Sunday, October 30, 2011
Middleborough High School Talent Show
"Talking to the Moon", Bruno Mars Oct. 28, 2011 Holly Colombo on piano, Jordan McClure singing.
A Statement from Mayor Angel Taveras on Occupy Providence
Contrast the Public Response from Mayor Taveras to other places, including the disgraceful treatment in Boston and former Mayor Ray Flynn's comments.
Mayor Taveras is to be applauded for his comments and allowing the rule of law to prevail.
A Statement from Mayor Angel Taveras on Occupy Providence
Saturday, October 29, 2011
All citizens have a right to have their voices heard, and I, like the Occupy movement, am concerned about the causes and impacts of the most serious economic downturn in decades. This movement is important because our city, our state, our nation need to do much more to address the jobs and foreclosure crises which are crushing hope and opportunity for the 99% of us.
Here in Providence, the protesters who have camped in Burnside Park since October 15 have conducted themselves peacefully, and the city has had ongoing and respectful dialogue with the group. I commend Occupy Providence for its commitment to nonviolence, and I thank Occupy Providence for publicly recognizing the city’s efforts to ensure their right to assemble and demonstrate.
Unlike many other American cities, Providence is taking a nonviolent approach to the occupation of Burnside Park that has resulted in no arrests and the continued freedom to protest with the full support and cooperation of public safety.
The Commissioner has regularly met with protest organizers and sought open and honest communication about all public safety issues. He has waived multiple requirements and accommodated every public protest and march to date.
However, permanent occupation of the park is unsafe and unwise for compelling reasons both practical and legal. Emergency medical personnel have responded to instances involving drug overdose and fighting. Public safety officials have identified Level 3 sex offenders among those occupying the park. As the weather gets colder, Occupy protesters in other cities have been taken to the hospital with hypothermia.
Yet, Commissioner Pare and I have not taken police action. Instead, in the near future, we will petition the Courts for a ruling on the viability and constitutionality of this encampment. This will allow the protesters to have their day in Court and for a full public, legal vetting of the issues.
Accordingly, we have issued a notice asking the protestors to vacate Burnside Park by Sunday, October 30. We have made clear that protestors are welcome to return to the park everyday during park hours of 7 am to 9 pm. If protestors do not vacate Burnside Park on Sunday, the City will NOT follow the actions of other cities like Atlanta, Chicago or Oakland that have resulted in arrests and violence. Instead, the Courts will consider the merits of this issue over the next few weeks.
The City agrees with the ACLU, which has said that United States Supreme Court precedent "significantly limits" the right to camp out indefinitely in Burnside Park without a permit. In addition, like the ACLU, the city "fully supports the right of Occupy Providence to engage in other forms of peaceful protest at the park or elsewhere in the city."
I appreciate and share many of the global concerns that the Occupy movement seeks to address. And it is for this reason that I have used civil, nonviolent means to address the future of the encampment.
Together, as one Providence, we can make real progress towards our shared vision for a more just and equitable society: strengthening our schools, creating good jobs, developing safe and affordable housing and leading an open and transparent government.
Mayor Taveras is to be applauded for his comments and allowing the rule of law to prevail.
A Statement from Mayor Angel Taveras on Occupy Providence
Saturday, October 29, 2011
All citizens have a right to have their voices heard, and I, like the Occupy movement, am concerned about the causes and impacts of the most serious economic downturn in decades. This movement is important because our city, our state, our nation need to do much more to address the jobs and foreclosure crises which are crushing hope and opportunity for the 99% of us.
Here in Providence, the protesters who have camped in Burnside Park since October 15 have conducted themselves peacefully, and the city has had ongoing and respectful dialogue with the group. I commend Occupy Providence for its commitment to nonviolence, and I thank Occupy Providence for publicly recognizing the city’s efforts to ensure their right to assemble and demonstrate.
Unlike many other American cities, Providence is taking a nonviolent approach to the occupation of Burnside Park that has resulted in no arrests and the continued freedom to protest with the full support and cooperation of public safety.
The Commissioner has regularly met with protest organizers and sought open and honest communication about all public safety issues. He has waived multiple requirements and accommodated every public protest and march to date.
However, permanent occupation of the park is unsafe and unwise for compelling reasons both practical and legal. Emergency medical personnel have responded to instances involving drug overdose and fighting. Public safety officials have identified Level 3 sex offenders among those occupying the park. As the weather gets colder, Occupy protesters in other cities have been taken to the hospital with hypothermia.
Yet, Commissioner Pare and I have not taken police action. Instead, in the near future, we will petition the Courts for a ruling on the viability and constitutionality of this encampment. This will allow the protesters to have their day in Court and for a full public, legal vetting of the issues.
Accordingly, we have issued a notice asking the protestors to vacate Burnside Park by Sunday, October 30. We have made clear that protestors are welcome to return to the park everyday during park hours of 7 am to 9 pm. If protestors do not vacate Burnside Park on Sunday, the City will NOT follow the actions of other cities like Atlanta, Chicago or Oakland that have resulted in arrests and violence. Instead, the Courts will consider the merits of this issue over the next few weeks.
The City agrees with the ACLU, which has said that United States Supreme Court precedent "significantly limits" the right to camp out indefinitely in Burnside Park without a permit. In addition, like the ACLU, the city "fully supports the right of Occupy Providence to engage in other forms of peaceful protest at the park or elsewhere in the city."
I appreciate and share many of the global concerns that the Occupy movement seeks to address. And it is for this reason that I have used civil, nonviolent means to address the future of the encampment.
Together, as one Providence, we can make real progress towards our shared vision for a more just and equitable society: strengthening our schools, creating good jobs, developing safe and affordable housing and leading an open and transparent government.
Meet the 0.01 Percent: War Profiteers
Help give your local Occupy group the tools they need to fight corporate power by sharing our new video with them and posting it on your social networks: http://warcosts.com/1percent
War industry CEOs make tens of millions of dollars a year, putting them in the top 0.01 percent of income earners in the U.S.
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Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush made $22.84 million last year.
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Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens made $21.89 million.
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Boeing CEO James McNerney: $19.4 million.
These guys use their corporations' massive lobbying dollars to keep their job-killing gravy train rolling. Last year, their companies spent a whopping $46 million on lobbying, corrupting our politics and ensuring that their bank accounts continue to fatten at our expense. These executives are some of the main reasons why we're wasting so much on war instead of rebuilding our own nation here at home.
Help us fight their propaganda campaign to protect their profits. Use our list to share this video with your local Occupy group and encourage them to show it at their events: http://warcosts.com/1percent
CORRECTION: Lockheed Martin's CEO is Robert Stevens. The video refers to him as "Martin Stevens" which is incorrect.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
American Banking and Mexican Drug Cartels
As streets of American cities are flooding with cheap illegal drugs, local resources stressed fighting those related crimes, this offers an interesting insight --
Drug War Profiteers: Book Exposes How Wachovia Bank Laundered Millions for Mexican Cartels
As protests continue against Wall Street and the nation’s biggest banks, we speak to British journalist Ed Vulliamy, author of "Amexica: War Along the Borderline." Vulliamy exposes how one bank, Wachovia, made millions in the Mexican drug war. At the time, Wachovia was the nation’s fourth-largest bank. It has since been taken over by Wells Fargo. "You can’t drive around Mexico with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash in a semi-artic truck. It has to be banked," Vulliamy said. "What I found was that it is coming into the United States, into the banking system." [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Mexico, where drug-related violence has surged since President Felipe Calderón sent in the army to fight the cartels when he took office December 2006. The New York Times reported this week U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful criminal organizations. Typically, Mexico is kept in the dark about the U.S. actions inside Mexico with its most secret informants. The U.S. informants have reportedly helped Mexican authorities capture or kill about two dozen high-ranking and mid-level drug traffickers. In addition, the informants have sometimes given U.S. counter-narcotics agents access to the top leaders of the cartels they’re trying to dismantle.
For more about U.S. involvement in the drug wars in Mexico, we’re joined by Ed Vulliamy, author of Amexica: War Along the Borderline. He’s a writer for The Guardian and The Observer in Britain, and headed back there this week.
Ed, it’s good to have you with us.
ED VULLIAMY: Good morning, Amy. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: We only have a few minutes.
ED VULLIAMY: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: So lay out what you have found since the hardcover has come out, and now you’ve released the paperback, Amexica.
ED VULLIAMY: Well, you get a second bite with the paperback. And the original book was a report from the ground, from the rehab clinics, from the streets of Tamaulipas, Juárez and so on. But, you know, the burning question across the board was: what happens to the money? You can’t drive around Mexico with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash in a semi-artic truck. It has to be banked. And what I found was that it is coming into the United States, into the banking system. Now, we have to be careful here, legally. I mean, Wachovia is the bank concerned in this instance. It is in the clear, because there was a deferred prosecution in March. They were clear.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what you mean. What was Wachovia’s involvement?
ED VULLIAMY: OK, what happened was various signals, various red flags went up regarding inconsistencies. My contact—they were coming through London, traveler’s checks, serially numbered, strangely signed, coming through, and irregularities spotted. And my contact’s name is Woods, put up the alarm. Rather than be sort of thanked for his vigilance, he was basically sort of told to shut up, originally, and then spat out, frankly.
There was a prosecution. There was a settlement in the district court of Miami. And the settlement said—and it was a deferred prosecution, which means no one goes to jail, constructively, and you have to sort of behave for a year, and if you do so, the whole thing is dropped. And we have to say, it has been dropped. Wachovia has since been bought by Wells Fargo, who have cooperated with the investigation. It’s nothing against Wells Fargo.
But what was found was that $110 million—small change—was directly connected to four drug deals in Mexico involving the Sinaloa Cartel, but that the staggering figure of $378 billion—that’s a lot of money—was insufficiently monitored. Now, we don’t know how much of that was connected to drug deals. It could be anything between naught and $378 billion. But it gives us a glimpse of the size, of the volume, the quantity of the money involved. These were coming through things called casas de cambio, holes in the wall, basically, exchange houses, not even a proper banking system. So we have a medium-sized bank, that kind of money.
Then, I thought, well, let’s set this in context. Talked to a man called Antonio Maria Costa, who’s the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. He’s not there any longer. He posits that the volumes of money coming in from Mexico, from—and obviously his speciality was Europe, Russia, you know, similar operations—laundering of vast quantities of the profits of drugs and, of course, the calamitous violence that is the scourge of Mexico, is basically propping up the banking system. It is a major pillar of the banking system. Without it, it would have collapsed long ago. Well, we know that the other pillar propping it up is tax dollars.
But—and so, one has a sort of a glimpse through this case, through this afterword in this paperback edition, a glimpse of where all the money goes, you know, how—you know, we hear a lot about how the Mexican war, this catastrophe in Mexico, is crossing the border into the United States, and indeed how it isn’t crossing the border. But one way in which it sure as hell is crossing the border is hundreds of billions of dollars of blood money.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to leave it there, but we’re going to do a post-show interview, and we’re going to post it online at democracynow.org. We’ve been speaking with Ed Vulliamy. He is a writer for The Guardian and The Observer, headed back to London. His book is called Amexica: War Along the Borderline, and he’s written the cover story of Harper’s, which we’re going to talk about post-show, which is called "Broken Britain."
Drug War Profiteers: Book Exposes How Wachovia Bank Laundered Millions for Mexican Cartels
As protests continue against Wall Street and the nation’s biggest banks, we speak to British journalist Ed Vulliamy, author of "Amexica: War Along the Borderline." Vulliamy exposes how one bank, Wachovia, made millions in the Mexican drug war. At the time, Wachovia was the nation’s fourth-largest bank. It has since been taken over by Wells Fargo. "You can’t drive around Mexico with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash in a semi-artic truck. It has to be banked," Vulliamy said. "What I found was that it is coming into the United States, into the banking system." [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Mexico, where drug-related violence has surged since President Felipe Calderón sent in the army to fight the cartels when he took office December 2006. The New York Times reported this week U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful criminal organizations. Typically, Mexico is kept in the dark about the U.S. actions inside Mexico with its most secret informants. The U.S. informants have reportedly helped Mexican authorities capture or kill about two dozen high-ranking and mid-level drug traffickers. In addition, the informants have sometimes given U.S. counter-narcotics agents access to the top leaders of the cartels they’re trying to dismantle.
For more about U.S. involvement in the drug wars in Mexico, we’re joined by Ed Vulliamy, author of Amexica: War Along the Borderline. He’s a writer for The Guardian and The Observer in Britain, and headed back there this week.
Ed, it’s good to have you with us.
ED VULLIAMY: Good morning, Amy. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: We only have a few minutes.
ED VULLIAMY: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: So lay out what you have found since the hardcover has come out, and now you’ve released the paperback, Amexica.
ED VULLIAMY: Well, you get a second bite with the paperback. And the original book was a report from the ground, from the rehab clinics, from the streets of Tamaulipas, Juárez and so on. But, you know, the burning question across the board was: what happens to the money? You can’t drive around Mexico with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash in a semi-artic truck. It has to be banked. And what I found was that it is coming into the United States, into the banking system. Now, we have to be careful here, legally. I mean, Wachovia is the bank concerned in this instance. It is in the clear, because there was a deferred prosecution in March. They were clear.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what you mean. What was Wachovia’s involvement?
ED VULLIAMY: OK, what happened was various signals, various red flags went up regarding inconsistencies. My contact—they were coming through London, traveler’s checks, serially numbered, strangely signed, coming through, and irregularities spotted. And my contact’s name is Woods, put up the alarm. Rather than be sort of thanked for his vigilance, he was basically sort of told to shut up, originally, and then spat out, frankly.
There was a prosecution. There was a settlement in the district court of Miami. And the settlement said—and it was a deferred prosecution, which means no one goes to jail, constructively, and you have to sort of behave for a year, and if you do so, the whole thing is dropped. And we have to say, it has been dropped. Wachovia has since been bought by Wells Fargo, who have cooperated with the investigation. It’s nothing against Wells Fargo.
But what was found was that $110 million—small change—was directly connected to four drug deals in Mexico involving the Sinaloa Cartel, but that the staggering figure of $378 billion—that’s a lot of money—was insufficiently monitored. Now, we don’t know how much of that was connected to drug deals. It could be anything between naught and $378 billion. But it gives us a glimpse of the size, of the volume, the quantity of the money involved. These were coming through things called casas de cambio, holes in the wall, basically, exchange houses, not even a proper banking system. So we have a medium-sized bank, that kind of money.
Then, I thought, well, let’s set this in context. Talked to a man called Antonio Maria Costa, who’s the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. He’s not there any longer. He posits that the volumes of money coming in from Mexico, from—and obviously his speciality was Europe, Russia, you know, similar operations—laundering of vast quantities of the profits of drugs and, of course, the calamitous violence that is the scourge of Mexico, is basically propping up the banking system. It is a major pillar of the banking system. Without it, it would have collapsed long ago. Well, we know that the other pillar propping it up is tax dollars.
But—and so, one has a sort of a glimpse through this case, through this afterword in this paperback edition, a glimpse of where all the money goes, you know, how—you know, we hear a lot about how the Mexican war, this catastrophe in Mexico, is crossing the border into the United States, and indeed how it isn’t crossing the border. But one way in which it sure as hell is crossing the border is hundreds of billions of dollars of blood money.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to leave it there, but we’re going to do a post-show interview, and we’re going to post it online at democracynow.org. We’ve been speaking with Ed Vulliamy. He is a writer for The Guardian and The Observer, headed back to London. His book is called Amexica: War Along the Borderline, and he’s written the cover story of Harper’s, which we’re going to talk about post-show, which is called "Broken Britain."
Oakland!
When I attempted to send a FAX to the Oakland Mayor to protest the police brutality in the treatment of peaceful protesters, the FAX machine reported only out of service.
The Mayor of Oakland seems to have experienced an epiphany of sorts.
Pathetic that it required an outpouring of public condemnation nationwide.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's About-Face
"Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's rather remarkable statement below marks a watershed for the burgeoning American Occupy movements.
Cast against the backdrop of Wednesday's fully-militarized Oakland city center, Quan's effusively conciliatory remarks can only be interpreted as an admission that turning downtown Oakland into a war zone to roll up a tent-city encampment did not work.
It should be noted that adherence to non-violent discipline on the part of the Occupy Oakland organizers and all the protesters that participated throughout the day was a critically important factor in forcing the City of Oakland's hand.
Brute-force police oppression of the Occupy movement has taken its best shot. It is possible that non-violent resistance has prevailed. -- Marc Ash/RSN
Statement by Oakland, California, Mayor Jean Quan on Wednesday's police action against Occupy Oakland protesters:
We support the goals of the Occupy Wall Street movement: we have high levels of unemployment and we have high levels of foreclosure that makes Oakland part of the 99% too. We are a progressive city and tolerant of many opinions. We may not always agree, but we all have a right to be heard.
I want to thank everyone for the peaceful demonstration at Frank Ogawa Park tonight, and thank the city employees who worked hard to clean up the plaza so that all activities can continue including Occupy Wall Street. We have decided to have a minimal police presence at the plaza for the short term and build a community effort to improve communications and dialogue with the demonstrators.
99% of our officers stayed professional during difficult and dangerous circumstances as did some of the demonstrators who dissuaded other protestors from vandalizing downtown and for helping to keep the demonstrations peaceful. For the most part, demonstrations over the past two weeks have been peaceful. We hope they continue to be so.
I want to express our deepest concern for all of those who were injured last night, and we are committed to ensuring this does not happen again. Investigations of certain incidents are underway and I will personally monitor them.
We understand and recognize the impact this event has had on the community and acknowledge what has happened. We cannot change the past, but we are committed to doing better.
Most of us are part of the 99%, and understand the spirit of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. We are committed to honoring their free speech right.
Finally, we understand the demonstrators want to meet with me and Chief Jordan. We welcome open dialogue with representatives of Occupy Wall Street members, and we are willing to meet with them as soon as possible.
Iraq War Vet Hospitalized with Fractured Skull After Being Shot by Police at Occupy Oakland Protest
Thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall Wednesday after police dispersed them twice on Tuesday — first in a pre-dawn raid on the camp and 12 hours later at night when protesters attempted to retake the park — using beanbag projectiles and tear gas. Many protesters expressed outrage over of the injury of Oakland protester Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran whose skull was fractured by a projectile fired by police Tuesday night. He is hospitalized in critical condition and is reportedly under sedation by doctors monitoring his injury. We speak to Jesse Palmer, an Occupy Oakland protester who helped move Olsen to safety, and to Aaron Hinde, a close friend of Scott Olsen and a fellow member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. One of Olsen’s other friends, Adele Carpenter, told Reuters, "The irony is not lost on anyone here that this is someone who survived two tours in Iraq and is now seriously injured by the Oakland police force." Aaron Hinde talked about why Olsen joined the Occupy Oakland movement: "He was a very motivated and dedicated individual. And he believed in the Occupy movement, because it’s very obvious what’s happening in this country, especially as veterans. We’ve had our eyes opened by serving and going to war overseas." [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: As we broadcast, protesters with the Occupy San Francisco encampment are preparing for possible eviction by police, but reports just now coming in say police may have called off their raid.
Meanwhile, across the Bay last night, thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall after police dispersed them Tuesday night using bean bag projectiles and tear gas. At last night’s general assembly, the Occupy Oakland encampment voted almost unanimously to call for a general strike on November 2nd, saying, quote, "Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city. All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them," the statement said.
Also in Oakland, an independent police review body will examine the clashes between riot police and protesters Tuesday that left an Iraq war veteran in critical condition. Scott Olsen is a 24-year-old Iraq war vet. He was struck in the head by a police projectile. Video footage posted to YouTube shows a man identified as Scott Olsen lying motionless and unresponsive in front of a police line after apparently having been hit by a tear gas canister. Several protesters gather around him, but a police officer can be seen throwing a device close to the group which then explodes with a bright flash and loud bang, dispersing the protesters. The video then cuts to footage of protesters carrying Olsen away as blood streams down his face.
A spokesperson for Highland Hospital in East Oakland has confirmed that Scott Olsen remains in critical condition. He suffered from a fractured skull and brain swelling. One of Olsen’s friends, Adele Carpenter, told Reuters, "The irony is not lost on anyone here that this is someone who survived two tours in Iraq and is now seriously injured by the Oakland police force." Olsen served in Iraq from 2006 to 2010 with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.
Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan told a news conference his department is investigating the injury to Olsen as a "level one" incident, the highest level for an internal police inquiry. He declined to confirm whether Olsen was struck with a projectile fired by police.
Well, for more on what happened to Iraq war veteran, to Marine Corporal Scott Olsen, and the broader role that veterans play in the Occupy movement across the country, we’re joined by two guests in Berkeley, California. Aaron Hinde is a close friend of Scott Olsen, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, as Scott was. He has slept at Occupy San Francisco for several nights. We’re also joined by Jesse Palmer, who participated in Occupy Oakland since its inception. He helped carry Scott to safety after the police projectile hit Olsen in the head. Aaron Hinde, Jesse Palmer are joining us from the studios of the University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! I want to begin with Jesse, because you were on the scene on Tuesday night. Can you describe what time it was that Scott was hit and exactly what happened when you came upon him?
JESSE PALMER: Well, it was about 7:45. People had marched at 5:00, and by the point that the first tear gas and concussion grenades were used, people had been marching for over two hours. At the time, there was a large group of people standing at 14th and Broadway, which is the intersection right in downtown Oakland closest to Oscar Grant Plaza. The police had given an order to disperse, but there was no aggressive behavior towards the police. It was basically just a standoff. People were standing around.
All of a sudden, you know, in just an instant, with no real warning, concussion grenades went off and tear gas canisters went off all around us. I was right in the middle of the intersection, and it was very shocking, because you just heard the explosions in every direction all around you. Most of the crowd I was with proceeded north on Broadway, but people went in every direction. The other two intersections, people left.
At that time, I didn’t see that Scott had been struck. And in fact the tear gas makes it very hard for you to see. You can’t see. So people fell back about a half a block down Broadway, then somebody said that somebody had been hurt. And so, a number of people ran back up into the tear gas. And he was lying on the sidewalk, and there were a couple of medics already with him, and they said, "We need to get him farther out," because it was very very unsafe at that location. And so, we picked him up, and we carried him about a block, around the corner from where they could safely work on him.
AMY GOODMAN: What exactly was his condition as you tried, with others, to carry him?
JESSE PALMER: So, we picked him up, and my initial—I told him, "You’re going to be OK. My name’s Jesse. Can you tell me your name?" because I knew it was a terrifying situation, and I wanted to comfort him. But he didn’t respond at all. His eyes were open. He just stared blankly. And that was when I realized. You know, there was blood coming out of—it was a little hard to say, but his eyes, his mouth, his nose, there was a lot of blood on his face. And it was a terrifying, you know, moment. I mean, he was alive, and we didn’t know how badly he was hurt. And he didn’t speak back to me. And I tried a few times, because I thought, "Oh, he’ll be able to speak back." And he never spoke. We got him around the sidewalk, and then there were—the medics said they were EMTs, and they had experience. So that was when I left. But he—yeah, he was seriously hurt.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to play the videotape that has been posted to YouTube. There were two different ones. One is the first, when you all got him, and it shows Scott’s bloody face as you were carrying him away. And then we’ll play the other, where people went to try to get him, and the flashbang grenade was—hit right at the area where he was lying. Let’s go to the first, where you got him.
PROTESTER 1: Medic!
PROTESTER 2: We need a medic! Medic! Medic!
PROTESTER 3: What happened? What happened?
PROTESTER 2: He got [bleep] shot!
PROTESTER 3: What’s your name? What’s your name?
PROTESTER 2: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 4: Dude, wake up!
PROTESTER 3: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 4: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 5: Can you say anything?
PROTESTER 3: Medic!
PROTESTERS: Medic!
PROTESTER 3: Whoa! [bleep]! Hey, back up! Back up! Back up!
AMY GOODMAN: And for our radio listeners, of course, you can see this on television, but as you could see just how it—how it sounds, exactly as it looks. And that is, a war zone. The other video is Scott lying on the ground, not yet taken by all of you, the video we just had. And this is when people ran up—we’re going to play it as I speak—ran up to try to help him.
PROTESTER: Help him! Help him!
AMY GOODMAN: So, Jesse Palmer, what do you understand at this point was the projectile that was used that first hit Scott, and this flashbang grenade, when people came to try to pick him up?
JESSE PALMER: I mean, it’s—there’s no way I can really say precisely what happened. There were tear gas projectiles that were shot in and fell all around us. The flashbang grenades were thrown, and they went off, again, all around us. And meanwhile, you can also hear on the video that they’re shooting some kind of—you know, some kind of other thing, what they were calling them bean bag rounds. Some people were calling them rubber bullets. But those were ricocheting and flying through the air all at once.
And, in fact, you know, just to correct you, he actually got carried twice. There was the initial group that carried him from right in front of the police barricade, which is where he was standing, just down the street a little bit. But then, for whatever reason, they weren’t able to carry him all the way to safety. And I think the reason is, is because there was so much tear gas and so much—so many projectiles flying through the air. So, I first became aware of him—he had been carried away from the barricade, but not all the way to safety. He was still close to the police. And that was when we ran back up near the police and took—carried him again. So the first video is of his first carrying, but then he was put down, and then we carried him again to a safer location around the block. It was a very chaotic situation.
AMY GOODMAN: Aaron Hinde, tell us who Scott is. Who is your friend Scott Olsen? You, both, members of IVAW, the Iraq Veterans Against the War.
AARON HINDE: Scott came to San Francisco about three months ago from Wisconsin, where he actually participated in the holding of the State Capitol over there. Scott’s probably one of the most warmest, kindest guys I know. He’s just one of those people who always has a smile on his face and never has anything negative to say. Like Adele said, it’s very ironic that he was the one to be critically injured, not just because of his status as a veteran, but just because of the nature of him. He was a very nice guy. He was not aggressive. He was not angry at all.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about his moving from Madison to the Bay Area and why he was participating in Occupy Oakland. You were not there at the time, is that right? You were at Occupy San Francisco?
AARON HINDE: Right, I was at Occupy San Francisco, and around 8:00 or so, some woman was reading off a couple of tweets off of the Twitter feed and said that there was an Iraq veteran who had been injured. I immediately called some people over there and found out that it was a long-haired Iraq veteran, and I knew immediately that it was Scott. So I started calling hospitals, found out where he was, and immediately drove over there and called over other members of our organization to the hospital for support.
Scott came, like I said, three months ago, and he got a great job with his friend Keith, who he also served with, in the IT. He worked during the day and slept in San Francisco by night. He was a very motivated and dedicated individual. And he believed in the Occupy movement, because it’s very obvious what’s happening in this country, especially as veterans. We’ve had our eyes opened by serving and going to war overseas. So, there’s a small contingency of us out here, and we’re all very motivated and dedicated. And we’re all hoping for the best for a full and swift recovery for Scott.
AMY GOODMAN: Aaron, can you describe—there’s a vigil outside of the hospital, as Scott lies inside the hospital. Now, the hospital put him into a coma, is that right? To reduce the brain swelling.
AARON HINDE: Right. The hospital has kept him intubated and drugged up, so that he doesn’t regain consciousness. I was able to see him for a while yesterday, until the nurses finally kicked everyone but his roommate out and stopped communicating with us. I’m guessing that has something to do with the ongoing police investigation in the matter. As far as the vigil outside the hospital, I haven’t been back there since about 4:00 yesterday. So, I will definitely be attending that today. Also at 7:00—
AMY GOODMAN: His family is flying in today?
AARON HINDE: I believe his family is trying to get here as quickly as possible. I haven’t talked with Keith yet to see when exactly they’re coming in. But, yes, his family is on the way.
AMY GOODMAN: And you said, "At 7:00"?
AARON HINDE: At 7:00, we’re planning on holding another vigil outside of City Hall, after the general assembly of Occupy Oakland. Everyone’s invited. This is really something that needs to be highlighted, what police brutality can do to a citizen populace and exactly who is comprised of this Occupy movement.
AMY GOODMAN: A general strike is being called for November 2nd, is that right?
JESSE PALMER: That’s correct. I was at the general assembly last night, which was the biggest that we’ve had yet. And it’s a modified consensus decision making, which requires a 90 percent vote of the participants in order to approve a proposal. And this proposal came up, was discussed for over two hours. And then the vote, with 1,600 votes counted, was 1,484 for, 77 abstained, 46 against. There was an overwhelming feeling that we needed to take it to the next level. And Oakland has—you know, there was a general strike in Oakland in 1946 that everybody is aware of as a precedent. I think we feel that this struggle is moving in—you know, the occupation of Oakland was incredibly powerful and educational, and the level of dialogue was amazing, for everybody involved, but I think we all feel like it’s time to take the struggle to the next level, so that everyone can participate in Oakland and around the country. And not everybody is going to come down to a tent city, so we feel that a general strike is the next way to go.
AMY GOODMAN: And you retook what’s being called now Oscar Grant Plaza, for the young man who was killed by the BART police two years ago. You retook that encampment that the police evacuated you from two nights ago?
JESSE PALMER: There was—when we arrived yesterday for the general assembly, because what was scheduled last night was our general assembly that we’ve had every night since the occupation began. There was a fence around the grassy area where the tents had stood. The general assembly didn’t make a decision to remove the fence, but the fence was removed. And as of when I left, yeah, it had been retaken. I don’t know what’s happened since midnight.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, Aaron Hinde, if you could talk about the level of participation of Iraq and Afghanistan war vets? I just came from Louisville, Kentucky, and there were several vets there. I was in Kansas City before that, same thing. Talk about what you’re seeing as a vet yourself.
AARON HINDE: As a veteran or as an active-duty servicemember, you swear an oath to uphold and protect your country, and that is carried with you, even if you go out of the military, that sense of responsibility. And because of that vigilance, it seems veterans are always on the cusp of these types of social, progressive actions that are going on. I know that our organization, Veterans for Peace and other veteran organizations are highly active in the Occupy movement. We, for the most part, agree with all the principles and are trying to support it however we can, and participate, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you both for being with us. Of course, we’ll continue to follow this story and report on Scott Olsen’s condition, now unconscious in the Oakland hospital, friends holding a vigil outside, his family flying in today. Aaron Hinde, friend of Scott Olsen, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Jesse Palmer, who participated in Occupy Oakland and helped to carry Scott Olsen to safety after the police projectile hit Olsen in the head.
This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. When we come back, the Occupy movement in the United States to Tahrir Square. We’ll be joined by two Egyptian activists, leaders in the Egyptian revolution, who’ve come to this country and spoke at Occupy Wall Street. Stay with us.
The Mayor of Oakland seems to have experienced an epiphany of sorts.
Pathetic that it required an outpouring of public condemnation nationwide.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's About-Face
"Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's rather remarkable statement below marks a watershed for the burgeoning American Occupy movements.
Cast against the backdrop of Wednesday's fully-militarized Oakland city center, Quan's effusively conciliatory remarks can only be interpreted as an admission that turning downtown Oakland into a war zone to roll up a tent-city encampment did not work.
It should be noted that adherence to non-violent discipline on the part of the Occupy Oakland organizers and all the protesters that participated throughout the day was a critically important factor in forcing the City of Oakland's hand.
Brute-force police oppression of the Occupy movement has taken its best shot. It is possible that non-violent resistance has prevailed. -- Marc Ash/RSN
Statement by Oakland, California, Mayor Jean Quan on Wednesday's police action against Occupy Oakland protesters:
We support the goals of the Occupy Wall Street movement: we have high levels of unemployment and we have high levels of foreclosure that makes Oakland part of the 99% too. We are a progressive city and tolerant of many opinions. We may not always agree, but we all have a right to be heard.
I want to thank everyone for the peaceful demonstration at Frank Ogawa Park tonight, and thank the city employees who worked hard to clean up the plaza so that all activities can continue including Occupy Wall Street. We have decided to have a minimal police presence at the plaza for the short term and build a community effort to improve communications and dialogue with the demonstrators.
99% of our officers stayed professional during difficult and dangerous circumstances as did some of the demonstrators who dissuaded other protestors from vandalizing downtown and for helping to keep the demonstrations peaceful. For the most part, demonstrations over the past two weeks have been peaceful. We hope they continue to be so.
I want to express our deepest concern for all of those who were injured last night, and we are committed to ensuring this does not happen again. Investigations of certain incidents are underway and I will personally monitor them.
We understand and recognize the impact this event has had on the community and acknowledge what has happened. We cannot change the past, but we are committed to doing better.
Most of us are part of the 99%, and understand the spirit of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. We are committed to honoring their free speech right.
Finally, we understand the demonstrators want to meet with me and Chief Jordan. We welcome open dialogue with representatives of Occupy Wall Street members, and we are willing to meet with them as soon as possible.
Iraq War Vet Hospitalized with Fractured Skull After Being Shot by Police at Occupy Oakland Protest
Thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall Wednesday after police dispersed them twice on Tuesday — first in a pre-dawn raid on the camp and 12 hours later at night when protesters attempted to retake the park — using beanbag projectiles and tear gas. Many protesters expressed outrage over of the injury of Oakland protester Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran whose skull was fractured by a projectile fired by police Tuesday night. He is hospitalized in critical condition and is reportedly under sedation by doctors monitoring his injury. We speak to Jesse Palmer, an Occupy Oakland protester who helped move Olsen to safety, and to Aaron Hinde, a close friend of Scott Olsen and a fellow member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. One of Olsen’s other friends, Adele Carpenter, told Reuters, "The irony is not lost on anyone here that this is someone who survived two tours in Iraq and is now seriously injured by the Oakland police force." Aaron Hinde talked about why Olsen joined the Occupy Oakland movement: "He was a very motivated and dedicated individual. And he believed in the Occupy movement, because it’s very obvious what’s happening in this country, especially as veterans. We’ve had our eyes opened by serving and going to war overseas." [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: As we broadcast, protesters with the Occupy San Francisco encampment are preparing for possible eviction by police, but reports just now coming in say police may have called off their raid.
Meanwhile, across the Bay last night, thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall after police dispersed them Tuesday night using bean bag projectiles and tear gas. At last night’s general assembly, the Occupy Oakland encampment voted almost unanimously to call for a general strike on November 2nd, saying, quote, "Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city. All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them," the statement said.
Also in Oakland, an independent police review body will examine the clashes between riot police and protesters Tuesday that left an Iraq war veteran in critical condition. Scott Olsen is a 24-year-old Iraq war vet. He was struck in the head by a police projectile. Video footage posted to YouTube shows a man identified as Scott Olsen lying motionless and unresponsive in front of a police line after apparently having been hit by a tear gas canister. Several protesters gather around him, but a police officer can be seen throwing a device close to the group which then explodes with a bright flash and loud bang, dispersing the protesters. The video then cuts to footage of protesters carrying Olsen away as blood streams down his face.
A spokesperson for Highland Hospital in East Oakland has confirmed that Scott Olsen remains in critical condition. He suffered from a fractured skull and brain swelling. One of Olsen’s friends, Adele Carpenter, told Reuters, "The irony is not lost on anyone here that this is someone who survived two tours in Iraq and is now seriously injured by the Oakland police force." Olsen served in Iraq from 2006 to 2010 with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.
Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan told a news conference his department is investigating the injury to Olsen as a "level one" incident, the highest level for an internal police inquiry. He declined to confirm whether Olsen was struck with a projectile fired by police.
Well, for more on what happened to Iraq war veteran, to Marine Corporal Scott Olsen, and the broader role that veterans play in the Occupy movement across the country, we’re joined by two guests in Berkeley, California. Aaron Hinde is a close friend of Scott Olsen, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, as Scott was. He has slept at Occupy San Francisco for several nights. We’re also joined by Jesse Palmer, who participated in Occupy Oakland since its inception. He helped carry Scott to safety after the police projectile hit Olsen in the head. Aaron Hinde, Jesse Palmer are joining us from the studios of the University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! I want to begin with Jesse, because you were on the scene on Tuesday night. Can you describe what time it was that Scott was hit and exactly what happened when you came upon him?
JESSE PALMER: Well, it was about 7:45. People had marched at 5:00, and by the point that the first tear gas and concussion grenades were used, people had been marching for over two hours. At the time, there was a large group of people standing at 14th and Broadway, which is the intersection right in downtown Oakland closest to Oscar Grant Plaza. The police had given an order to disperse, but there was no aggressive behavior towards the police. It was basically just a standoff. People were standing around.
All of a sudden, you know, in just an instant, with no real warning, concussion grenades went off and tear gas canisters went off all around us. I was right in the middle of the intersection, and it was very shocking, because you just heard the explosions in every direction all around you. Most of the crowd I was with proceeded north on Broadway, but people went in every direction. The other two intersections, people left.
At that time, I didn’t see that Scott had been struck. And in fact the tear gas makes it very hard for you to see. You can’t see. So people fell back about a half a block down Broadway, then somebody said that somebody had been hurt. And so, a number of people ran back up into the tear gas. And he was lying on the sidewalk, and there were a couple of medics already with him, and they said, "We need to get him farther out," because it was very very unsafe at that location. And so, we picked him up, and we carried him about a block, around the corner from where they could safely work on him.
AMY GOODMAN: What exactly was his condition as you tried, with others, to carry him?
JESSE PALMER: So, we picked him up, and my initial—I told him, "You’re going to be OK. My name’s Jesse. Can you tell me your name?" because I knew it was a terrifying situation, and I wanted to comfort him. But he didn’t respond at all. His eyes were open. He just stared blankly. And that was when I realized. You know, there was blood coming out of—it was a little hard to say, but his eyes, his mouth, his nose, there was a lot of blood on his face. And it was a terrifying, you know, moment. I mean, he was alive, and we didn’t know how badly he was hurt. And he didn’t speak back to me. And I tried a few times, because I thought, "Oh, he’ll be able to speak back." And he never spoke. We got him around the sidewalk, and then there were—the medics said they were EMTs, and they had experience. So that was when I left. But he—yeah, he was seriously hurt.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to play the videotape that has been posted to YouTube. There were two different ones. One is the first, when you all got him, and it shows Scott’s bloody face as you were carrying him away. And then we’ll play the other, where people went to try to get him, and the flashbang grenade was—hit right at the area where he was lying. Let’s go to the first, where you got him.
PROTESTER 1: Medic!
PROTESTER 2: We need a medic! Medic! Medic!
PROTESTER 3: What happened? What happened?
PROTESTER 2: He got [bleep] shot!
PROTESTER 3: What’s your name? What’s your name?
PROTESTER 2: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 4: Dude, wake up!
PROTESTER 3: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 4: What’s your name?
PROTESTER 5: Can you say anything?
PROTESTER 3: Medic!
PROTESTERS: Medic!
PROTESTER 3: Whoa! [bleep]! Hey, back up! Back up! Back up!
AMY GOODMAN: And for our radio listeners, of course, you can see this on television, but as you could see just how it—how it sounds, exactly as it looks. And that is, a war zone. The other video is Scott lying on the ground, not yet taken by all of you, the video we just had. And this is when people ran up—we’re going to play it as I speak—ran up to try to help him.
PROTESTER: Help him! Help him!
AMY GOODMAN: So, Jesse Palmer, what do you understand at this point was the projectile that was used that first hit Scott, and this flashbang grenade, when people came to try to pick him up?
JESSE PALMER: I mean, it’s—there’s no way I can really say precisely what happened. There were tear gas projectiles that were shot in and fell all around us. The flashbang grenades were thrown, and they went off, again, all around us. And meanwhile, you can also hear on the video that they’re shooting some kind of—you know, some kind of other thing, what they were calling them bean bag rounds. Some people were calling them rubber bullets. But those were ricocheting and flying through the air all at once.
And, in fact, you know, just to correct you, he actually got carried twice. There was the initial group that carried him from right in front of the police barricade, which is where he was standing, just down the street a little bit. But then, for whatever reason, they weren’t able to carry him all the way to safety. And I think the reason is, is because there was so much tear gas and so much—so many projectiles flying through the air. So, I first became aware of him—he had been carried away from the barricade, but not all the way to safety. He was still close to the police. And that was when we ran back up near the police and took—carried him again. So the first video is of his first carrying, but then he was put down, and then we carried him again to a safer location around the block. It was a very chaotic situation.
AMY GOODMAN: Aaron Hinde, tell us who Scott is. Who is your friend Scott Olsen? You, both, members of IVAW, the Iraq Veterans Against the War.
AARON HINDE: Scott came to San Francisco about three months ago from Wisconsin, where he actually participated in the holding of the State Capitol over there. Scott’s probably one of the most warmest, kindest guys I know. He’s just one of those people who always has a smile on his face and never has anything negative to say. Like Adele said, it’s very ironic that he was the one to be critically injured, not just because of his status as a veteran, but just because of the nature of him. He was a very nice guy. He was not aggressive. He was not angry at all.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about his moving from Madison to the Bay Area and why he was participating in Occupy Oakland. You were not there at the time, is that right? You were at Occupy San Francisco?
AARON HINDE: Right, I was at Occupy San Francisco, and around 8:00 or so, some woman was reading off a couple of tweets off of the Twitter feed and said that there was an Iraq veteran who had been injured. I immediately called some people over there and found out that it was a long-haired Iraq veteran, and I knew immediately that it was Scott. So I started calling hospitals, found out where he was, and immediately drove over there and called over other members of our organization to the hospital for support.
Scott came, like I said, three months ago, and he got a great job with his friend Keith, who he also served with, in the IT. He worked during the day and slept in San Francisco by night. He was a very motivated and dedicated individual. And he believed in the Occupy movement, because it’s very obvious what’s happening in this country, especially as veterans. We’ve had our eyes opened by serving and going to war overseas. So, there’s a small contingency of us out here, and we’re all very motivated and dedicated. And we’re all hoping for the best for a full and swift recovery for Scott.
AMY GOODMAN: Aaron, can you describe—there’s a vigil outside of the hospital, as Scott lies inside the hospital. Now, the hospital put him into a coma, is that right? To reduce the brain swelling.
AARON HINDE: Right. The hospital has kept him intubated and drugged up, so that he doesn’t regain consciousness. I was able to see him for a while yesterday, until the nurses finally kicked everyone but his roommate out and stopped communicating with us. I’m guessing that has something to do with the ongoing police investigation in the matter. As far as the vigil outside the hospital, I haven’t been back there since about 4:00 yesterday. So, I will definitely be attending that today. Also at 7:00—
AMY GOODMAN: His family is flying in today?
AARON HINDE: I believe his family is trying to get here as quickly as possible. I haven’t talked with Keith yet to see when exactly they’re coming in. But, yes, his family is on the way.
AMY GOODMAN: And you said, "At 7:00"?
AARON HINDE: At 7:00, we’re planning on holding another vigil outside of City Hall, after the general assembly of Occupy Oakland. Everyone’s invited. This is really something that needs to be highlighted, what police brutality can do to a citizen populace and exactly who is comprised of this Occupy movement.
AMY GOODMAN: A general strike is being called for November 2nd, is that right?
JESSE PALMER: That’s correct. I was at the general assembly last night, which was the biggest that we’ve had yet. And it’s a modified consensus decision making, which requires a 90 percent vote of the participants in order to approve a proposal. And this proposal came up, was discussed for over two hours. And then the vote, with 1,600 votes counted, was 1,484 for, 77 abstained, 46 against. There was an overwhelming feeling that we needed to take it to the next level. And Oakland has—you know, there was a general strike in Oakland in 1946 that everybody is aware of as a precedent. I think we feel that this struggle is moving in—you know, the occupation of Oakland was incredibly powerful and educational, and the level of dialogue was amazing, for everybody involved, but I think we all feel like it’s time to take the struggle to the next level, so that everyone can participate in Oakland and around the country. And not everybody is going to come down to a tent city, so we feel that a general strike is the next way to go.
AMY GOODMAN: And you retook what’s being called now Oscar Grant Plaza, for the young man who was killed by the BART police two years ago. You retook that encampment that the police evacuated you from two nights ago?
JESSE PALMER: There was—when we arrived yesterday for the general assembly, because what was scheduled last night was our general assembly that we’ve had every night since the occupation began. There was a fence around the grassy area where the tents had stood. The general assembly didn’t make a decision to remove the fence, but the fence was removed. And as of when I left, yeah, it had been retaken. I don’t know what’s happened since midnight.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, Aaron Hinde, if you could talk about the level of participation of Iraq and Afghanistan war vets? I just came from Louisville, Kentucky, and there were several vets there. I was in Kansas City before that, same thing. Talk about what you’re seeing as a vet yourself.
AARON HINDE: As a veteran or as an active-duty servicemember, you swear an oath to uphold and protect your country, and that is carried with you, even if you go out of the military, that sense of responsibility. And because of that vigilance, it seems veterans are always on the cusp of these types of social, progressive actions that are going on. I know that our organization, Veterans for Peace and other veteran organizations are highly active in the Occupy movement. We, for the most part, agree with all the principles and are trying to support it however we can, and participate, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you both for being with us. Of course, we’ll continue to follow this story and report on Scott Olsen’s condition, now unconscious in the Oakland hospital, friends holding a vigil outside, his family flying in today. Aaron Hinde, friend of Scott Olsen, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Jesse Palmer, who participated in Occupy Oakland and helped to carry Scott Olsen to safety after the police projectile hit Olsen in the head.
This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. When we come back, the Occupy movement in the United States to Tahrir Square. We’ll be joined by two Egyptian activists, leaders in the Egyptian revolution, who’ve come to this country and spoke at Occupy Wall Street. Stay with us.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Occupy
As the U.S. promotes Democracy around the world, the shocking truth is sadly revealed around the country.
This has been such a disgusting display of police brutality against peaceful protesters broadcast around the world, shouldn't we be embarrassed by our own hypocrisy?
LIVE COVERAGE
A Witness to the Violence in Oakland
Photos and Story By Marc Ash, Reader Supported News
Police Brutality Charges Sweep Across the US [go to original for links]
By Paul Harris, Guardian UK
From Naomi Wolf's arrest in New York to shootings in Tucson and Florida, forces face allegations of abuse of power.
fficer Michael Daragjati had no idea that the FBI was listening to his phone calls. Otherwise he would probably not have described his arrest and detention of an innocent black New Yorker in the manner he did.
Daragjati boasted to a woman friend that, while on patrol in Staten Island, he had "fried another nigger". It was "no big deal", he added. The FBI, which had been investigating another matter, then tried to work out what had happened.
According to court documents released in New York, Daragjati and his partner had randomly stopped and frisked a black man who had become angry and asked for Daragjati's name and badge number. Daragjati, 32, and with eight years on the force, had no reason to stop the man, and had found nothing illegal. But he arrested him and fabricated an account of him resisting arrest. The man, now referred to in papers only as John Doe because of fears for his safety, spent two nights in jail. He had merely been walking alone through the neighbourhood.
The shocking story has added to a growing sense that there are serious problems of indiscipline and law-breaking in US police forces. Last week the feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested outside an awards ceremony in Manhattan. She had been advising Occupy Wall Street protesters of their rights to continue demonstrating outside the event. Instead, as she joined the protest, she was carted off to jail in her evening gown. That incident is only the most high-profile of many apparently illegal police actions around the protests. One senior officer, deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, created headlines worldwide when he pepper-sprayed young women behind a police barricade.
A report from the New York Civil Liberties Union recently looked at police use of Taser stun guns in the state, and revealed that in 60% of incidents where they were used, the incident did not meet the recommended criteria for such a weapon. Some cases involved people already handcuffed and 40% involved "at risk" subjects such as children, the elderly or mentally ill. "This disturbing pattern of misuse and abuse endangers lives," said the NYCLU's executive director, Donna Lieberman.
In Los Angeles, officers in the sheriff's department are accused of physically abusing some prison inmates and having sex with others. An internal report, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, revealed allegations that included beating people visiting relatives in jail. In Pittsburgh, there is the case of Jordan Miles, a high-flying high-school student stopped by three plainclothes policemen. Miles, 18 at the time, was walking to his grandmother's house and had no idea who the men were, as they did not identify themselves. He ran, but the officers caught him and beat him so badly that he ended up in hospital. He is undergoing neurological treatment for memory problems and has had to drop out of college.
Yet it was Miles who was charged with aggravated assault – a case that a judge later threw out. His mother, Terez Miles, said: "We are no strangers to police brutality in the city of Pittsburgh, but what they did was terrible and then they lied about it."
In Chicago, Jimmel Cannon, 13, was shot eight times by police who claimed that he had a BB gun in his hand. His family said that he had his hands in the air. In Tucson, Arizona, former marine Jose Guerena was killed by a Swat team on a drugs raid. They found nothing illegal, but Guerena was shot 23 times.
The list goes on. Miami is still dealing with the fallout of the fatal shooting of Raymond Herisse. He had been driving a car out of which police claimed gunshots came. However, it took three days before they produced a weapon. They also confiscated and destroyed the phones of people trying to record the incident.
"There is a widespread, continuing pattern of officers ordering people to stop taking photographs or video in public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply," said Chris Calabrese, of the American Civil Liberties Union. Campaigners say the spread of camera phones is why so many incidents of brutality are appearing.
In another recorded call, Daragjati complained to a friend: "I could throw somebody a beating, they catch me on camera, and I'm fired." Some activists have taken that to heart. Diop Kamau, a former officer, runs the Florida-based Police Complaint Center, which investigates allegations of police abuse nationwide. "Police are now facing an onslaught of scrutiny because everyone has a cellphone," he said.
Kamau said that many police departments still had a culture of secrecy and many officers believed that there was little likelihood of punishment even if caught. "The police fill in the blanks. They say what happened and they will be believed," he said.
One weakness is that there is no central organisation for the police, and local departments do not release data on complaints or allegations of abuse. "The problem is that there is an absence of research," said Professor John Liederbach, an expert in American policing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. As the list of complaints and incidents grows, that might be about to change.
This has been such a disgusting display of police brutality against peaceful protesters broadcast around the world, shouldn't we be embarrassed by our own hypocrisy?
LIVE COVERAGE
A Witness to the Violence in Oakland
Photos and Story By Marc Ash, Reader Supported News
Police Brutality Charges Sweep Across the US [go to original for links]
By Paul Harris, Guardian UK
From Naomi Wolf's arrest in New York to shootings in Tucson and Florida, forces face allegations of abuse of power.
fficer Michael Daragjati had no idea that the FBI was listening to his phone calls. Otherwise he would probably not have described his arrest and detention of an innocent black New Yorker in the manner he did.
Daragjati boasted to a woman friend that, while on patrol in Staten Island, he had "fried another nigger". It was "no big deal", he added. The FBI, which had been investigating another matter, then tried to work out what had happened.
According to court documents released in New York, Daragjati and his partner had randomly stopped and frisked a black man who had become angry and asked for Daragjati's name and badge number. Daragjati, 32, and with eight years on the force, had no reason to stop the man, and had found nothing illegal. But he arrested him and fabricated an account of him resisting arrest. The man, now referred to in papers only as John Doe because of fears for his safety, spent two nights in jail. He had merely been walking alone through the neighbourhood.
The shocking story has added to a growing sense that there are serious problems of indiscipline and law-breaking in US police forces. Last week the feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested outside an awards ceremony in Manhattan. She had been advising Occupy Wall Street protesters of their rights to continue demonstrating outside the event. Instead, as she joined the protest, she was carted off to jail in her evening gown. That incident is only the most high-profile of many apparently illegal police actions around the protests. One senior officer, deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, created headlines worldwide when he pepper-sprayed young women behind a police barricade.
A report from the New York Civil Liberties Union recently looked at police use of Taser stun guns in the state, and revealed that in 60% of incidents where they were used, the incident did not meet the recommended criteria for such a weapon. Some cases involved people already handcuffed and 40% involved "at risk" subjects such as children, the elderly or mentally ill. "This disturbing pattern of misuse and abuse endangers lives," said the NYCLU's executive director, Donna Lieberman.
In Los Angeles, officers in the sheriff's department are accused of physically abusing some prison inmates and having sex with others. An internal report, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, revealed allegations that included beating people visiting relatives in jail. In Pittsburgh, there is the case of Jordan Miles, a high-flying high-school student stopped by three plainclothes policemen. Miles, 18 at the time, was walking to his grandmother's house and had no idea who the men were, as they did not identify themselves. He ran, but the officers caught him and beat him so badly that he ended up in hospital. He is undergoing neurological treatment for memory problems and has had to drop out of college.
Yet it was Miles who was charged with aggravated assault – a case that a judge later threw out. His mother, Terez Miles, said: "We are no strangers to police brutality in the city of Pittsburgh, but what they did was terrible and then they lied about it."
In Chicago, Jimmel Cannon, 13, was shot eight times by police who claimed that he had a BB gun in his hand. His family said that he had his hands in the air. In Tucson, Arizona, former marine Jose Guerena was killed by a Swat team on a drugs raid. They found nothing illegal, but Guerena was shot 23 times.
The list goes on. Miami is still dealing with the fallout of the fatal shooting of Raymond Herisse. He had been driving a car out of which police claimed gunshots came. However, it took three days before they produced a weapon. They also confiscated and destroyed the phones of people trying to record the incident.
"There is a widespread, continuing pattern of officers ordering people to stop taking photographs or video in public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply," said Chris Calabrese, of the American Civil Liberties Union. Campaigners say the spread of camera phones is why so many incidents of brutality are appearing.
In another recorded call, Daragjati complained to a friend: "I could throw somebody a beating, they catch me on camera, and I'm fired." Some activists have taken that to heart. Diop Kamau, a former officer, runs the Florida-based Police Complaint Center, which investigates allegations of police abuse nationwide. "Police are now facing an onslaught of scrutiny because everyone has a cellphone," he said.
Kamau said that many police departments still had a culture of secrecy and many officers believed that there was little likelihood of punishment even if caught. "The police fill in the blanks. They say what happened and they will be believed," he said.
One weakness is that there is no central organisation for the police, and local departments do not release data on complaints or allegations of abuse. "The problem is that there is an absence of research," said Professor John Liederbach, an expert in American policing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. As the list of complaints and incidents grows, that might be about to change.
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