The National Press Photographers’ Association (NPPA) wrote a letter to the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) after police interfered with an individual who was trying to record a young man being arrested. The incident occurred even though police had been given a directive not to interfere with citizens recording such events.

Chicago Mayor Emanuel wants to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new policy shields because his police chief has an irrational fear that demonstrators at the G8/NATO summits plan to throw feces and urine at police. There is no evidence to support this fear or any reported incidents it ever happened. In fact, demonstrators even adopted pacts to assure police it was a fantasy.

Miami multimedia journalist Carlos Miller, arrested by Miami-Dade police during the eviction of Occupy Miami, has posted video he recovered from his camera. The footage is believed to have been deleted by police when he was in custody. Miller was able to access the deleted video. In a post, he concludes police spokesperson Nancy Perez allowed other media to walk past her to cover the news event but arbitrarily chose to arrest him.

Police clad in riot gear from the National Park Service showed up to McPherson Square between 5 and 6 am ET. They arrived to make sure the occupiers were “in compliance” with the “no camping” rule for the park. They conducted an inspection of tents and seized any camping gear or sleeping materials they thought could be or were used to violate the rule.

A contracting firm that specializes in anti-terrorism and force protection training, consulting and management services has been hired to train Cook County Sheriff’s Police in the run-up to the NATO-G8 meetings that are to be held in Chicago in May of this year.

The city had police move on Occupy Buffalo early in the morning after it decided not to renew the occupation’s permit for Niagara Square. At least ten were arrested and tents and personal property were bulldozed. Occupiers had been offered an agreement, which they turned down. After midnight, they were in Niagara Square without a permit but the city could have continued to negotiate with Occupy Buffalo and chose to carry out an eviction instead.

Over 300 people were arrested in Oakland after police ordered a march of Occupy Oakland protesters to “submit” to an arrest because they were engaged in an unlawful assembly. Hundreds were detained outside of a YMCA. In zip cuffs, many waited for hours to be escorted to a police vehicle and hauled away.

The selling and marketing of upcoming G8 and NATO meetings has fully commenced. The slogan has been unveiled for the meetings: “The Global Crossroads.” The meetings will be all about taking the “global stage.” But, as the host committee for the meetings and business organizations, which plan to promote the event, try to convince media to focus on the “benefits,” tens of thousands of people are expected to come to Chicago to protest the meetings that will take place May 19-21.

To help folks separate spin from fact, we’ve put together this analysis to help you understand how local rules have changed in ways that undercut protest and political speech. While these revisions will not deter us from speaking out and protesting, they do change the excuses the police may use to try to prevent us from protesting.

It’s also important that we understand these changes so we can educate our friends and neighbors – and fight for meaningful change that puts people’s rights and the greater good ahead of the fear-mongering and greed that drove Mayor 1%’s push for these changes.

University of California Riverside students gathered to protest a UC Regents meeting on January 19. They gathered to demand that the Regents stop raising fees, supporting layoffs and passing budget cuts. They organized to defend public education. But, their presence was met with a significant show of force from police clad in riot gear, especially later in the afternoon. The presence of riot police escalated the situation and ultimately led to at least one officer firing paint-filled bullets into a crowd of students.