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[johnslat]

"From Naomi Wolf's arrest in New York to shootings in Tucson and Florida, forces face allegations of abuse of power

Officer Michael Daragjati had no idea that the FBI was listening to his phone calls. Otherwise he would probably not have described his arrest and detention of an innocent black New Yorker in the manner he did.

Daragjati boasted to a woman friend that, while on patrol in Staten Island, he had "fried another *beep*". It was "no big deal", he added. The FBI, which had been investigating another matter, then tried to work out what had happened.

According to court documents released in New York, Daragjati and his partner had randomly stopped and frisked a black man who had become angry and asked for Daragjati's name and badge number. Daragjati, 32, and with eight years on the force, had no reason to stop the man, and had found nothing illegal. But he arrested him and fabricated an account of him resisting arrest. The man, now referred to in papers only as John Doe because of fears for his safety, spent two nights in jail. He had merely been walking alone through the neighbourhood.

The shocking story has added to a growing sense that there are serious problems of indiscipline and law-breaking in US police forces. Last week the feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested outside an awards ceremony in Manhattan. She had been advising Occupy Wall Street protesters of their rights to continue demonstrating outside the event. Instead, as she joined the protest, she was carted off to jail in her evening gown. That incident is only the most high-profile of many apparently illegal police actions around the protests. One senior officer, deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, created headlines worldwide when he pepper-sprayed young women behind a police barricade.

A report from the New York Civil Liberties Union recently looked at police use of Taser stun guns in the state, and revealed that in 60% of incidents where they were used, the incident did not meet the recommended criteria for such a weapon. Some cases involved people already handcuffed and 40% involved "at risk" subjects such as children, the elderly or mentally ill. "This disturbing pattern of misuse and abuse endangers lives," said the NYCLU's executive director, Donna Lieberman.

In Los Angeles, officers in the sheriff's department are accused of physically abusing some prison inmates and having sex with others. An internal report, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, revealed allegations that included beating people visiting relatives in jail. In Pittsburgh, there is the case of Jordan Miles, a high-flying high-school student stopped by three plainclothes policemen. Miles, 18 at the time, was walking to his grandmother's house and had no idea who the men were, as they did not identify themselves. He ran, but the officers caught him and beat him so badly that he ended up in hospital. He is undergoing neurological treatment for memory problems and has had to drop out of college.

Yet it was Miles who was charged with aggravated assault � a case that a judge later threw out. His mother, Terez Miles, said: "We are no strangers to police brutality in the city of Pittsburgh, but what they did was terrible and then they lied about it."

In Chicago, Jimmel Cannon, 13, was shot eight times by police who claimed that he had a BB gun in his hand. His family said that he had his hands in the air. In Tucson, Arizona, former marine Jose Guerena was killed by a Swat team on a drugs raid. They found nothing illegal, but Guerena was shot 23 times.

The list goes on. Miami is still dealing with the fallout of the fatal shooting of Raymond Herisse. He had been driving a car out of which police claimed gunshots came. However, it took three days before they produced a weapon. They also confiscated and destroyed the phones of people trying to record the incident.

"There is a widespread, continuing pattern of officers ordering people to stop taking photographs or video in public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply," said Chris Calabrese, of the American Civil Liberties Union. Campaigners say the spread of camera phones is why so many incidents of brutality are appearing.

In another recorded call, Daragjati complained to a friend: "I could throw somebody a beating, they catch me on camera, and I'm fired." Some activists have taken that to heart. Diop Kamau, a former officer, runs the Florida-based Police Complaint Centre, which investigates allegations of police abuse nationwide. "Police are now facing an onslaught of scrutiny because everyone has a cellphone," he said.

Kamau said that many police departments still had a culture of secrecy and many officers believed that there was little likelihood of punishment even if caught. "The police fill in the blanks. They say what happened and they will be believed," he said.

One weakness is that there is no central organisation for the police, and local departments do not release data on complaints or allegations of abuse. "The problem is that there is an absence of research," said Professor John Liederbach, an expert in American policing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. As the list of complaints and incidents grows, that might be about to change."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/22/police-brutality-charges-us

Regards,
John

[spiral78]

I lived for a few years in my teens in a small southern town. Po-lice could most certainly be brutal, depending on the color of one's skin and one's last name. It was really utterly corrupt...

[tttompatz]

After 10 years in Phoenix, I would rather trust a Thai policeman (and we all know how corrupt they are) than the local police in AZ.

.

[Sashadroogie]

Clearly the capitalist piggie police are not up to the standards of the Motherland...

[Qaaolchoura]

I think it really depends where you are, and who you are. I'm a white kid from small town New England. Which means I have nothing to worry about.

A. Word gets around, people know each other, and the police aren't likely to misbehave. We don't need a badge number to report abuse.
B. New England is a very well-run orderly part of the country. We assume good faith in the police and show them respect, and they return the favor.

Which isn't to say our police don't have their bad points. Vermont, for example, has made setting up speed traps for tourists a major source of income, but they're definitely not brutal.

Also, my driving instructor had a story about a horribly misogynistic police officer, though I'm not sure if she was in New England at the time or not.

C. If I went to most parts of the country, I'd probably still be fine, because I'm white and male. But that doesn't make me feel very comfortable. I'd much rather have police who respect the rule of law than have mercy from a tyrant because I'm the right kind of person.

I've heard stories about the rest of the country, or course, but the only non-New England parts I visit regularly are Manhattan and Miami, and haven't heard anything about either, but I'm a tourist in the one and merely visiting family in the other. Back when I used to read the op-ed page, Leonard Pitts and Bob Herbert would frequently tell stories of police abuse. Both are excellent writers, and I'm inclined to believe that the stories are true, though I don't know how common they are. I suspect a bigger issue isn't brutality so much as getting drunk on power.

A friend from Chicago commented on how well behaved and lenient the New England police were, but he was constantly breaking laws, relating to driving and drugs (fortunately not both at once), and it may be that Chicago police just have less patience with rich kids who think they're above the law.

More locally, I have heard stories about Connecticut from people who travel there. But these stories take place around Danbury and Bridgeport and such, and southwestern CT isn't really New England; it's a richer, more racist version of New Jersey. Again, the stories aren't brutality so much as abuse of position and blatant racism on the part of the police, and since the people I know are mostly white, they usually come from a friend of a friend.

I really have no idea how bad the rest of the country is, but I'm glad that coming from New England I don't have to worry about it. Of course I do have to worry about other countries' police.

~Q

[johnslat]

Dear Qaaolchoura,

I'm a white guy (a kid, no longer) from Boston. Back in the 60s, my Dad was Deputy Superintendent of the Boston Police. My uncle (Leo Sullivan) was the Commissioner. Maybe you have nothing to worry about if you stasy in your small town - but don't come to Boston to demonstrate:

http://www.archive.org/stream/annualreportofpo1960bost/annualreportofpo1960bost_djvu.txt

Occupiers Hack Boston Police Website To Avenge Officers �Unprovoked Brutality� Against Protesters�

http://weaselzippers.us/2011/10/23/occupiers-hack-boston-police-website-to-avenge-officers-unprovoked-brutality-against-protesters/

"POLICE ATTACKED the Occupy Boston encampment in Dewey Square at 1:30 a.m. on October 11, arresting more than 100 peaceful protesters--military veterans among them.

Inspired by the growing Occupy Wall Street protests and encampment that began September 17 to speak out for the "99 percent," the Occupy Boston encampment had been up and running for more than 10 days without coming into conflict with police. This led some activists to conclude that the Boston cops were somehow "friendlier" to the action than their counterparts in New York City, who were caught on video early on pepper-spraying and beating peaceful protesters with batons.

But with their attack on the encampment this week, Boston police have demonstrated just what they're capable of."

http://socialistworker.org/2011/10/12/we-will-be-here-tomorrow

Regards,
John

[AGoodStory]

[Qaaolchoura]

John,

So maybe it's really an anonymity thing then? The police won't be recognized and thus can't be held accountable, and they just see the protesters as more monkeys.

Since I know Chicago, LA, and Phoenix have reputations for being brutal, and NYC historically did, this could be an issue in any big city. Anybody know: are there similar issues in Toronto or Sydney or Buenos Aires or Lisbon? (Or Helsinki? Which is about the size of Boston and looks shockingly like Salem.)

Regards,
~Q

[johnslat]

Dear Qaaolchoura.

Rio:
http://www.policebrutality.info/2011/04/police-officer-pepper-spray-women-and-children.html

Toronto:
http://www.policebrutality.info/2011/04/brutality-of-toronto-police-at-g20-protest.html

Buenos Aires:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xk5zma_argentines-rally-to-mark-police-brutality-anniversary_news


Sidney:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3FfTG2mAGc
Lisbon:
"Oporto and Coimbra square occupations continue. Lisbon square evicted by police using violence on 4th June, a new gathering planed for 19th June."

http://www.correntewire.com/current_world_wide_occupations

Helsinki seems relatively free of such incidents (but it's so darn COLD there.)

Regards,
John

[BadBeagleBad]

I don�t know if this rises to the level of brutality but it was certainly over the line. Let me preface this story by saying that I am a squeaky clean person. I have never had anything more serious on my record that a parking ticket, and those I paid. I lived for a few years in Milwaukee, WI. When I first moved there from Chicago I had a bad experience. I was in a residential neighborhood where I had just moved, but didn�t know well. There were many one way streets, but they weren�t marked well. I accidentally was going the wrong way down a quiet one way street, when I was stopped by the police. Then the fun began. I should also mention that I had my then-infant son in the car. I didn�t realize what I had done when the officer stopped me. When he told me, I innocently said, I�m sorry I didn�t see the sign. He went on a rant about everyone around here knew which streets were one way and which way they went. When he was done, I apologized and mentioned that I had just moved to the area, literally two weeks earlier. I guess he thought that was long enough to know everything there was to know. At that point he asked for my DL, which was from Illinois. He apparently didn�t like that for some reason, and he made me stand with my hands on the hood of my car while he went back to the patrol car to presumably run my license. Within about 5 minutes there was another patrol car and an evidence van, both with their lights on, my son was by now wailing, but I was not allowed to attend to him, and the next thing I knew I was being fingerprinted! At no point was it explained to me why all of this was being done. And, there was a small crowd gathering �round to see what is going on. I think it was at about this point that I asked the officer why all of this was necesary. Not in a rude or belligerent way, but at that point he said, keep talking, you are already wracking up the tickets. What?? Tickets?? OK, I went the wrong way down the street. Give me my ticket. I�ll pay it and be more careful the next time. Now all of a sudden I am getting a number of tickets. One for NO driver�s license, no insurance and one for resisting arrest. WTH? I never was arrested, so how could that be. By now there is a crowd of about 25 people looking on, including people I recognized as neighbors. I was finally given all of my tickets and everyone left. I don�t think I have ever been so humiliated in my life. Anyway, I decided to go to court and fight the two I thought were unfair. I later found out that you have 60 days to switch your license, but that having a valid license from another
state is just a citation not a fine even if past that time, out of state insurance is just as valid as any, so when I went to court I had my DL, insurance papers that indicated how long the policy had been valid. When I went before the judge he said, well, you have been a busy young woman, what do you have to say for yourself. But once I started to explain I could see his attitude change. I said, I will gladly pay the going the wrong way ticket, I made a mistake, and I admit it. But I don�t understand the others, and here is my proof. He called the officer forward (like he didn�t have anything better to do than show up in court for a minor traffic violation) and basically asked him WTF. I think I was able to get in there the fact that the baby was crying in the car as well. He asked the officer why on earth he felt it necesary to fingerprint me, and the officer hemmed and hawed, and the judge tossed everything out, even the one I should have paid. Now, I know there are a lot of good cops. But that incident changed the way I looked at the police forever. That cop was not there to serve and protect, he basically terrorized and humiliated me for no reason. I have no idea to this day why, but I am going with the bully theory, and I do believe that there is a small but not negligible number of cops who become cops because they want to be able to exert power over people, and who enjoy it. No ones interests were served that day, and perhaps someone else was a victim of a crime that could have been prevented if that cop had actually been doing his job.

[spiral78]

He looked cool in front of an audience, as well - good press for the police corps. Taxpayers visibly getting their money's worth. Routine minor traffic infraction netting a scoff-law with several 'violations' to her record. No doubt he intended to keep an eye on you in future as well (hence fingerprints). Or perhaps he ran them thru FBI files searching for your 'criminal record.'

Think of the headlines he was dreaming of:

'On-the Ball Traffic Cop Nets International Criminal'
'Minor Traffic Infraction Leads Savvy Cop to Major Drug Bust'


or at least

'Vigilant Cop Nets Illegal Immigrant'

The Big-Guy Dreams of Guys in Uniform.....

[johnslat]

Giving Walter Mitty a badge and a gun might not be such a good idea

Regards,
John

[Qaaolchoura]

[johnslat]

Very nice, Qaaolchoura.


And, if it's not on the Net, it never happened, right?

"US cops tried to erase online evidence of brutality

Published: 26 October, 2011, 14:31

"Google has been asked by a US law enforcement agency to remove several videos exposing police brutality from the video sharing service YouTube, the company has revealed in its latest update to an online transparency report.
Another request filed by a different agency required Google to remove videos allegedly defaming law enforcement officials. The two requests were among 92 submissions for content removal by various authorities in the US filed between January and June 2011. Both were rejected by Google along with 27 per cent of the submissions.
The IT giant says the overall number of requests for content removal it receives from governmental agencies has risen, and so has the number of requests to disclose the private data of Google users.
Brazil heads the first list with 224 separate demands to remove a total of 689 items from its search results, as well as from YouTube and various other services. Google says its social networking service Orkut is very popular in the Latin American country, which partially explains the number of requests.
Heading the list of countries requesting the disclosure of personal data is the United States, where a total of 5,950 submissions targeting 11,057 user accounts have been filed. Google fully or partially complied with 93 per cent of those requests. Second on the list is India, with 1,732 requests over a six-month period.
Russian officials filed fewer than 10 requests to remove content and 42 requests to disclose user information (which was the first time the number reached Google�s threshold for reporting). The company complied with 75 per cent of the Russian requests concerning content and none of those concerning user data.
Google says it hopes that its report will contribute to the ongoing public discussion on the ways the internet needs to be regulated."

http://rt.com/news/google-report-police-brutality-767/

Regards,
John