I'm so angry I can't see straight.

[cali]

Did anyone else see the ABC piece on tonight's broadcast about the behavior of the police in Miami in 2003 during the protests of the Free Trade of the Americas meeting? They had video and audio tape of this one well dressed middle aged woman holding a sign and marching peacefully. At one point she turns around and they shoot her using rubber bullets in the back of the leg. She turns around to face them and is heard asking calmly why they shot. The shoot her again in the head. They show this happening to another protester. The other tape they showed was the police debriefing of the incident, with the cops all making jokes about shooting her and saying how they wanted her red jacket as a trophy. They're laughing it up and having a grand old time.

NO charges were filed for police misconduct.

It was one of the most repulsive things I've seen lately. Just had to get that off of my chest.

[PA Democrat]

Link to Miami Herald story and 3 videos here:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15228898.htm

[oasis]

21. Wow, cowards posing as the police of Miami.

:grr:

[NVMojo]

1. good lord, bushisms fuel the idiots in this country with hate ...

[index555]

75. sadly that seems to apply to both ends of the spectrum.

you just have to read some of these posts to see that it's true

[me b zola]

77. What a load of rw shit

I'm tired of seeing that lame-ass rw talking point occasionally being posted on this progressive message board.


Listen up. Progressives do not assault people and then mock them because they don't like their point of view or politics. It is not Democratic elected officials threatening/advocating violence against federal judges from the floor of the House. It is not Democratic talking points sent out to the four corners that demonize citizens from the other political party coming within an inch of calling them terrorists. It is not Democratics who demonize segments of society practically calling for violence against them.

There is a reason why we are angry, and if we weren't then there would be something wrong with us. But don't confuse rightious anger with the same hatered that comes from the rw--we are not the flip side of the same coin and I take anyone who says that we are.

[zanne]

80. Did you guys all get the same memo?

Lately, all I have to do is check the post count. If it's low, the poster will be criticizing DU or Democrats or liberals in general. Whay don't you people just get a life?

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. I'm actually too angry to comment

I've been trying to and I can't even find a coherent phrase

[lostnotforgotten]

3. The Difference Between Cops And Robbers - One Thin Thread

Especially when the police state is just a manifestation of private enforcers for the ultra wealthy.

[PA Democrat]

4. Yes that was repulsive to say the least.

The cops were talking about how they "won" this one. Won what? A game against an unarmed non-threatening woman by shooting her with rubber bullets?

[Greybnk48]

5. Sounds like the cops want to be referred to as pigs again

like back in the 60's and 70's when that sort of stuff was common.

[OwnedByFerrets]

7. Send their

sorry fucking asses to Iraq and let them see what it feels like to be shot back at. (dont kill me for the bad grammer, please):)

[Felinity]

67. Bad grammar does not warrant the death penalty

unless it involves a Pet Goat.:evilgrin:

[davekriss]

38. If Kent State happened today...

...would the MSM even cover it?

[midnight]

41. No, but we would!!!!!

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

56. Pride-Integrity-Guts? I dont see that in this story! Cowards with a badge!

[Rowdyboy]

6. Unbelievable and sickening.....

I can't believe its going unpunished.

[tbyg52]

26. I believe it,

but I am disgusted by it.

[Rex]

8. Fascism is like a virus, when your 'leader' have no problem committing

international crimes, then what's a couple of local ones? There is no justification for what they did, but if Gore was in his second term right now would we be seeing things like this? I know the Civil Rights Era was bad, but does that mean we have to go back to those times? I think Bush/Rove promotes this kind of mentality.

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

54. Trickle down fascism is slowly creeping into the police forces. eom

[L0oniX]

9. Saw it back then ...old news ...yes we have the nazi pigs out in force

again just like back in the 60's

[Tsiyu]

10. Want to complain to the sick cops who laughed about this?

Broward Sheriff's Office:

Her's a link to a post containing a link where you can leave a "commendation" - commend them for being good, heartless, misogynistic Fascists


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1859807&mesg_id=1861441

[cali]

28. Thanks!!

And done!

[Tsiyu]

31. Glad to help

I read that thread first thing after logging on today so I understand your outrage. :grr:

:hi:

[Ignoramus]

11. And the thug in charge was consulted by the democrats for the convention

where they constructed those concentration camps that people got stuffed into.

People should not forget it.

[Little Star]

12. First they came for...........

I am dumbfounded. No one has investigated this and its on TV?

[rudy23]

13. This is why they want martial law--so they can do this with real bullets

this really seems to be their fantasy.

[Bandit]

14. Well the good news is she is an attorney and is pissed

She also has a copy of the video and is going to sue...

[glitch]

20. Now THAT is GREAT news. I hope she gets all their asses on a platter.

All the way up to the mayor.

Edit: make that governor.

[elehhhhna]

15. IIRC that tape is being used as a "Training video" & that's how it

surfaced.

Nazi much?

[dogday]

16. There's a new sheriff in town and

it goes by the name of homeland security... If you think the police would not have any trouble firing at us, think again... State Police....

[Lars39]

17. I remember when that was happening; the reports on DU...

the speculation that FL was a testing ground for this type of stuff. :(

[Fleshdancer]

29. I remember that too!

The police brutality at that time was BIG news on DU.

[degreesofgray]

18. PBS show "Now"

covered this a few years ago. ACLU Freedom Files has also covered police abuse against protesters.

[INDIA]

19. I'm usually on the side of the police...

But this incident (appears) completely injustifiable. Unbelieveable! Is this the United States?

I could understand the rubber bullets if it was a large and unruly rioting crowd, but ONE WOMAN! WALKING AWAY WHILE BEING SHOT!

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

58. You, like most Americans don't often deal with the police. Things have

changed, and not for the better, I might add.

[INDIA]

70. I just spent four years in college...

believe me, I dealt with the police nearly every single weekend. One officer even got physical with me when I was in complete compliance with what he was asking me to do, (walking down some stairs). Pissed me off for a while, but that was the one bad cop out of a dozen.

[Beausoir]

22. I saw the piece tonight.

First they shot her when her back was turned to them. Then they shot her in the face.

And all they could be sorry for was the fact that they laughed about it and got caught.

What about shooting an innocent, peaceful woman in THE FACE??? Shouldn't they be sorry for that?

[ArbustoBuster]

39. They shouldn't just be sorry for it...

...they should be locked up for the rest of their lives for it. Police who step over the line need to be stomped flat so that they and their cohorts realize that we as a society won't accept abuse of power. Police work for us; we don't work for them.

[wryter2000]

23. Randi covered it when she was in Florida

Her producer, Tim, was at the protest, and he got shot with rubber bullets. It was utter chaos.

[Selatius]

24. Goose-stepping Nazi morons should never hold positions of power

They were peaceful protesters, yet they get gassed and shot and arrested like they were mere criminals.

[midnight]

46. I guess that's how it is in Jeb's world.

[Lerkfish]

25. welcome to the new fascist amerika. martial law is a reality, soon.

they are training for this. They are preparing for this with 800 FEMA "camps".

[bigtree]

27. they used the latest riot control equipment they had just bought

and tested it on the crowd

[RandiFan1290]

66. Paid for by the Iraq occupation

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1104-03.htm

Buried in a bill that provides money for the war in Iraq is an $8.5 million federal boost for Miami to host the Free Trade Area of the Americas conference later this month.

Passed in the House last week and the Senate Monday, the FTAA money is a single line within the massive Iraq bill.

But for the 40 local communities expected to provide extra police officers and equipment at the conference, it helps ease the financial burden on already strapped cities and counties.

"The money enables the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County in particular to go the extra mile in security," said Charles Cobb, chairman of the nonprofit Florida FTAA Inc., which is helping organize the conference. "It gives them much more comfort to do whatever is necessary to provide good security and do it in a friendly, positive way."

[loudestchick]

30. I know that there are many good people who go into law enforcement

but there is also a personality type that gravitates toward this kind of work...the same kind that intimidates kids on the playground...roughs up the girlfriend after he's had a few...kicks the dog when he's stressed...shoots a woman in the back because he CAN!

[KansDem]

32. Now I know where the Kent State national guard troops wound up at.

They had previous experience with firing into crowds of unarmed citizens; no doubt a must-have skill with this job.

At least they were given rubber bullets this time...

:sarcasm:

[undergroundpanther]

33. throw

a dart in that thug cops ass with cuare on it, use a small sharp dart,and a tiny dart shooter ,do it fast and subtle so he never knows where it came from,let him assume it's a mosquito bite .Bwahaha...asshole fall down.

( I say this fantasy here because this fucking sort of shithead and naziesque situation ..disgusts me so I feel so frustrated and it's a tension release. I wouldn't reccomend doing it..ever...)

[chat_noir]

35. Which dystopic story had this plot device?

Counter-Fascist groups defended themselves by opening fire hydrants near the police (state) and then dropping a live electric cable?

[undergroundpanther]

50. I dunno.

I'm just disgusted and frustrated and wish There was a way to restrain the thugs somehow. I mean,what can you do when they are the pets of corrupted political monsters?

I am so glad the woman shot by rubber bullets is suing.I hope she get these thug cops badges revoked and the city and state shamed.I hope she was not hurt permanently ..shot in the face..Is this a republican thing or what?

[Catherine Vincent]

34. A DUer posted that earlier today and it upset me too.

Cops just went down a notch in my book.

[leftofthedial]

36. goddamned nazi motherfuckers

need to be dealt with

[davekriss]

37. Militarize the police and we get overt oppression

I know exactly what you're talking about, cali. Freespeech.org had a long video documenting the fascist actions of the militarized police in Miami and which covered the woman you refer to. I didn't see the ABC piece (I have boycotted the MSM since shortly after 9-11), so I don't know if they showed the entirety of the video that's available, including what she had to say to the indymedia journalist that documented the incident. Her words were wise and just and the actions of the Miami police a travesty. Unfortunately, the video I refer to is no longer available on freespeech (id=10453), but others are. In fact, she appears early on this video (linked below) just after she was hit in the face.

http://www.freespeech.org/videodb/index.php?action=detail&video_id=10413&browse=0

I kinda like this video, too, as it documents the use of undercover agents amongst the protestors.

Like you, I find the militarization of our police, and the suppression of our right to freely and peaceably express our dissent, gut-wrenchingly sad. It's things like this that make me realize how perfectly prescient Frank Zappa was when he said...

The illusion of freedom in America will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre.
-- Frank Zappa, 1977

The still-comfortable amongst the middle-class think, like Sinclair Lewis' title, It Can't Happen Here. It's so hard to show them that it already has. And unfortunately, as the Miami police and undercover demonstrate, there are aways people either too morally underdeveloped or just cravenly selfish that they're willing to brutalize their neighbors for the lastest fascist Reich.

Good to hear, though, that the Miami FTAA protests still get some coverage in the MSM.

On edit: From another thread in Latest, the women referred to above is Elizabeth Ritter. Cheers, Elizabeth, and I hope you're still fighting the good fight. :)

[midnight]

40. Who charges these police?

Is it the D.A.'s office or are charges against police misconduct through another channel?

[cali]

43. It would be the D.A.'s office

unless it was determined that there were civil rights violations, in which case it would be the feds.

[cali]

44. It would be the D.A.'s office

unless it was determined that there were civil rights violations, in which case it would be the feds.

[midnight]

47. Thanks Cali.

It seems to me that this women's civil rights were violated.

[DoYouEverWonder]

60. No one apparently

BSO officials said no one would face disciplinary action in connection with the training video.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_TRADE_TALKS_PROTESTS_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Octafish]

42. She's a lawyer.

There may yet be justice.

[upi402]

49. Clarence Darrow revisited is what we need n/t

[catzies]

45. Wow it finally made it to ABC. I remember talking on DU about it

at the time.

[upi402]

48. K&R but I couldn't watch it

:banghead:

[Solon]

51. That's Indymedia footage that was used...

I know, I saw the special presentation of the Miami Protests, includes many many other violations of citizen's rights, it was atrocious.

[Phrogman]

52. Lets send those "tough guy" cops to Iraq...

Right away!

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

53. What did you expect? You are living in a POLICE STATE, afterall.

Unionised, badge-wearing, gun-toting gangs of uniformed thugs who get caught with thier pants down, breaking the very laws the swore an oath to uphold, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, all the time in addition to crimes like this one.

Dont believe me?

Visit the usenet newsgroup alt.law-enforcement and see what happens when these "peace officers" get caught doing illegal, immoral things ALL THE TIME.

[w4rma]

55. Sore Loserman is one of the biggest proponents of "free" trade

in the Senate. He supports this brutality.

[RebelOne]

57. Cop: Sorry for joking about woman shot in head

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/09/trade.protests.ap/index.html

[Joanne98]

74. Forgiveness denied

[DemonFighterLives]

59. That is sick of those brownshirts

What is happening to this country?
:freak:

[Bassic]

61. I was at the FTAA protest in Québec City in 2001

And it wasn't much better back then. Teargas galore, shot directly at some protesters, rubber bullets, incarceration of some protester with hardly the right to go to the toilet. One woman who was having her period was denied a fucking tampon. In French we have a saying: "Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil."

[cali]

62. And a useful saying it is.

I had friends who went to Quebec and reported the same thing.

[Bassic]

63. Tear gas is a bitch, ain't it?

[DemonFighterLives]

64. Translation please.

My French ends at 'we we'
:dem:

[Bassic]

65. we we is not French

:D

The saying means: the more it changes, the more it is the same. It sounds better in French though.

[DemonFighterLives]

69. Thanks, kinda like the Rush song

"The more things change, the more they stay the same".
Mwah, Mwah- French kiss
:pals:

[Mandate My Ass]

68. The Miami Model, brought to you by Timoney

the fascist asshole that was in charge of RNC 2000 here in Philly. He said something along the lines of, "I hate f**king protestors and I don't care what happens to them."

His plan cost the city millions because the undercover cops who arrested 70-some kids in the puppet warehouse couldn't identify a single one in court or point to any wrongdoing. They sued the pants off the city, and won.

[Poll_Blind]

71. My brother is an undercover narcotics officer in the deep south and...

...he has no illusions. "We're just another gang down here, man. I work with guys who talk at work about how they can't wait to off someone, anyone. They're looking for reasons to do it. They're fucking nuts. And those fucks are going to get me killed someday."

  There's two kind of cops: Cops and tea-baggers. A cop's going to do his job. A tea-bagger's going to drop his balls on you any chance he gets. Seems like the police are a real draw for that tea-bagger type. I'd like to think they're in the minority but in situations like this, what does it matter, it just takes 5% of the tea-baggers to start shooting at protesters.

  Someday tea-bagging cops are going to drop their balls on the wrong group of people and then there are going to be lots of headlines and breaking news and APC's rolling through city streets. And then things will calm down and the APC's will go back to where ever- but those tea-bag cops are going to be back on the streets because they never left and no-one addressed that problem.

PB

[BreweryYardRat]

81. *clap* *clap* *clap*

Thank you. Very well said. It only takes 5-10% of fucking whackjob assholes to fuck things up for the other 95-90%. Seems to me a lot of folks in this thread have let their experiences with the 5-10% cloud their vision regarding all cops.

[specimenfred1984]

72. "Boss Hogtie": 100s Arrested in D.C.

http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/01/17/bosshogt.html

--...But standard procedure took on a new meaning in the mass sweep that corralled Abbate and more than 400 other innocent people in Pershing Park on Friday, Sept. 27. It was the first day of a protest that was supposed to shut the city down, spread the gospel of anti-globalization, and plead for a U.S. foreign policy based on peace and love. --


Nobody was held accountable for this either, it's called fascism.

[Joanne98]

73. Two books: The Enemy in Blue and American Methods....

If you hate cops promote these books....

American Methods: Torture And The Logic Of Domination

Kristian Williams
Edition: pb
ISBN: 0896087530
Publisher: South End Press
Release Date: 2006-05-09


ITEM OVERVIEW
Abner Louima. Abu Ghraib. The Humboldt Five. Extraordinary Rendition. Lynchings. School Of The Americas. Prison Rape. Whether or not it makes front-page news, make no mistake: Torture is an everyday tool of dominance and terror in the United States. On the heels of Our Enemies in Blue, his controversial chronicle of policing, Kristian Williams once again upsets the notion that "excessive force" by the state is anything but altogether American.
American Methods is a damning audit of the US record in underwriting human rights violations around the globe. In the last 25 years alone and under several administrations, we confront death squads in El Salvador, genocidal campaigns in Turkey, brutal interrogations done on our dime, even in our name by various "friendly governments," and more. Returning to our shores, Williams observes the banality of violence at home—on both sides of the prison wall. What emerges is the distinct character of American torture, particularly its emphasis on sexual violence, misogyny, and racialized spectacle. Ultimately, American Methods offers devastating conclusions about the centrality of rape, racism, and conquest to both the state and our national culture.

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

79. Correction:"Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America"

Excerpt - page 24: "... than any other determinant of police behavior: regards the public as his enemy, feels his occupation to be ..."

by Kristian Williams

(Paperback - Sep 9, 2004)

[LiberalEsto]

76. I think that woman was an attorney

and I think I read recently that she is suing.

[paul_fromatlanta]

78. Even after the publicity they plan no charges

Something is seriously wrong down there.