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It seems that everyday there is a new video of police officers aggressing BEYOND the needs of the confrontation!
It now appears that any attempt to question law enforcement is seen as belligerence, and that seems to equal a beat down!

For example, Steven Anderson, a Phoenix-area church leader, tased and beaten for non compliance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJF5cUWXA_A&feature=channel_page

In Texas, an officer tased a pastor and pepper sprayed the congregation when pastor Jose Elias Moran went to assist the stopped driver, a church member, by asking the police what had happened.

Last year, a Sheriff's deputy savagely beat a 15 year old girl for being "Mouthy" and assaulting him with a sneaker! Horrors!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipb_PeXOdT4

He has refused a plea deal that would have netted him less than 1 year in jail, if he resigned from the Sheriff's Department. He now faces a Federal Felony civil rights abuse charge that carries a 3-5 year sentence. Some justice prevails.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/407640_deputy29.html

On Friday, June 26, 2009, Francine Busby, Democratic contender for Randy Cunningham's vacated seat, was present at a fundraising event in a private home in Encinitas, California, when a deputy sheriff, Marshall Abbott, arrived to investigate a noise complaint at 9pm, 1 hour before noise ordinance laws go into effect.
Approximately 25 people were in attendance when the sheriff arrived. The homeowner, 60-year old Shari Barman, asked the sheriff why her date of birth was needed. In response, the sheriff "began pulling on her arm" according to numerous witnesses, despite Barman's partner pleading that the woman had recently undergone shoulder surgery. The sheriff then threw Barman to the ground. Afterwards, the deputy discharged pepper spray in the home and on the crowd, with Busby present. Paramedics were then required to treat the people present at the fundraiser, according to Busby.

Busby described the incident thus:
“ The deputies were telling people that they were taking statements from, that the call came in about noise from a Democratic rally, or Democratic demonstration. He was not listening; there was no controlling this person. The people who asked him to stop hurting this woman were pepper-sprayed without warning, there was no talking to this man.”

Barman alleged the entire incident may be politcally motivated, as Busby was heckled during a speech by a neighbor, and that the heckling was the only "noise" that evening in the neighborhood, contrary to the original complaint that prompted the arrival of the sheriff Abbott. Busby described it as, "I heard my name, and obviously derogatory words. Other people heard profanity, and somebody heard something about gays, as well."The received noise complaint from the neighbor to police was to "complain of loudness from Democrats".

The San Diego District Attorney opened an investigation into the actions of the deputy, Marshall Abbott, in July 2009. Abbott, age 29, is a former United States Marine and a sheriff since 2006.

In January, BART transit police shot an unarmed man, in handcuffs. The Department immediately issued statement regarding the "Discharge" of his weapon. He did appear to be suprised.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZTbJH6BNaU

And then there is this gem, from the Critical Mass bike event in NYC last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUkiyBVytRQ

Who protects us from the police? Who protects us when probable cause is whatever the officer decides it is? Even if you are innocent of any crime, you can be put into the system, and be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fees, fines and court costs!

Who protects us from the police mentality that it is "Them" against "Us"? The Police State does not mean what you think it means.

Current Mood:

scared

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court sought compromise Monday between a group demanding the names of White House visitors and the Bush administration, which says releasing the names would erode the president's power. . .(Without ever saying why or how) Emphasis mine

If released, the documents would show how often prominent religious conservatives visited the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence, allowing a glimpse into how much influence they exerted on government policy.

White House calendars are not generally considered public records, but reporters and watchdog groups have used Secret Service documents, which normally are public, to report on White House visitors. .(Dick Cheney's however are considered classified and exempt even from Congressional Authority) Emphasis mine

Rather than having those documents released on a case-by-casis basis, the Bush administration wants them considered White House documents, which would keep them from public view for more than a decade.

A federal judge rejected White House arguments in December and ordered the documents released. On appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, government attorneys said the president has a well-established right to seek advice privately.

Releasing lists of visitors would trample on that right, said Justice Department lawyer Jonathan F. Cohn, and the logs should be treated like other White House documents.

The judges were skeptical. They said they wanted to find a way to protect the president's rights without broadly prohibiting access to information that should be public.

"What in the documents are so quintessentially presidential?" asked Judge David S. Tatel.

"The name of the person going in to visit," Cohn replied.

"That's a public building," Tatel said. "You can stand out on 17th Street and watch who goes in and out."

"The Secret Service might have some qualms with that," Cohn responded.

"They might have some qualms but they couldn't stop you from doing it," said Chief Judge David B. Sentelle.

Rather than balancing the president's interest with the public's, Tatel said, the government was simply disregarding the Freedom of Information Act. He said the policy would allow the president to "draw a curtain around the White House."

Already done in Dick Cheney's case, he has actually formed a shadowy fourth branch of government accountable to no one. WTF????

Current Mood:

frustrated