Communities United Against Police Brutality FBI ISSUES MAMBY-PAMBY REPORT ON JONES CASE TAPES--Does this predict future of other FBI investigations in Minneapolis?EMAIL NEWSLETTER November 7, 2003 ********************************************** Not wanting to upset the delicate structure of white supremacy and oppression within our local "justice" system, the FBI issued a wishy-washy, legalistic report on their analysis of the videotapes in the Rickey Jones tape. We've obtained a copy of the report and although it is only two short paragraphs in length, the phrase "appears to be" is laced throughout. Well, it APPEARS to us that the FBI was afraid to take on and expose the city attorney's office and/or cops. You'll recall that Judge Philip Bush ordered the FBI to examine videotapes in the Rickey Jones case after Rickey's lawyer, Jill Clark, saw one version of the tape at the city attorney's office but was sent an altered version (with the incriminating parts removed) after much resistance from that office. Eventually, there ended up being four different versions of the tape. The various versions of the videotape were shown in court and differences in them were visible to the naked eye. An expert who had previously examined one of the versions said that there had been crude editing done on two portions of the tape. For this reason, Ms. Clark asked that the tapes be examined by an expert. The city attorney's office fought tooth and nail against it but eventually Judge Bush ordered an examination by the FBI. Judge Bush sent in two of the versions for examination. The FBI stated (sort of) in their report that the two tapes were substantially the same and had the same content. However, in their own report they noted that one tape was 4 minutes, 27 seconds long and the other t ape was 6 minutes, 7 seconds long. Yet, they are claiming the tapes have the same content--how is this possible? One of the parts of the tapes that is in contention is the end, the part where a tangle of cops are whaling on Rickey as he lay on the floor. That part was missing from Ms. Clark's tape. Are we to believe that two tapes have the exact same content but one of them is two minutes longer than the other? This report claims that the VHS-C tape they received (that's the small camcorder tape before it is converted to a regular videotape) APPEARS to be the original. However, that tape is TDK brand and remember that Rickey testified that he always uses only Sony brand VHS-C tapes. All of the other VHS-C tapes in his camera bag were Sony brand. The TDK tape was also not labeled in the way he labels his tapes. The report is shot full of legalistic mumbo-jumbo and APPEARS to be more of an effort to cover hineys than an actual re port of technical testing. It APPEARS that the FBI did a mediocre job with the testing and did not do some of the testing they were asked to do. An expert we consulted yesterday agreed that the tapes may not have been tested thoroughly and/or the results not reported in adequate detail. Rickey Jones' attorneys filed a motion yesterday to obtain all of the videotapes and they will be sent to an expert for a more definitive analysis, including a frame by frame comparison and an audio tracking (something completely missing from the FBI analysis). During the proceedings, it was implied that the FBI is "the best in the business" in video analysis. We've learned since that video experts around the country don't hold them in that high regard. Moreover, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys has sued the FBI labs for shoddy work. So apparently they aren't "all that" after all. If this report is any indication of their work, it APPEARS they are more interested in not upsetting the prevailing social order than in exposing injustice. The credibility of the FBI is a matter of great concern to this community, as the results of the Stephen Porter case and other key cases rest on FBI investigations. Their willingness (or lack thereof) to take on our local "justice" system will have a huge impact on the community's ability to hold police accountable for their actions. However, the FBI has a long, sordid history of crushing liberation movements and suppressing dissent. Let's not forget that under the COINTELPRO** program they wiped out the Black Panther Party, decimated the American Indian Movement, and clamped down on other movements for social justice. With that kind of history, excuse us if we are a bit cynical about the role they are playing in this community. As a result of the FBI report, Judge Bush ruled yesterday "I find no evidence to support the claim that the tape was altered" and that the trial against Rickey Jones will proceed. Rickey's next hearing, a pretrial conference, will be on November 17th at 2:00 p.m. in Judge Bush's courtroom, 759-C. Although this is only a scheduling hearing, it would be a good idea for people to be in the courtroom, as it seems anything can happen in this case. Trial is scheduled to start February 2, 2004. **There is very good documentation on COINTELPRO on the web. Two sites in particular give a good rundown. See http://www.dickshovel.com/coin.html or http://www.derechos.net/paulwolf/cointelpropapers/coinwcar3.htm ___________________________________________________________ |
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