Cop watch - please contribute

Cop watch - please contribute

Blog post for people to post links to stories about police brutality and violence. Trigger warning for police violence and sexual violence.

For a while I have thought it would be good for someone to have a blog on libcom dedicated to keeping track of police violence.

However, in the absence of anyone volunteering to do that I thought I could put up this blog post and then anyone can post links with short summaries in the comments below as a kind of repository of news of police brutality and abuse of their power.

Even though I have no faith in the police as an institution there to protect us in any way, I have been shocked by the sheer number and sheer outrageousness of police abuses recently that it has prompted me to actually post this up.

So, please post your links and summaries below, and if somebody wants to take on contributing this sort of thing to libcom on a running basis please let me know.

Comments

Steven.
May 14 2012 18:19

Georgia police officer not punished after kicking a nine month pregnant woman in the stomach (12/5/12):
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhZZhfBwbm2HUyYr2J

Unarmed college student in California shot seven times THEN handcuffed, killed by police (12/5/12):
http://newsone.com/2015110/kendrec-mcdade-shooting/#sub_popular

no1
May 14 2012 18:50

Really good initiative, I've been thinking along similar lines. How about also adding examples of people successfully fighting back though? Otherwise it will become too depressing.

This is a recent one - Kelly Thomas, homeless man in California, repeatedly tasered and beaten to death by cops:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/kelly-thomas-beating-video_n_1499771.html

Wikipedia:
On July 5, 2011, at about 8:30 PM, officers of the Fullerton Police Department responded to a call of someone vandalizing cars near the Fullerton Transportation Center. While investigating, they encountered the shirtless and disheveled Thomas and attempted to search him. According to statements given by the officers, Thomas was uncooperative and resisted when they attempted to search him, so backup was called. The officers then repeatedly shocked Thomas with Tasers, beat him with the butts of the Tasers and flashlights, and slammed him into the ground. A video of the event surfaced, and Thomas can be heard repeatedly screaming in pain while officers tasered him (up to five times according to a witness statement) in the video, and screaming "Dad! Dad!". Six officers were involved in subduing Thomas, who was unarmed and had a history of mental illness. Thomas was initially taken to St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton but was transferred immediately to the UC Irvine Medical Center with severe injuries to his head, face, and neck.

Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas gave a detailed account of the events during a press conference on September 21, 2011. Using digital audio recording devices carried by the officers, surveillance video from a pole camera at the Fullerton Transportation Center, and other evidence, Rackauckas provided evidence that Thomas did comply with orders from Officer Ramos, who had put on latex gloves and asked Thomas "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to fuck you up." Rackauckas went on to describe how Thomas begged for his life, before being beaten to death.

Kelly Thomas, after a fatal beating by officers of the Fullerton, California Police Department:

P.S. shouldn't there be a massive trigger warning on this thread?

Chilli Sauce
May 14 2012 18:42

http://news.yahoo.com/cops-tried-alleged-fatal-beating-homeless-man-caught-225528732--abc-news-topstories.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57426015/student-daniel-chong-reportedly-drank-urine-to-survive-4-days-while-forgotten-in-dea-holding-cell/

Steven.
May 14 2012 18:51

Chilli sauce, and anyone else thanks for your comments but please don't just post links - no one will click on them unless they have a short explanation of what they are, as well as ideally the date of the article

no1, I appreciate your point about fighting back but I think that would be better in a separate thread

wojtek
May 14 2012 19:37

deleted

wojtek
May 14 2012 20:04

and

'"On Saturday 3rd March 2012 at 7.20pm an incident took place at Jackson Street car park in Culcheth. Where a man was murdered by Greater Manchester Police. After using excessive tactics and force (blocking in the vehicle, shooting out two tyres with a shotgun, a CS gas canister was also deployed by hand into the vehicle), a fatal with a Heckler and Koch MP5 went directly to the heart of an unarmed man

His family and friends are pleading for answers so they can come to terms with why the police can shoot an unarmed man (no weapons at all) sat in the corner of a dark car park. If the police thought he was up to no good then the question is why didn't they pull over the car before reaching Culcheth?"

So do they think Anthony Grainger's death was an execution? They both answer `Yes'.

"The IPCC has already declared it was no accident" says Chrissy, and Gail adds "It was a pre-planned execution, which is the worst about it."'

SALFORD BENEFIT FOR ANTHONY GRAINGER

westphalia
May 14 2012 19:56

i actually started a tumblr just the other day for this exact purpose. here's the ones i posted so far. the blog is at criminaljusticelinks.tumblr.com but as with all projects of mine i'm not sure if i'll manage to maintain it so maybe i'll just post stuff here from time to time.

-----

Insiders warn Rikers Island violence is getting “out of control.”
http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-09/news/rikers-violence-out-of-control/

Officer Wheeler kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach, leaving a large bruise. Five supervisors approved the action. Baby was born healthy two weeks later.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/dekalb-officer-investigated-after-allegedly-kickin/nNzDS/

NYCLU reveals that stop-and-frisks conducted by NYPD on black males aged 14-24 exceeded the number of black males of that age category living in NYC.
http://www.nyclu.org/news/new-nyclu-report-finds-nypd-stop-and-frisk-practices-ineffective-reveals-depth-of-racial-dispar

87 percent of marijuana arrests in NYC are of black and hispanic people.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/05/weed_fans_mike.php

Video of Kelly Thomas beating released.
http://www.pixiq.com/article/shocking-video-of-kelly-thomas-released-watch-with-caution

NY1 reveals cover-up in Jatiek Reed beating.
http://bronx.ny1.com/content/top_stories/160622/ny1-exclusive--video-may-back-claims-bronx-teen-s-arrest-was-unfounded

David Graeber: Sexual assault as police tactic at Occupy protests?
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/05/david-graeber-new-police-strategy-in-new-york-sexual-assault-against-peaceful-protestors.html

Tart
May 14 2012 20:20

Amsterdam cops bust up some squatters 13th May

http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/81106/video-politie-slaat-in-op-krakers

radicalgraffiti
May 14 2012 20:43

Student forced to drink own urine after being abandoned in cell.

Women left brain dead after police tasering

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9097674/Woman-left-brain-dead-after-being-hit-by-police-taser.html

petey
May 14 2012 20:53

i've been keeping a file of my own.

nyc: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/nyregion/probation-for-ex-detective-in-drug-planting-case.html?ref=nyregion

Quote:
A former New York City police detective who was convicted of planting drugs on two people has been sentenced to probation after asking a judge not to send him to jail.

seattle: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/02/seattle_cop_who_threatened_to.php

Quote:
The Seattle cop who threatened to "make stuff up" - fabricate felony robbery charges - after arresting two Seattle men for a misdemeanor, was only "bantering" with them, police now say. His comment was deemed by SPD as merely "inappropriate" since he never actually made up any charges.

florida: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111204/ARTICLE/111209980/2416/NEWS?Title=SPECIAL-REPORT-How-Florida-s-rogue-officers-remain-on-the-job

Quote:
Thousands of Florida officers remain on the job despite arrests or evidence implicating them in crimes that could have landed them in prison, a Herald-Tribune investigation has found.

Even those officers with multiple offenses have been given chance after chance through a disciplinary system that has been reshaped in their favor by the state's politically influential police unions. As a result, officers around Florida carry personnel files that are anything but heroic.

Corrections officer Kurt Stout, already dogged by allegations he groped and had sex with prisoners, was arrested on allegations he raped two teenage girls. Nick Viaggio capped a string of violent outbursts at the Ocala Police Department by attacking his girlfriend in a crowded nightclub until bouncers dragged him away. Palm Beach County deputy Craig Knowles-Hiller, under investigation for sleeping with a 14-year old, had to explain why the girl's DNA was found on one of his sex toys.

In each case, state law enforcement officials let the men keep their badges.

san antonio: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/sunday_focus/article/Officer-who-shot-student-had-history-of-not-1388322.php

Quote:
Since 2006, Alvarado's supervisors at the Northside Independent School District Police Department had reprimanded or counseled him on at least 12 occasions — six for not following orders. In other cases, Alvarado failed to show up for assignments, and his bosses appeared to suspect him of lying.

Alvarado was suspended at least four times, and his supervisors warned of impending termination four times — once even recommending it.

But Alvarado, 46, never was fired. Six months after the death of student Derek Lopez, as an investigation into the shooting continues, the 17-year veteran of the Police Department remains with the school district.

petey
May 14 2012 20:52

indiana: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html

Quote:
Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.

In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.

utah: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15349267

Quote:
Returning to his Sandy home on May 2, 2009, Andrew Mismash, 42, came across a crash involving a motorcycle and a truck in front of his yard. He asked the motorcyclist, who was bleeding profusely from his head, if he needed help and then retrieved first aid supplies from his house, according to the complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Mismash, the suit says, was helping the man when a Sandy police officer started verbally abusing the victim. The motorcyclist asked the officer to call for medical assistance, but the officer told him to shut up, the lawsuit states.

Mismash, too, requested that police call for medical help and was told to leave the scene, the suit says.

As he walked toward his house, two officers pushed him from behind onto the tailgate of a truck parked in his driveway, according to the suit. A third officer then punched him in the back before the other two slammed him to the ground. An officer, the suit says, continued to strike him in the back, grab and pull at his arms, and then drove a knee into his calves.

phoenix: http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/23/Family_Says_911_Tape_Caught_Cops_Planning_Cover-Up_After_Shooting.htm?=protectandserve

Quote:
A homeowner says a Phoenix police officer shot him six times in the back during a 911 home-invasion call, and the 911 tape recorded the officer's partner saying, "That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back. ... We clear?" The family says the officers were not aware that the 911 call was still recording as they spoke about covering up the shooting.

nyc, the critical mass cop http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/ex-officer-avoids-jail-time-in-arrest-of-times-square-bicyclist/

Quote:
A former New York City police officer convicted of lying about a confrontation with a bicyclist in Times Square was given a conditional discharge on Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The former officer, Patrick Pogan, had faced up to four years in prison, but will avoid any time behind bars. He also will not be placed on probation.

petey
May 14 2012 21:03

queensland: http://www.news.com.au/national/thug-cop-ben-price-jailed-over-bashings-of-airlie-beach-revellers/story-e6frfkw0-1225937211100

Quote:
A POLICEMAN who rammed a fire hose down a handcuffed man's throat during a brutal bashing in a police station has been jailed.

arizona: http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/2005-video-shows-officer-involved-in-fatal-shooting-planting-crack-pipe-on-homeless-woman-105005254.html

Quote:
Video shows officer involved in shooting planting crack pipe on homeless woman

Surveillance footage captured in August 2005 landed Officer Richard Chrisman on a list of 'problem police officers' years before his involvement in a deadly shooting.

detroit: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/aiyana-stanley-jones-detroit

Quote:
Police first floated the story that Aiyana's grandmother had grabbed Weekley's gun. Then, realizing that sounded implausible, they said she'd brushed the gun as she ran past the door. But the grandmother says she was lying on the far side of the couch, away from the door.

Compounding the tragedy is the fact that the police threw the grenade into the wrong apartment. The suspect fingered for Blake's murder, Chauncey Owens, lived in the upstairs flat, with Charles Jones' sister.

Plus, grenades are rarely used when rounding up suspects, even murder suspects. But it was dark. And TV may have needed some pyrotechnics.

petey
May 14 2012 21:19

a reformist but worthwhile website:
http://www.copblock.org/

Quote:
We highlight the double standard that some grant to those with badges by pointing to and supporting those harmed. By documenting police actions whether they are illegal, immoral or just a waste of time and resources then putting direct pressure on the individuals responsible (ideally while recording and then later sharing), we can work together to bring about transparency and have a real impact.

they have a 'propaganda' section

wojtek
May 15 2012 03:38
Quote:
By documenting police actions... we can work together to bring about transparency and have a real impact.

Just a tad naive...

Quote:
eli1ah:
Quote:
Frequently I get stopped by the gammon, coz my whip looks like it should be owned by Jeremy Clarkson or Richard Hammond, Feds pull me like im a drug baron, chattin bare shit, can’t understand em - JME (2012)

Lyrics from JME’s ‘96 Fuckries’ that came 41 in the charts earlier on in the year via JMEs own Boy Better Know label.

That line subtly highlights all the police stops JME encounters on a regular basis, which he records and shares via youtube. The series is called ‘Chatty Policeman’ and it shares a lot of dark truths about the police today. Enjoy

http://partitaimaginaria.tumblr.com/post/20529535302/eli1ah-frequently-i-get-stopped-by-the

Steven.
May 15 2012 08:27

Another attack on a pregnant woman. This time cops in Seattle get off after tasering a seven months pregnant woman multiple times for speeding (15/5/12):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/police-taser-use-on-pregnant-woman-goes-before-supreme-court.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share

Steven.
May 15 2012 08:38
wojtek wrote:

OI MATE. THERES A BLACK MAN IN A ROYAL MAIL VAN THERE. GET 'IM. HE STOLE IT. OFF THE QUEEN.

Amazing.

Steven.
May 15 2012 08:53

Here's some more I recall from recently:

February 2012: Police in Nevada beat a man, Adam Greene to the ground and kicked him in the face for going into diabetic shock. With video:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/video-shows-officers-beating-motorist-in-diabetic-shock-138901274.html

March 2012: recording released of London police strangling and racially abusing an innocent 21-year-old black man:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2012/mar/30/police-officer-recording-black-man

August 2011: British police kill unarmed man with taser:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/aug2011/tase-a24.shtml

March 2012: UK police shoot and kill unarmed man in a Cheshire village:
http://www.socialequality.org.uk/~sepuk/content/unarmed-man-shot-dead-police-english-village

Steven.
May 15 2012 08:57

April 2012: Multiple US border agents filmed beating and tasering a migrant worker, Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, a construction worker who lived in the US for 25 years, to death. He was hogtied and handcuffed as they beat him in May 2010, and of course none of the officers were punished:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/24/death_on_the_border_shocking_video

wojtek
May 15 2012 13:28
Quote:
Quote:
By documenting police actions... we can work together to bring about transparency and have a real impact.

Just a tad naive...

In the UK, according to the makers behind the documentary Injustice, between 1969 and 1999 over one thousand people died in police custody in England and not one police officer has ever been convicted for any of these deaths. Similarly, a total of 333 people have died in or following police custody between 1998 and 2010, but again no officer has been successfully prosecuted. That's without mentioning the stop and searches, harassment, etc.

knotwho
May 15 2012 17:02

The Facebook group Filming Cops has a lot of links, mostly videos.

https://www.facebook.com/FilmingCops

There was a pretty cool one on there of this guy tackling a Baltimore cop while he's hassling someone. Looks like that video has been disappeared, though.

wojtek
May 16 2012 17:19

From the ongoing Quebec student general strike (now in its 14th week):

Warning on Saturday for any tourists courtesy of M'sieur Zen, himself a cameraman subject to tear gas:

Quote:
Notice to tourists: in Quebec, the political occupation of public space is liable to corporal punishment ranging from simple shots of sticks to the amputation of eyes or the fracturing of skulls #SPVM #republiquedebananes #1984 In addition, certain techniques of punishment of the masses are used by various toxic gases. Use the greatest caution in the expression of your views.

A post yesterday from News from the 2012 Quebec student general strike:

Quote:
It keeps getting worse...this student [below] lost his eye after Quebec police shot him with a plastic bullet. Another was shot in the head and was in a coma for a night. We came this close to seeing a protester killed in our streets. Yet, the media talks about broken windows.

tastybrain
May 15 2012 21:41

Going through this thread has made me pretty angry, even though I've heard about most of the U.S. cases before.

Here's another murder perpetrated by capitalism's gestapo.

An elderly black Marine veteran was shot in his apartment after accidentally setting off his medical alert button.

Quote:
Police went to Chamberlain's apartment in response to a report that his medical alert had gone off. Chamberlain had a heart condition. Family members said Chamberlain told officers he was OK, but police insisted on seeing him. What followed was apparently nearly two hours of unsuccessful negotiations, culminating with Chamberlain's death. He was shot twice in the chest.
tastybrain
May 16 2012 15:46

I don't know if this case has been mentioned yet, please delete this post if it has.

John T. Williams, a homeless 50 year old American Indian man, was murdered by a white Seattle cop for no reason. He was shot in the right side, indicating he wasn't even facing the pig when killed. He was shot 4 times only 4 seconds after the pig ordered him to drop his knife (which he had been using to carve wood).

petey
May 16 2012 15:20

video compendium

tastybrain
May 17 2012 22:40

US Marshals shot and critically wounded a fugitive yesterday on the south side of Milwaukee, WI. He was apparently shot 5 times while running without being ordered to stop given any commands whatsoever. A gun was supposedly recovered from him. He is in the hospital in critical condition. He was on the run from the law after violating the terms of his release from a previous weapons violation (not an assault or anything, probably just possession of an unregistered firearm or an illegal modification to a legal weapon).

This article is pretty shit, as it relies almost entirely on the cops' perspective, but the video of the eyewitness is worth watching. Notice the contrast between the jocular reporter attempting to justify the shooting and the clearly disturbed witness.

Steven.
May 18 2012 09:15

November 2011: plainclothed UK police smash up the car of an IKEA worker with baseball bats and a pickaxe handle:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/03/police-attack-car-bats-driver

Crow
May 18 2012 10:08

Might it be useful to index or in some way organise these to make browsing a little easier?

Perhaps by region, deaths, extent of injuries, riots/ demonstrations, discrimination or whatever so people could use it as a reference tool.

A long list of links isn't always that useful imho.

Good idea for a thread anyway.

westphalia
May 18 2012 11:16

feds tell baltimore police it's illegal to attack people for taking a picture
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/05/justice-dept-defends-publics-constitutional-right-to-record-cops/

right-wing apostate glenn loury on the rotten legacy of his one-time ally james q. wilson
http://www.bostonreview.net/BR37.3/glenn_loury_james_q_wilson_culture_poverty_crime_race.php

soc
May 18 2012 11:52

A collection of incidents, also including some of those you posted already. Must watch!

http://www.myspace.com/boilingfrogs101/videos/the-largest-street-gang-in-america/54162036

soc
May 18 2012 12:04

The real problem is with this, that there are so many, so-so-so many times when people encounter with police violence, indeed complete police repression that we will never know. Think about India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South America, China, etc. What we can see is the tip of a massive ice berg.

Just looking at the videos, reports on this thread I wonder, how with all these evidence, people stick to the police, try to defend him, try to address as a problems with "bad cops". In some countries, they play the "good cops, bad cop" game with us, we getting smiling CSO's telling us which way we should go, on the other hand... we're just fucking subjects of police operation.

The sad fact is, that we are producing more gadgets, more weapons, more personnel to this gang of bullies and murderers. This is boiling my blood. There has to be a war against them. Civil war against all repression.