concerted campaign by UK police to deter, smear, intimidate, harass, and criminalise citizens who did nothing more than attempt to exercise their right to peaceful protest in the name of important causes. This story includes a video as well as PDF report on the way police in the UK are criminalizing legitimate protest.



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MI cops shoot unarmed, 20-year-old marijuana activist

by Stephen C. Webster

A 20-year-old university student in Michigan is hospitalized and in serious condition after police shot the man Wednesday while serving a drug warrant. He was unarmed, investigators said.

Coming through an apartment's back door, an Ottawa County deputy allegedly shined a flashlight into the student's face, causing him to raise his right hand in front of his eyes.

The officer, whose name was not released, fired a single bullet into Derek Copp's chest. The 20-year-old Grand Valley State University student, who survived the shooting, said he had no idea the man was an officer.

"He never even had a chance to even see who was coming at him, with a bright flashlight in his face," said Sheryl Copp, Derek's mother, in a 24 Hour News 8 report. "He had no clue. He heard someone knock on his door, and he had no clue."

Copp's parents insist their son is not a drug dealer. However, he appears to be a marijuana activist, stating on his facebook page he likes to "SMOKA DA BOLSKI" (smoke a 'bowl') and on his YouTube page, in a video titled 'Hippie Lunchtime Hour,' he makes references to baking marijuana-infused brownies. In another, he plays the fictional role of an acid dealer whose friend goes on a psychedelic journey through cliché colors.

Copp's parents were not notified of the shooting by police, reported CelebStoner. They allegedly found out six hours later.

The officer is on paid administrative leave. Police have not said whether they found any drugs in Copp's apartment.

Monday, a group of about 25 protesters gathered outside the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department holding signs which read, "Don't shoot, I'm unarmed" and "Why did you shoot my friend?"
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Video: Cops Repeatedly Punch Restained Homeless Man in Face

This is so fucked up!!!

Two Fresno police officers are under an internal investigation following the release of a video tape obtained by KSEE 24 News showing the officers beating a homeless man.

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Not another one ... NOLA cops shot man 12 times in the back

A young, black man in New Orleans is dead, slain by police officers on New Year's Day, in an incident that has outraged a community and triggered protests over what family members are calling a "murder."

The New Orleans man, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes III, traveled to his grandmother's home near the French Quarter in order to celebrate New Year's Eve with his fiance and their 17-month-old son. Three hours after arrival, around 3 a.m., he was found dead a block from the front door.

The Orleans Parish coroner said Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back. "This violence has to stop. My child's death will not be meaningless. He did not die in vain," said Grimes' mother, Patricia Grimes.

An editorial in The Times-Picayune said the shooting "demands answers."

Despite the fact that the seven officers involved in the incident have been reassigned, Superintendent Warren Riley has refused to answer "fundamental questions" about the shooting and maintains that Grimes fired upon his men first.

Several dozen people protested the New Orleans Police Department on Thursday morning to demand justice for Grimes' death.

A mix of people walked paced in front of a police station carrying signs with slogans like "Down with the government" and shouting to passers-by "You could be next!"

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Video: SF cop shoots helpless, cooperating man in the back

"They just shot him! They just shot him!" yelled 19-year-old Vargas, whose camera-phone had just captured the slaying of Grant by a San Francisco Transit officer. "... I got you, mothaf--kers!" she exclaimed.

Two videos showing a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer fatally shooting an unarmed, cooperating 22-year-old man have surfaced, thanks to a vigilant teen and an anonymous cameraman.

According to officials, five officers arrived at a subway station around 2 a.m. in response to reports of fighting on a train. Officers handcuffed a group of suspects, and detained the soon-to-be victim, Oscar Grant III.

In both videos, though detained, Grant had clearly not been cuffed.

Mario Pangelina Jr., aunt to Grant's four-year-old daughter, witnessed the events leading up to the shooting.

"First, an officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and pushed him against the wall," the Oakland Tribune quoted her as saying. "Oscar didn't fight him, but he didn't go down either. He was like, 'What did I do?' Then another officer came up with his Taser and held it right in his face. Oscar said, 'Please don't shoot me, please don't Taser me, I have a daughter,' over and over again, real fast, and he sat down."

Footage captured by camera-phone-wielding Karina Vargas, 19, shows officers had detained several men. Over the proceeding minutes, officers become defensive as groups of yelling youths stand on the periphery and meander past.

At one point, a male shouts, "Yo, f--k the police!

"Vargas several times makes attempts to get closer. When her camera focuses on Grant, he is sitting with his back against a wall, surrounded by others in handcuffs. He holds up his hands, apparently speaking with the officers, when they force him to the ground.

Two officers struggle to turn him over, even as he appears to be strewn across another man's legs, when suddenly one of the men retrieves his gun from its holster.

At this point in Vargas' video, she turns to her immediate left and focuses on an officer wrestling another man to the ground. Then, the shot rings out.

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The following footage was taken by the Oakland Tribune, published Jan. 4, 2008.



EXCLUSIVE: Raw Cell Phone Video Of Fatal BART Police Shooting:

Why Is The U.S. Military Preparing For Massive Civil Unrest?

by Shattered Paradigm ·
A new report from the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute says that the U.S. military must quickly prepare for massive civil unrest that could be precipitated by an “unforeseen economic collapse”.The following is a quote from this stunning report: “DoD might be forced by circumstances to put its broad resources at the disposal of civil authorities to contain and reverse violent threats to domestic tranquility. Under the most extreme circumstances, this might include use of military force against hostile groups inside the United States."



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