Ladder on Democracy Now talking about Copwatching @ the DNC

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist".
Denver Police Arrest 91, Fire Pepper Spray & Pepper Balls at Protesters

August 26, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention
As the Democrats celebrated inside the Pepsi Center on opening day of the convention, outside on the streets police pepper-sprayed protesters and rounded up dozens of them in mass arrests. The incident began near the Civic Center Park around 7:00 p.m., where a few hundred protesters had gathered to march. The police arrived in full riot gear, surrounded the protesters, blocking them in before firing pepper spray into the crowd. Protesters fled across the park, where they were met by dozens of police officers who boxed them in. Many of the marchers sat down in the street. Nearly a hundred people were arrested.

Democracy Now! arrived on the scene moments afterwards and spoke with some of the eyewitnesses. JACOB: My name is Jacob, and I work with Berkeley CopWatch. We go out, we watch the police when they're interacting with people. So, obviously, we're here at the DNC to ensure that police are not utilizing tactics that are against law. And what took place about an hour ago is, we had a big group of protesters start marching, and what happened is they cordoned off the block on both sides, and without any warning or nothing, they initiated arrests. Now, the rest of the people that should have had an opportunity to leave were asked to go up the street and then were also enclosed. So, basically, what the police did is they just did a mass arrest with the intention of keeping people in jail for the next two days, so they won't be out tomorrow, they won't be out the day after, to protest. STEPHEN NASH: I'm Steve Nash with Denver CopWatch. We're a police accountability group that observes the police, and tonight we watched protesters block the street about a block from here. It's about fifty protesters in the street. The police came at them in riot gear from both sides and hemmed them in. Then they refused to let anybody out, including people who were just on the sidewalk in the group, who were not actually trying to block the street. I saw one older legal observer who begged for the police to let him out, and they refused. They pushed him back into the crowd. Then they donned their gas masks and began pushing the media and legal observers and the public a block away in each direction and in a very aggressive manner. JACOB: 99 percent of the officers tonight that are operating have no identification, which is against the law. An officer has to be identified by a badge or a nameplate. JOHN TARLETON: People were generally very calm. There were several legal observers there from the National Lawyers Guild who gave everybody their legal number, because we were—what was, you know, unclear at that moment was whether the police were going to do a mass arrest. RON KOVIC: I was inside of the Sheraton Hotel watching the convention. I had just heard Ted Kennedy's inspiring speech, and someone whispered in my ear that there's a riot outside. I immediately left. I left the hotel with a friend, and we came outside. We came outside to see what was happening. I came outside because of my concern for you, because of my concern for the young people who are demonstrating.

AMY GOODMAN: And that last voice was by Ron Kovic, the paralyzed Vietnam veteran, antiwar activist, who arrived on the scene soon after the protesters were arrested. Special thanks to Democracy Now! producer Hany Massoud for that report.

Eileen Clancy is with I-Witness Video. We just have a few seconds for Eileen to comment on what has happened. The behavior of the police that you've come to watch as you've watched in conventions past, Eileen?

EILEEN CLANCY: One thing, I have never seen more police officers with fewer identification marks on them as I saw last night. It's a big problem. They have spanking new uniforms. Yet somehow the nameplates didn't manage to remain attached.




KEYWORDS (brutality, torture, taser, misconduct, detention, consent, search, violate, camera, baton, hit, puch, kick, mace, pepper spray, military, guns, swat, special forces, handcuff, pain compliance, racial profile, selective enforcement, racist, racism, poverty, assault , battery, arrest, choke, cop, police, officer, crime, prostitution, sting, operation, pig, choppers, detectives, feds, fbi, joint terrorism task force, 50, five-0, fuzz, heat, narc, agent, abuse, violation, policy, procedure, court, po-po, rollers, opd, bpd, berkeley police, oakland police, nypd, copwatch, know your rights, observe, document, caught on video, revolution, change, non violence, direct action, protest, riot, resist,)

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• misconduct
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[Jacobzladder]

When I found several robbers in my house I dealt with them. Guess what coward, no cops, no guns, and yes Justice was in the air.

[Jacobzladder]

do you mean there is no law requiring you? which department do you work for, i'll be glad to find it for you.

[4aaaaa4]

We walked our evac route on 8/29 in memory of Katrina victims. About a hundred of us & were holding banners which clearly showed who we were. were just walking together. We had children and elderly with us with us. Suddenly we were watched by police cars marked and unmarked. IF WE don't surround and watch them at their headquarters with signs & banners reminding them of the constiturion and abuse of authotrity,the Right to voice Will Be Lost, and The mission of war criminals will be accomplished

[4aaaaa4]

Police everywhere need to be encircled by active and ongoing vigils, pre-emptively..in exactly the same way they circle people who are just working towards improvement. With our signs and banners we should remind them what the constitution & abuse of authority means. And how it feels to be surrounded as though criminals (only in THEIR case.. It's ture! And this should show them a little. Guess since they can pre-empt OUR "crimes" We can and SHOULD PRE-EMPT THEIR CRIME. END THE WAR CRIME NOW!

[weinmanjoe]

@Jacobzladder if you want your voices heard. go to your local city townhall meeting and speak your peace. As you said "htat's why we have courts and due process"

[weinmanjoe]

@Jacobzladder if the cops declare an unlawful assembly they can tell you to leave. If you don't voluntarily move when ordered they will use force. Pretty simple.

[nouse4dogooders]

what did you do? talk em to death......

[josephmccolley]

dude, ur an hypocrite plain and simple. I believe i said this before but lets go over it again. If I were to come over to your house right now, and started smashing the shit out of...lets say ur car or tv or computer or whatever the fuck it is u own. then are u going to let me do it. NO, AND IF U SAY U WOULD THEN UR ALSO A LIER. Or ur and even bigger hypocrite because u would either do that or call the cops. SO FUCK YOU AND UR ABILITY TO MAKE ANYTHING!!!! SOMEONE SAYS "GROSS".

[Jacobzladder]

yeah, the men running around with fully automatics weapons were my primary concern for violence, just the thought that you think damaged property justifies violence from the state is gross, just another dirtbag american who thinks violence solves things. shame on you. indeed you are part of the problem

[josephmccolley]

Ok, so it wasn't u but i know that it sure as hell was somebody in that crazy ass group that was out there. and if u didn't do anything to stop the violence then ur a hipacrit. and really..no one deserves to be beaten? someone vandalise my house and either i'm ganna kick ur ass or i'm ganna call the cops in hope that they're ganna kick ur ass.

[Jacobzladder]

Well it certainly wasn't me either,so watch who the fuck you point fingers at. I stood for four days in the streets ensuring the public's safety from over aggressive police, meanwhile across the world bombs dropped from the sky on innocent people, in our name and for corporate interests, and you're going to cry that people flood the streets to have their voices heard? you're out of touch, no one deserves to be beaten by police. period. that's why we have courts and due process.

[josephmccolley]

what do u mean how dare i say "you" sure as hell wasn't me dragging dumpsters into the street. this is exactly the kind of attitude that makes anyone with power think we're crazy anarchists. don't blame the cops either. they see crazy people storming the streets and slicing tire wtf do u think they're ganna do.