The cops arrested some protestors in my city last week.

[demgurl]

There was a huge protest downtown and I, being a member of several peace groups, have heard the same story several times over. Here is one of their accounts:


I wanted my friends to know what happened between the demonstrators and the police that night once our peaceful and noisey march arrived back at the Scene on South Elm St.

We didn't go back inside right away because GW's speech was still on the big screen. People decided to stay outside and dance and cheer to the drumming, cow bells, pots, pans and whistles.
At some point soon after we arrived, several protesters saw a man videotaping license plate of the cars on Lewis St. They yelled to him to stop and asked who he was. He refused to identify himself and kept filming. Some protesters went across the street and positioned themselves in front of the next set of plates he was about to record. They were still yelling at him to identify himself.

The man then pushed through about three people and when he got to the next person, he put his camera in his coat and pulled the protester's sweatshirt over his head and hit him about three times. Then he drew his gun and held it sideways two inches from our guy's head. Other protesters scattered and then the uniformed cops came running to assist their (plainclothes) comrade. At least 3 or 4 of them drew their guns. Other cops tackled six more of the demonstrators.

At that point, on Elm St., a white unmarked car sped into a narrow opening in the crowd and several people had to dive out of the way. Several WCW organizers were trying to get people into the Scene to safety. A young woman went up to a uniformed officer and asked for his badge number and had written three down a few digits when she was maced in the face.

Only when the seven were handcuffed in the paddy wagon did the plainclothes cop (turned out to be head of the 'gang and hate groups' unit) stick his head into the van and say, "Here's my fuckin' badge"!
I'll end it there. We're finding out a lot more and getting documentation both from eyewitnesses and video and photos. We're calling on more people to tell us (and the legal team) what they know. We are also finding out more about this particular cop who apparently has a testosterone problem.

The police have tried to slander our march and letters and an op-ed are being written to the News & Record. We encourage others to write. Blogs and radio stations are finding out the truth also.
Thursday's rally/picket is really not too complicated. The charges on the WCW protesters are trumped up: resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer and inciting to riot. We demand that All the charges be dropped and GPD: Stop Spying on Citizens!

The police have recently been caught spying on each other and new evidence is suggesting that it goes much deeper than that. They've arrogantly stated that they have the right to videotape license plates and that they don't have to identify themselves. The law says they can do it. Jim Crow once was the law of the land too and it took a mass movement to put a stop to it.



I am not sure if any of this is going on across the country or if this is an isolated incident but I wanted to share what is happening to at least one of our cities.

[BiggJawn]

1. I found a picture of "Officer Plainclothes"

[0007]

2. .....and new buildings are being build as containment centers?

It sure seems to me that we have aNazi style government that has already started to find out who we are and where they're gonna put us.

Can't have us infecting the good sheep, ya know?

[mmonk]

3. I think this is probably going on

in the rest of the country as well.

[leftchick]

4. omg! Has this been in our paper demgurl?

That is so awful! I was going to go that night but couldn't omg! Can you send me any links to articles or blogs about this?

:grr:

[demgurl]

8. Leftchick, I do not read our paper.

I refuse to waste my time when you can not trust the media any more. I get a lot of posts because I have been put on quite a few peace groups email lists after begging anyone and everyone to come to my Iraq war protest I had a few months back.

This story is from a group callled the Greensboro Peace Coalition. I have heard this story from about four different people in this group and it never seems to vary. People were just stunned that it happened. One GPC people had the name of an arrested person and so we were especially keep tabs on this to make sure they were released and no real harm was done to them.

But just so you know, here are a few things you might be interested in since you are in the area:

Sorry it has taken so long for me to report this to all of you, I have been conferring with others what my course of action should be. Last Saturday I was on Tate St., like I said in my last e-mail, doing street performances in order to raise money and awareness for North Carolina Peace & Justice. A cop came up to me during this and rudely stated that I was panhandling, and gave me the choice of packing up and leaving or going to jail. He did say I could get a permit, which would be free. However, cities such as Greensboro use panhandling permits to know and keep track of the homeless population, in other words, I’d have to give them all my information for something I shouldn’t even have to ask for.
>> I have decided to do this again next Saturday, and the Saturday’s afterwards from noon to four as planned, without getting the permit. Jodi has even made a valid point; girl scouts sell their cookies every year, without a permit. With this, the idea that I will dress up as a girl scout (I will call myself a Wilderness Girl, in order to prevent lawsuits.) and sell cookies and other baked goods on Tate St. while handing out information about local anti-war groups, while others play their instruments for the cause.
>> Matt, the owner of the buildings on the side of the street I was on, has thanked me for my service, saluted me, and loves the Wilderness Girl idea. To add to it, Jordan will be coming to observe this as a reporter, in case cops do come to harass, so we will not only be getting publicity, but hopefully we can show Yes Weekly readers what the cops are really like in Greensboro.
>> I know this conflict’s with the schedule for the clean up at the community space, and I would move the time, but I’ve already told Tate St. patrons, I will be there as planned. All I ask of all of you is if you could help make deserts to be sold for NCP&J, or if you could come perform an instrument between noon and four. Safety in numbers is what everyone has said, and the more people we have on Tate St., the safer I believe we are. We have a right to the sidewalks, and getting a permit for this is just playing the governments game.

********************

Food Not Bombs has been serving outside the Central Library on Church
>>Street off and on for two years. Tonight someone came to eat for the
>>first time. He was drunk and combative, though no one responded. One
>>of our members--Eric, who some of you know--went inside the library
>and
>>asked for a security guard because he, Eric, had been the target of a
>>lot of this man's threats. By the time the security guard and a
>>librarian came out the man had left, but the security guard was rude
>>and confrontational to Eric; the rudeness and confrontation rapidly
>>escalated to include all of us. We were told that if if we didn't get
>>permission from the library to serve on the sidewalk we could not come
>>back, and that if we did come back without permission we risked the
>>library calling the Greensboro police. The feeling among the people
>>who had come to serve and eat appeared to be unanimous that we should
>>not have to ask permission to serve and eat food (something that a lot
>>of librarians are aware we are doing--I know that because several of
>>them have stopped by and thanked us for being there).
>>
>>Five of us discussed the incident while we were washing dishes. The
>>general consensus in that small group was that we should NOT ask
>>permission and that we should continue serving on the sidewalk outside
>>the library, but we also recognized that we were a small group. We'd
>>like to discuss this at Food Not Bombs on Tuesday and Thursday to see
>>if we can reach consensus among the larger community of Food Not Bombs
>>before we decide what we do next Monday. As I see it our options are
>>to:
>>
>>1. Move Monday Food Not Bombs to another location.
>>
>>2. As the library for permission to serve and eat food
>>
>>3. Continue serving at the library without asking for permission
>>
>>4. Do something completely different, such as start bringing
>bag-lunch
>>style dinners to distribute
>>
>>The sense I got from the discussion on the sidewalk and afterwards in
>>the kitchen is that a lot of homeless people are tired of being
>treated
>>rudely and being singled out for harassment. I was tremendously
>>impressed by the eloquence and restraint everyone in Food Not Bombs
>>showed during the discussion on the sidewalk. The point was made over
>>and over again that that particular stretch of sidewalk is used for a
>>lot of things during the day--people meet, they talk, they sit and eat
>>their lunches, they talk on their cell phones, they read books--all
>>without permission.
>>
>>Please come to Tuesday and/or Thursday Food Not Bombs to join in the
>>discussion! The more voices the better.

*****************************

Leaflets are getting around about the picket planned for Thursday from 4:30 to 5:30 at the Police plaza on Washington St. Friends of the Pulpit Forum are taking them into housing projects tonight. They go to Grimsley HS tomorrow and will be distributed at UNCG and elsewhere.

*****************************

The incidents sadden me but I think it is wonderful there are many people doing so many things in our area. Makes me proud.

demgurl

[leftchick]

10. I don't get the paper either

I cancelled it in 2003 with all of the gung ho war shit. I will look on line to see if they reported it and what ther version of the story is. I will post it here if I find it.

I believe the peace folks, why the hell would they make that shit up? I am proud of them too!

love and peace to you and your family,
lc

[demgurl]

11. Love and peace to yours as well.

It was wonderful meeting your family and I hope your kids are doing well.

The sad thing about this whole thing is that I am having less and less faith in our police. You, of course, know about the whole black cop thing and how the other cops here were keeping tabs on the black cops and I guess keeping them in line. Perhaps we need to tear apart all parts of our system and start over.

[demgurl]

12. Hey, lc, I found the following.....

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/NEWSREC010201/602030320/1014/NEWSREC020201

<snip>

There are distinctly different accounts of what happened on South Elm Street Tuesday night when Greensboro police confronted anti-Bush protesters. What we do know is that seven people were arrested on a variety of disturbance-related charges including inciting to riot. Several police officers received minor injuries in the ensuing melee.

A drum-banging, obscenity-shouting crowd estimated at 150 people came downtown to protest the State of the Union address. Similar demonstrations were held nationwide by World Can't Wait, an organization calling for the end of the "Bush regime.'' The timing coincided with the president's appearance before Congress.

Police say the demonstration here spilled from the sidewalk into the street, blocking traffic and causing detours. Ten officers had to be called in to augment the dozen already on hand to keep order.

The ugly encounter further deteriorated when protesters reportedly spotted a plainclothes officer videotaping licenses of cars parked on adjoining streets. A confrontation followed resulting in the injuries and arrests. Witnesses say, at some point, an officer confronted by the unruly crowd brandished a gun.

<snip>

Then there are some replies a while later:

http://blog.news-record.com/staff/letters/

Videotaping suspects should come first

I find it remarkable that the police are able to videotape public gatherings but rarely videotape interviews with people suspected of committing crimes. Videotaping "confessions" should certainly be a higher priority than videotaping large public gatherings.

Coverage of anti-Bush protest lacked context

Your anti-Bush protest editorial (Feb. 6) was highly misleading. I was there the entire time, and the atmosphere, until the encounter with the undercover policeman, was anything but ugly. People were having a great time expressing their opposition to the policies of their government. It was much less rowdy than many of Chapel Hill's post-"Big Game" street parties, where several years ago a car was overturned and destroyed.

Your first article on the protest didn't even mention the arrests, leading me to believe that your reporter left before they occurred. Had he stuck around, he could have seen the situation for himself instead of relying on government press releases. We have governments, both local and national, that spy on American citizens, often for merely expressing points of view that rankle those in power. As representatives of an ostensibly free press, you should take these actions far more seriously than you do.

Many of those who marched were members of the "creative class" this city is hoping will be its economic salvation. Apparently, the message is to bring your talent and money, but leave "creative" politics at the city line.

One comment to the above letter is this:

I was there also, the police were there to make something out of nothing. But when they drove a squad car through a crowd of 150 people endangering the lives of the protestors in was obvious to me they (the Police department) was out of control. I have interviewed with internal affairs specificly about using a vehicle to intimidate a crowd and they are investigating the matter. There were mostly high school students there not the a bunch of anarchist. Let's hope the police can police themselves.


There are more letters and opinions in that area but I thought I would pass that along to you.

demgurl

[leftchick]

17. Thank you for the links dg

I tell you it is sickening and scary world we are living in. I guess peaceniks are now terrorists in bushworld. :(

[libnnc]

13. Tate St. on Saturdays...

I know Matt, the guy who owns those buildings. He owns Tate St. Coffee House and he and his wife are really great progressive people. I'll be there to support this Wilderness Girl. I graduated from UNCG last May--for 5 yrs, I practically lived at Tate St. Coffee. Tate St. historically has been the heart of UNCG/peace activism. It should be again. I'll be there this weekend to witness.

libnnc

[demgurl]

16. Thanks for being there libnnc.

Maybe you and your significant other can attend. I will have to see how my family feels as my son has been out of school with a fever the entire week! The more people who can participate the better. It is much harder to ignore larger numbers. I hope we will be able to attend and hope to see you there.

[adolfo]

5. FL: Brevard sheriff agrees not to keep files on anti-Bush protesters

http://recountflorida.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=26&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

I wonder how some of the information was collected.

[azureblue]

6. A note for future protests

When you see someone taking pix, use your cam-phone as discreetly as you can to take pix of them before you approach them. This is your right. Never confront them with "who are you?" - this is too open ended, and cops will simply refuse to answer. Instead, with witnesses at hand, ask them directly, "are you a law enforcement officer?". If they say yes, or refuse to answer, ask for identification / proof.

If they refuse to answer & show ID, then you are within your (risky) rights to say to them. "your refusal to identify yourself leads me to believe you are a terrorist, acting illegally, and we are going to place you under citizen's arrest, and hold you until the police get here. Since we believe you are a terrorist, we are going to take your picture and transmit it directly to a remote location." (Camera phones are great- use them often in a confrontation like this, and send the pix as soon as you take them- it helps to have someone yell out "I got good pictures of this") Don't touch them unless they touch you first. If they push you, make sure you get pix of it. Don't try to grab their gear. If they try to walk away, don't physically stop them, but follow them, walk on either side and behind, but not in front, and stay about six feet away. And try to get as many people to walk with you, because, if this person turns out to be a cop, he will have his thugs there in a second, and you need to have your defense ready. If they start anything, tell them right off that, on advice of legal counsel, you have taken pix of everything and transmitted them to a remote location. Ask them if they are sure they want to risk an abuse of authority lawsuit and being dismissed from the force? This is generally enough to throttle back any brutality and encourage lawful behavior from the cops.

Above all, don't get mad or call names.

[demgurl]

9. Thank you, azureblue.

I have noted what you have said AND passed it on.

demgurl

[G_j]

7. they have filmed us for years

including at a global justice rally during Clinton's time.
People have complained and are always told it is 'in case something happens' and that they 'destroy the tape later' (and we should believe this why?)

I'm not sure anything can be done about the filming. Hopefully you can get somewhere addressing the brutality though. Good luck!

[KurtNYC]

14. Similar tactics were documented in NYC

prior to the RNC. Compare:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122205K.shtml

The officers hoist protest signs. They hold flowers with mourners. They ride in bicycle events. At the vigil for the cyclist, an officer in biking gear wore a button that said, "I am a shameless agitator." She also carried a camera and videotaped the roughly 15 people present.

Beyond collecting information, some of the undercover officers or their associates are seen on the tape having influence on events. At a demonstration last year during the Republican National Convention, the sham arrest of a man secretly working with the police led to a bruising confrontation between officers in riot gear and bystanders....

[demgurl]

15. I also read an article about cops doing this to other cops.

Those cops thought it was underhanded and actually set forth to sue over it. If cops think this is wrong then what should we, as the general public, think?