I find this tirade extraordinary for its narrow view. How could anyone state that because they saw nothing, nothing was done? Because as a public safety officer, apparently, merely stating such must be the only requirement for its factual basis.
I saw that very same 10:00 PM KARE-11 newscast and was appalled - as always - at the willingness of two sworn officers pummeling civilians with fists and nightsticks with a kind of abandon and fearlessness that should instill mutual paranoia in any community infested with this vermin. The woman, who was walking calmly along and, obviously, suggested that these cops were out of line, found herself flying through the air when one of those madmen climbed off his victim and threw his fists at her in front of another dozen witnesses, including the video camera. Television pictures from LA to New York to Seattle to Minneapolis, revealing a collective rage of amazing intensity unleashed on unarmed civilians by uniformed paramilitary types whose job it is to protect the civilian population, not engage in warfare with them, are among the most frightening of sights I can recall ever. Pictures of police officers engaged in murderous assaults and wanton violence far beyond anything necessary to carry out their duties betray a true counterculture in America (and elsewhere), a culture that believes the rest of the world hates them, is out to get them and must be subdued in such a way as to never rise up against them again. Protesters are not the dissidents in our society. The police are. They violate every tenet of democracy and the Constitution when they can, and complain about it when they cannot. They demonstrate all too frequently that they believe themselves possessing the power and authority to intimidate and assault their fellow citizens and often behave coercively to extract cooperation. Can corruption be far behind? Ninety percent of them live as far from the communities they patrol as they possibly can, often in clusters of fellow officers (the same is true of firefighters - witness whole towns of each in New York covered in the 9/11 aftermath). They feed on each other's discontent with anyone outside the culture, including those who have been promoted upward out of it - many of their own supervisors and chiefs. This, despite the unerring support those senior officials express every time the street guys commit their crimes of excessive force and brutality. In short, these men (and, less so, women) comprise an occupying army patrolling enemy territory on a daily basis, utterly incapable of accepting any disagreement, any adolescent lip or any challenge to their assessment and control of a "situation." These are not the ramblings of someone who's watched too many episodes of "NYPD Blue." This comes from an eyewitness to thousands of incidents similar to those taped and telecast Saturday night and subsequent newscasts � and many that were never caught on film or tape, but took place in the shadows of alleys or on the streets of predominantly black neighborhoods right here in St. Paul. This is coming from a former human rights commissioner who was part of frustratingly impotent in-depth studies of police-community relations in major urban areas, including St. Paul and Detroit. And it's coming from a person directly threatened many times with warnings that I'd best not complain or make waves about their less-than-sterling public and "professional" behavior. Police officials have created a climate of fear resulting in municipal budget appropriations adding up to about 50% of every city's spending, increasingly insisting that the streets will never be safe unless there's almost one cop for every two citizens in every city. Funding police departments has forced closures of libraries and rec. centers, detoured monies for infrastructure redevelopment and parks/open spaces and environmental protection. They soak up dollars better spent, for instance, on beefed-up inspections of commercial and residential properties where absentee landlords continue to foster blight and deterioration, creating, of course, the need for more police. The police must be stopped from further ruining our urban quality of life and be made to recognize that necessary law enforcement does not mean carte blanche thumping of any perpetrator they deem "dangerous, but an integral service of a municipality meting out equal justice under the law and respect the lives and persons of even those who would defy them and their authority. Robert Olson is not the real problem here, although he's sure part of it. The problem is the police counterculture, and it must be reined in now and either subordinated to civilian rule again or purged and restarted. The mantra that this is a bunch of bad apples in a very large barrel of wonderful men and women is refuted by the frequency we're able to capture their misbehavior on film or tape. The odds would otherwise be against it. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul > From: "DUKE POWELL" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 16:25:35 -0500 > To: "MJ Mueller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Mpls] More Dinkytown coverage > > 1. I watched a lot of TV coverage of the riot on the U of M campus. I never > saw an officer strike any one with their riot batons. This charge has been > made several times on this list and, if true, it would seem to me that this > footage would have gotten a lot of air play. > > 2. I am a Paramedic at HCMC. We did not transport any injured victims of > the brutality allegedly meted out by the police. I have not heard of, or > seen, any injuries that were any more than minor contusions and abrasions. > > 3. I have worked around police for over 30 years. I have helped subdue and > restrain countless members of the public who are a danger to themselves > and/or others. It is not a pretty process; but then it isn't supposed to be. > It is, however, effective and done in a manner that minimizes the risk to > the officer, the public, the patient, and the drunk knuckle head. > > 4. The response by those on this list to the actions of public safety > officials have shown me that many of you will go to any length to berate and > degrade those who are sworn to protect you, your family and your property > from those who wish you ill. The scary thing to me is that you all seem to > have the ear of the mayor and a significant number of city council members. > > There has been talk among Mpls DFLers that they may have to approach and > work with suburban Republicans in order to protect their political turf. Be > forewarned - Postings that appear regularly on this list will curl the toe > nails of the suburban home owner. > > And that is where the new political power lies. > > Duke Powell > Burnsville > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "MJ Mueller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 3:28 PM > Subject: RE: [Mpls] More Dinkytown coverage > > >> Michael Hohmann wrote: >> I just watched film footage of Dinkytown >> 'riots' on Ch 11 10 p.m. news-- two officers on top of one unarmed man >> beating him with sticks and fists as he was under them on the ground-- >> Idon't know what he did. A seemingly well-dressed women in a full length >> coat walks up on the sidewalk to calmly address the officers... no voices >> audible-- maybe a "what are you doing? I think he's subdued!"... and she > was >> aggressively knocked backward, off her feet, in the air, and to the > ground. >> It was disgusting aggravated assault against that woman-- by the police! > I'm >> not condoning the illegal actions of rioting students, but I'm condemning >> the wonted, persistently excessive violence doled out by those we pay to >> 'protect and serve.' This type of violence only begets more violence-- an >> escalation which we do not need. It doesn't take long for people to > realize >> you don't face the MPD with bare hands and machetes. I >> think it's time we end this forceful-assault mentality; it's time for a >> change at the top! Replace Robert Olson! >> ---------------------------------------------- >> I saw the same footage (and more) and I have to agree with Michael. In my >> opinion, the police force in Minneapolis is totally out of hand. Replace >> Robert Olson NOW! >> >> MJ Mueller >> Seward >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >> http://e-democracy.org/mpls >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com >> >> _______________________________________ >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >> http://e-democracy.org/mpls >> >> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "MJ Mueller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 3:28 PM > Subject: RE: [Mpls] More Dinkytown coverage > > >> Michael Hohmann wrote: >> I just watched film footage of Dinkytown >> 'riots' on Ch 11 10 p.m. news-- two officers on top of one unarmed man >> beating him with sticks and fists as he was under them on the ground-- >> Idon't know what he did. A seemingly well-dressed women in a full length >> coat walks up on the sidewalk to calmly address the officers... no voices >> audible-- maybe a "what are you doing? I think he's subdued!"... and she > was >> aggressively knocked backward, off her feet, in the air, and to the > ground. >> It was disgusting aggravated assault against that woman-- by the police! > I'm >> not condoning the illegal actions of rioting students, but I'm condemning >> the wonted, persistently excessive violence doled out by those we pay to >> 'protect and serve.' This type of violence only begets more violence-- an >> escalation which we do not need. It doesn't take long for people to > realize >> you don't face the MPD with bare hands and machetes. I >> think it's time we end this forceful-assault mentality; it's time for a >> change at the top! Replace Robert Olson! >> ---------------------------------------------- >> I saw the same footage (and more) and I have to agree with Michael. In my >> opinion, the police force in Minneapolis is totally out of hand. Replace >> Robert Olson NOW! >> >> MJ Mueller >> Seward >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >> http://e-democracy.org/mpls >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com >> >> _______________________________________ >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >> http://e-democracy.org/mpls >> >> > > > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
