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.
- Steven.'s blog
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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
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?
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/
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
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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
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.
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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
Amsterdam cops bust up some squatters 13th May
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/81106/video-politie-slaat-in-op-krakers
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
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
seattle: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/02/seattle_cop_who_threatened_to.php
florida: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111204/ARTICLE/111209980/2416/NEWS?Title=SPECIAL-REPORT-How-Florida-s-rogue-officers-remain-on-the-job
san antonio: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/sunday_focus/article/Officer-who-shot-student-had-history-of-not-1388322.php
indiana: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html
utah: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15349267
phoenix: http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/23/Family_Says_911_Tape_Caught_Cops_Planning_Cover-Up_After_Shooting.htm?=protectandserve
nyc, the critical mass cop http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/ex-officer-avoids-jail-time-in-arrest-of-times-square-bicyclist/
queensland: http://www.news.com.au/national/thug-cop-ben-price-jailed-over-bashings-of-airlie-beach-revellers/story-e6frfkw0-1225937211100
arizona: http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/2005-video-shows-officer-involved-in-fatal-shooting-planting-crack-pipe-on-homeless-woman-105005254.html
detroit: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/aiyana-stanley-jones-detroit
a reformist but worthwhile website:
http://www.copblock.org/
they have a 'propaganda' section
Just a tad naive...
http://partitaimaginaria.tumblr.com/post/20529535302/eli1ah-frequently-i-get-stopped-by-the
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
OI MATE. THERES A BLACK MAN IN A ROYAL MAIL VAN THERE. GET 'IM. HE STOLE IT. OFF THE QUEEN.
Amazing.
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
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
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.
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.
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:
A post yesterday from News from the 2012 Quebec student general strike:
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.
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).
video compendium
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.