2008 RNC : Protester arrested for "falling" off his bike
Sadism, Cruelty, Torture In The Twin Cities
Detainee alleges torture in Ramsey County Jail
The Deeply Broken American Police System
Contingent of Lawyers, Activists, and Media Take Concerns of Police Brutality at RNC to Mayor Coleman's Office
The Minnesota Independent: RNC Day One Diary
Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC
Glenn Greenwald: Scenes from St. Paul
I-Witness Video Menbers Detained En Masse by St. Paul, Minnesota Police in Advance of the 2008 Republican National Convention
Blackmail?
Glenn Greenwald: Massive police raids on suspected protestors in Minneapolis
Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.
Jane Hamsher and I were at two of those homes this morning -- one which had just been raided and one which was in the process of being raided. Each of the raided houses is known by neighbors as a "hippie house," where 5-10 college-aged individuals live in a communal setting, and everyone we spoke with said that there had never been any problems of any kind in those houses, that they were filled with "peaceful kids" who are politically active but entirely unthreatening and friendly. Posted below is the video of the scene, including various interviews, which convey a very clear sense of what is actually going on here.
In the house that had just been raided, those inside described how a team of roughly 25 officers had barged into their homes with masks and black swat gear, holding large semi-automatic rifles, and ordered them to lie on the floor, where they were handcuffed and ordered not to move. The officers refused to state why they were there and, until the very end, refused to show whether they had a search warrant. They were forced to remain on the floor for 45 minutes while the officers took away the laptops, computers, individual journals, and political materials kept in the house. One of the individuals renting the house, an 18-year-old woman, was extremely shaken as she and others described how the officers were deliberately making intimidating statements such as "Do you have Terminator ready?" as they lay on the floor in handcuffs. The 10 or so individuals in the house all said that though they found the experience very jarring, they still intended to protest against the GOP Convention, and several said that being subjected to raids of that sort made them more emboldened than ever to do so.
A calm political protest quickly turned chaotic as anxious Denver police surrounded protestors peacefully marching toward the Democratic National Convention Center. After trapping the crowd between two buildings, hundreds of officers used pepper spray, batons and unwarranted aggression. After being surrounded for 20 minutes, two ANP producers managed to escape after recording the whole affair.
Austin police spending per capita grew 84 percent during a nine-year period that ended in 2006, while expenses in six other departments, including Dallas and San Antonio, increased 34 percent at most, according to information compiled by the city auditor's office.
Austin police expenses also were more than two times higher than the other cities' from 1997 to 2006, the draft public safety report said.
[snip]
[Police ChiefFearmongerArt Acevedo]
"It is clear that this administration treats the organization as a businesses, and as such, we strive to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and attempt to keep costs at a minimum," Acevedo said.
"The reality is, can you put a price tag on public safety?"
City ordered to put booted APD officer back on force
Beating a man found sleeping at an East Austin bus stop last year cost APD officer Gary Griffin his job.
A police dash cam video of the July 2006 incident is what then-acting Austin Police Chief Cathy Ellison used to make her decision to kick Griffin off the force nearly six months later for using excessive force.
Griffin appealed that decision. It has taken about a year for the arbitration process, but he won.
