I sure agree the Feds’ presence aren’t

“isn’t”

preview is my frrriend

Yet as Ian wrote on Wednesday and I’ve written over the week, I’ve personally received accounts (and witnessed video) of law enforcement torture and illegal use of force wholly consistent with that we saw in the Twin Cites in:

Los Angeles (when as a house staff trainee I was at Olive View Hospitat, which served the LAPD precinct whose officer brutally assaulted Rodney King)

Los Angeles (2000 DNC)

Humboldt County CA north through Central Oregon (forest protests)

Seattle, CA (1999 WTO)

Washington, DC (2000 IMF/WB protests)

NYC (2004 RNC protests)

I’ve also had first-hand accounts of law enforcement violence and torture (including chemical weapons and the nerve-damaging techniques quaintly named “pain compliance holds”) from forest defenders who were arrested across the Western US, in the Southeast, and the Ohio River basin.

Should these abhorrent behaviors — and those we saw in the Twin Cities — truly be rejected by American law enforcement officers and their leaders, I expect we’ll be hearing their public condemnations starting Monday.

Sadly, I expect to hear *crickets*.

As for Federal influence, I sure agree the Feds’ presence aren’t a prerequisite for local law enforcement’s sadism, torture, and cruelty.

The nominating conventions (as discussed in my earleir posts this week) demand the host cities sign a “city services agreement” which wholly subordinates local law enforcement to “Convention Security plans”: the CSP’s are drawn up by the Secret Service.

As discussed in the earlier pieces, the SS (under direction of Homeland Security) commands the exectuion of the CSP’s and — along with Homeland Security — has final authority over the protesters. This pattern of ongoing SS control over convention protests is consistent with the fact that over the last eight years (three convention cycles), we’ve seen the same repressive tactics used at conventions separated by years and thousands of miles. The constant factor was Federal oversight of local law enforcement.

Once again, I agree with your main point that not all law enforcement officers engage in torture and other cruel and sadistic practices.

I would like to believe the majority of American law enforcement officers are sufficiently ethical to:

* vocally object to such practices,

* refuse orders to engage in such practices,

* file Internal Affairs complaints against colleagues who do behave in such a manner as well as against supervisors who order and/or cover up such repellent crimes.

If that is not the case, I fear our Republic and our democracy are lost.

In other words, what we saw in the Twin Cities shows us how American local “law” enforcement act in broad daylight when the Feds are on the scene and supervising their work.

I’ve heard that abusive behavior by Minneapolis and St. Paul police is not dependent on whether the Feds are involved. But, the Feds certainly could have reined them in. And I’m not generalizing that all police officers act in an abusive manner either.

- Tom

Use of Force Against RNC Protesters “Disproportionate,” Charges Amnesty International

[London]–Amnesty International is concerned by allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC) from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations.

The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.

Amnesty International urges that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner. If the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards.

Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. Amnesty International has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at Ramsey county jail.

Amnesty International is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the RNC were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations. They include host of independent news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, and two of the program’s producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest. A photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations.

Kouddous described his arrest to media, “…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302 or visit our website at http://www.amnestyusa.org.

PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release:
Friday, September 5, 2008
Contact: AIUSA media office
202-544-0200 x302

Here’s one place to start:

Those who can make donations to Northstar Medical Collective / Coldsnap Legal Collective / NLG / Portland Street Medics / Tin Can Comms Collective / Seeds of Peace / Food Not Bombs will be helping.

For the next big protests, we can show up or sponsor local activists who wish to go (your local Indymedia site is a way to find local organizing meeting for major demos).

Not everyone who was on the street in the Twin Cities was arrested, tortured, or detained. Even at this late stage, the vast majority still were not.

The whole purpose of the selected arrests, torture, and detention is to intimidate the rest of us into staying home – or going home. Showing up for the next big local protest (or even small local protest) is the way to confront the creeping corporatist tyranny.

For those who don’t wish to be in the street, volunteering with the medical/legal/food collectives – or the local host welcoming group – is another way to build solidarity and mutual aid in defense of the Republic.

We can do enough to win the anticorporatist fight: here at home, and globally.

We are everywhere.

Here’s another, from Selise:

jail solidarity too….something we can all do now is to support those who have been arrested.

some of the young organizers who put together food, housing, and meeting spaces for the direct actions are facing trumped up charges of conspiracy to riot and ‘terrorism’ under Minnesota’s version of the Patriot Act. This is one of the clearest uses of this post 911 legislation to target dissent. The Welcoming Committee members are not accused of actually doing any rioting—indeed, they were all in jail during the convention, nor was any physical evidence found to corroborate the fabricated statements of the paid informants who infiltrated meetings. It’s vitally important for progressives to stand behind these young people who have been targeted mostly because they proclaim themselves ‘anarchists.’ If they can be targeted for their beliefs, so can any of us. If they can be held responsible for the actions of people over whom they have no control, so can anyone who organizes a march, a rally, a civil disobedience, or a protest where a provocateur breaks a window. The lawyers are estimating that to fight their charges may take $250,000 over the next several years. Hey, that’s only 1000 people who can donate $250 each. I’ll be one of them, will you? To donate any amount, go to:
http://www.nornc.org/

my bold.

i don’t have much to donate but every little bit helps. and for my own sake, i need to take some concrete action of solidarity.

Here’s yet another from Nahant:

Well pups I said we all can do something and spotlight is a great way to get attention, if all the pups send this post with their comments to all the major news outlets maybe just maybe something will be done about this. I am not done yet as I will be making sure my congress critters get informed about this also… Especially Nancy who took Impeachment OFF the Table…. Do you think would this be happening if Bush was in the middle of full blown Impeachment investigation as we speak??? I for one don’t!!

IF you care about YOUR country and the Constitution you will read the post at http://firedoglake.com/2008/09…..forcement/ and do a story on the crimes committed by the police/homeland security in OUR yes Our name. Are we not the country that defeated the Nazis, fascists and the Communist in order to preserve Freedom?? If this gets swept under the rug as so many things are don’t be surprised that some day in your future you WILL face those same enemies of all free people. This is just the first step in converting our country to a Police State where the rule of law and Our Constitution are nothing but what George W Bush said our Constitution is “Just a piece of paper”.
Why has torture been swept under the rug..maybe so they could out That Fear into the people??
Is this what you want for your kids and their children?? If not then please do write a column or news piece on what really happened in Minneapolis !!! I know you care about your family as much as do mine so please take action as it is urgently needed.
Thank you for reading this.

These are the journalist I sent the Spotlight to:
Dennis Akizuki : Law and Justice Editor : San Jose Mercury News
Scott Mattoon : News Editor : San Francisco Chronicle
Clayton Jones : Chief Editorial Writer : Christian Science Monitor
Cam Simpson : National Correspondent : Chicago Tribune
Charles Savage : Homeland Security Correspondent : Boston Globe
Jeff Jacoby : Columnist : Boston Globe
Alan Miller : Investigative Reporter : Los Angeles Times
Ann Herold : Managing Editor : Los Angeles Times
Dan Klaidman : Washington Bureau Chief : Newsweek

Please use if you wish… it may just be me being outraged but outraged I am I have six grandkids to think about!!

Hope these help: thank you for wanting to make a difference!

What are we going to do? What are you going to do?

I don’t even know where to start…What do I do?