Excerpt:
Reading the coverage and watching the horrifying footage of the police breaking up the occupy Oakland protest, it is an important time to remind everyone, especially the media, that there is no such thing as “non-lethal” weapons. There are only weapons that tend to be less deadly.
The weapons often used by police for crowd control, such as rubber bullets, electric weapons, flashbang grenades, pepper spray, firehouses, etc… may not be meant to kill. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are capable of killing individuals and have killed people in the past.
Any weapon that has enough force that it is capable of inflecting sufficient pain or injury to stop a full grown adult male under the right circumstances can also kill a person. What might merely be a very painful injury for most individuals can be deadly when applied to the exact right spot on the body or to someone with certain medical conditions.
Flashbang grenades have killed. Rubber bullets have killed. Electric shock based weapons have killed. Pepper spray has killed.
http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1248737956001
Excerpt:
7 Occupy Denver protesters arrested, some pepper sprayed (video)
7 Occupy Denver protesters arrested, some pepper sprayed. Nelson Garcia reports. 9NEWS at 5 p.m. 10/29/11http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/fighting-police-abuse-community-ac
Excerpt:
The range of police problems includes —
1) Excessive use of deadly force.
2) Excessive use of physical force.
3) Discriminatory patterns of arrest.
4) Patterns of harassment of the homeless, youth, racial minorities and gays, including aggressive and discriminatory use of the "stop-and-frisk" and overly harsh enforcement of petty offenses.
5) Chronic verbal abuse of citizens, including racist, sexist and homophobic slurs.
6) Discriminatory non-enforcement of the law, such as the failure to respond quickly to calls in low-income areas and half-hearted investigations of domestic violence, rape or hate crimes.
7) Spying on political activists.
8) Employment discrimination — in hiring, promotion and assignments, and internal harassment of minority, women and gay or lesbian police personnel.
9) The "code of silence" and retaliation against officers who report abuse and/or support reforms.
10) Overreaction to gang problems, which is driven by the assumption that those who associate with known gang members must be involved in criminal activity, even in the absence of concrete evidence that this is the case. This includes illegal mass stops and arrests, and demanding photo IDs from young men based on their race and dress instead of on their criminal conduct.
11) The "war on drugs," with its overbroad searches and other tactics that endanger innocent bystanders. This "war" wastes scarce resources on unproductive "buy and bust" operations to the neglect of more promising community-based approaches.
12) Lack of accountability, such as the failure to discipline or prosecute abusive officers, and the failure to deter abuse by denying promotions and/or particular assignments because of prior abusive behavior.
13) Crowd control tactics that infringe on free expression rights and lead to unnecessary use of physical force.
http://www.badgerflats.com/blog/2011/10/video-deposition-excerpts-of-ex-mayor-tommy-jones-upclose/
Excerpt:
Merced County Civil Servants
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/19/us/aclu-report-calls-pepper-spray-potentially-deadly.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Excerpt:
A.C.L.U. Report Calls Pepper Spray Potentially Deadly
A type of tear gas made from cayenne peppers is not a benign police tool but a potential killer, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said today in a report on pepper spray.
The report said that as of the end of May, 26 people who had been sprayed with the liquid had died in police custody in California. These deaths had occurred since October 1992 when the Attorney General, Dan Lungren, allowed law-enforcement officers to use pepper spray. That three-year approval expires in August, and can be renewed by Mr. Lungren.
Civilian use began in March 1994 and is regulated by the California Legislature.
Although pepper spray was not cited as the cause of death in any of the incidents, it was a common factor in all cases.
The report said that as of the end of May, 26 people who had been sprayed with the liquid had died in police custody in California. These deaths had occurred since October 1992 when the Attorney General, Dan Lungren, allowed law-enforcement officers to use pepper spray. That three-year approval expires in August, and can be renewed by Mr. Lungren.
Civilian use began in March 1994 and is regulated by the California Legislature.
Although pepper spray was not cited as the cause of death in any of the incidents, it was a common factor in all cases.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/kdvr-occupy-denver-protests-turn-violent-prompting-police-action-20111029,0,6639611.story?track=rss
Excerpt:
Police confirm that a few officers have resorted to pepper spray and other non-lethal devices such as rubber bullets in an effort to control the crowd.
http://www.dailycal.org/2011/10/25/city-manager-orders-occupy-berkeley-protesters-to-stop-camping-overnight-at-park/
Excerpt:
The city council’s agenda committee will meet Oct. 31 to talk about when the Occupy Berkeley movement will be discussed by the whole council, said Mayor Tom Bates during the council meeting.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2197783
Excerpt:
In Response To The Oakland Shooting Of Scott Olsen OccupyOMC Request The Following:
The GOP Cowards Responsible For Influencing This Event Be Brought To Justice. Track Names And Photos Of Each And Email Them To Us
Identify The 300 OPD Riot Officers By Name, Photo, And Badge Number With Boots On The Ground Engaging In Illegal Excessive Force Acts Against Peaceful Americans For Prosecution.
Identify The Officer Responsible For Harming Scott Olsen By Name And Photo For Prosecution.
The Honorable Resignation Of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan And Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan.
A Public Apology From California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. For The Unlawful Injury Of Our Brother Scott Olsen.
We Fully Intend To Make An Example, Legally And Peacefully, Of The Cowards Associated With Harming An American Veteran. We Will Not Stop Until Our Aforementioned Demands Are Met In Their Entirety.
God Be With Scott Olsen, We Pray A Speedy Recovery For Him And His Mother.
Semper Fidelis Scott Olsen
The GOP Cowards Responsible For Influencing This Event Be Brought To Justice. Track Names And Photos Of Each And Email Them To Us
Identify The 300 OPD Riot Officers By Name, Photo, And Badge Number With Boots On The Ground Engaging In Illegal Excessive Force Acts Against Peaceful Americans For Prosecution.
Identify The Officer Responsible For Harming Scott Olsen By Name And Photo For Prosecution.
The Honorable Resignation Of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan And Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan.
A Public Apology From California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. For The Unlawful Injury Of Our Brother Scott Olsen.
We Fully Intend To Make An Example, Legally And Peacefully, Of The Cowards Associated With Harming An American Veteran. We Will Not Stop Until Our Aforementioned Demands Are Met In Their Entirety.
God Be With Scott Olsen, We Pray A Speedy Recovery For Him And His Mother.
Semper Fidelis Scott Olsen
http://occupymarines.org/
Excerpt:
No comments:
Post a Comment