Riot Cops Gas Docile Crowd Outside the RNC

[marmar]

via AlterNet's PEEK:



Riot Cops Gas Docile Crowd Outside the RNC

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Firedoglake at 9:31 AM on September 3, 2008.

It should be stressed that this wasn't a loud boisterous march like Monday's, but just a crowd of 100 people walking calmly down the street.



Police officers used tear gas on a peaceful crowd that was following instructions in St. Paul on Tuesday evening. In an overwhelming show of force, well over a hundred riot police locked down 7th Street between Wabasha and St. Peter, surrounded protesters in the Poor People's March, media, and bystanders and then proceeded to launch several cannisters of tear gas after the crowd was hemmed in.

The police were clearly in a nasty mood. Shortly before the tear gas started flowing an officer on horseback made his horse lunge at me to force me off a concrete median. The traffic island was public property and nobody said anything to indicate it was off limits. If he'd asked me to move, I would have done so immediately. Luckily, since the intersection was locked down, there weren't any cars coming.

I stress that this wasn't a loud boisterous march like yesterday's, it was just a crowd of about 100 people walking calmly down the street. I wasn't even sure they were demonstrating until I looked at my pictures and saw that some were carrying signs. I remember calling my editor from the scene to tell her that I couldn't see any protesters. Actually, I was looking at them the whole time, they were just very subdued.

The police gradually locked down the intersections on either side, and a number of neighboring intersections as well. They started to push the protesters back down the block. The group backed up. Suddenly, there were at least two very loud explosions and multiple cannisters of tear gas were deployed. I think the noise might have been concussion grenades.

Here's the full photo essay.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/97412/riot_cops_gas_docile_crowd_outside_the_rnc/

[Hekate]

1. Wherever the Repubs go, the Brownshirts are already in place. nt

[Sequoia]

2. Those cops look like insects.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Whatever happened to Minnesota Nice? nt

[riverdeep]

4. What would happen if protesters wore protective gear?

There's no law against that. As long as you identify yourself as not being of the police, what's to stop people from wearing gas masks and walking around with padding?

You shouldn't have to, of course, but this is Republicanville, where speech is nipped in the bud.

[OnyxCollie]

5. Wearing protective gear makes one a big target.

Watch the "Eye of the Storm" video. It uses police footage.

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/02/333979.shtml

[riverdeep]

6. Yeah, I figured the cops would go after you.

But what if it was a large group coordinated in their efforts? It would basically take young people in good shape to test this theory out cause I'm sure some would get the beatdown of their lives.

[lib2DaBone]

7. The problem is it costs a lot of money..

all that equipment costs a lot of money. Helmut, shin guards, bullet proof vest, face mask, Baton. The cops have un-limited revenue. If they need money, they just dip into our taxes. Unfortuanately, we dont have that luxury. Money is a big disadvantage.

[riverdeep]

9. Well, we would'nt need batons.

Because that would signal an offensive measure. But our side is creative. We don't need expensive ready-made equipment- foam from mattresses could be called into duty. Just off the top of my head, and people far more creative than me could think of many other sorts of protection.

Although gas masks are pretty much a store-bought solution, and they go for about $100-$200/mask last I checked.

[bean fidhleir]

10. "There's no law against that" Incredibly, there is.

During Seattle WTO, there was a law criminalizing gas masks for anyone but police. And in Massachusetts right now, there's a law against bulletproof vests for anyone but police. And those are just what I know about without making any research effort.

[Triana]

8. DO something..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6908130&mesg_id=6908130