| July 29, 2005 The Bramble Bush by Kevin Morford Police Riots, U.S.A
Have you heard about the epidemic of police riots around the United States? Many people have not, because they rely upon the corporate media for their information. The corporate media have not given this issue anywhere near the amount of attention it deserves. Yet it is a profoundly dangerous trend in law enforcement which is deliberately designed to crush a vital part of the heart of our democracy, the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition for redress of grievances. In city after city, the police and other law enforcement agents have been engaging in violent and unprovoked attacks upon peaceful, legal demonstrators. Victim of these attacks have included bystanders who were not part of the demonstrations, reporters, legal observers, grandmothers and even children. The weapons employed in these attacks have included police batons, chemical agents, bicycles, horses, motorcycles, electric shields, Tasers, concussion grenades and fired projectiles such as wooden dowels, bean bags, and rubber covered bullets. The attacks have been documented with hundreds of eyewitness reports, photographs, and audio and video tapes. Independent investigations such as the District of Columbia report on the Investigation of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Policy and Practice in Handling Demonstrations in the District of Columbia, the Independent Review Panel that investigated the actions of the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department during the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas Ministerial, and one by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights have confirmed that these types of police initiated violence are a serious problem. Why do I say that these police riots are an epidemic? Here is a partial list of the places and demonstrations where police violence against peaceful and legal demonstrators has been clearly documented. Seattle, during the World Trade Organizations meetings in November and December of 1999; Washington D.C. during the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings in April of 2000; Detroit during the Organization of American States protests in June of 2000; Philadelphia during the Republican National Convention in July and August of 2000; Los Angeles during the Democratic National Convention in August of 2000; Washington D.C. during President Bush’s first inauguration in January of 2001; New York City during the World Economic Forum in January and February of 2002; Portland, Oregon, during a Bush fundraising event in August of 2002; Washington D.C. during antiwar protests in September of 2002; New York City during an antiwar protest in February of 2003; Albuquerque, New Mexico, Portland Oregon, and Chicago during antiwar protests in March of 2003; Washington D.C. during antiwar protests in April of 2003; Oakland, California during a dock worker’s strike in April of 2003; and Miami, Florida during the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in November of 2003. Unfortunately, when these police riots are taking place, the corporate media dutifully recite the official government explanations, typically that the police are only trying to restore order in the face of a violent and unruly mob. In many of these police riots, most or all of the arrested demonstrators have had all charges against them dropped, usually due to lack of evidence that they had ever committed a crime in the first place. Organizers of the protests have developed several tools for documenting the crimes committed by the police, including the extensive use of legal observers and videographers. In city after city, the evidence obtained during these police riots is being used in civil law suits against the responsible officials. This is necessary because the prosecutors generally do not pursue criminal cases against the police who engage in these riots. Most of these lawsuits have not yet been decided on the merits, but some legal victories have been won. The corporate media do not seem to be as interested in reporting on these lawsuits as they were in parroting the official police excuses for attacking peaceful protesters. To give credit where credit is due, I am not aware of any police riots taking place in Alaska. When a private citizen threw cold water on peaceful antiwar protesters in sub-freezing temperatures a couple of winters ago, he was prosecuted for that crime. Lets work to ensure that Alaska remains a place where peaceful protest is recognized as a first amendment right, and where protestors are protected against violence and abuse. Based upon the trends in other parts of the country, that is not a foregone outcome. Kevin Morford is a political activist and an attorney in private practice in the Anchorage area. He can be reached at kmorford@insurgent49.com. |
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2005
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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