Just in case everyone didn't see this article in the West Philly Local: Make sure to read the comments at the end to see what others of us from the community are thinking in response. I'm going to keep checking it on occasion to see if anyone else has made comments. Yours, Patty
Two protesters arrested after skirmish with police near 45th and Baltimore on Saturday <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/> Posted on 24 August 2014 <http://www.westphillylocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Police-rally.jpg> *Part of the police presence near 45th and Springfield on Saturday evening during a rally in Clark Park related to recent events in Ferguson, Mo. A small group of protesters, most of whom did not attend the rally, later clashed with police (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local).* A 20-year-old female, a Cedar Park resident, and 25-year-old male from New Windsor, New York were arrested Saturday evening after they threw balloons filled with paint at a police vehicle near 45th and Baltimore. The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. when a group of young people exited Clark Park “A” onto Chester toward 45th Street following a rally focused on the events in Ferguson, Mo <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/its-time-for-action-not-reaction-ferguson-rally-in-clark-park-on-saturday/>. The members of the group did not take part in the rally and arrived as it was dispersing. The group walked north on 45th Street and overturned trashcans, according to police. Approximately 20 police vehicles were parked in the area at the time, many of them on 45th Street between Chester and Baltimore. Police say 20-year-old Hannah Weaver of the 4700 block of Baltimore Ave. threw a balloon filled with purple paint at a police car patrolling the area as she walked north on 45th Street. An officer who was in the car apprehended Weaver after a brief foot chase and struggle. Two other officers exited their vehicle and pursued a male protester, identified as 25-year-old Jordan Davis of New Windsor, NY, after he also threw paint-filled balloons at police vehicles. One officer “deployed his Taser with no effect”, according to the police report, and Davis was apprehended after a brief struggle. Police say that they found numerous leaflets in Weaver’s bag titled “Hoods UP!” recommending that protesters wear scarves or bandanas to avoid detection during a demonstration. The estimated damage to the police vehicles is approximately $5,000, according to police. It is unclear whether Weaver and Davis have been charged. 406 41 0 448 5 Comments For This Post 1. brendangrad Says: August 24th, 2014 at 12:16 pm <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/#comment-56702> These wannabe anarchists tried to provoke a riot with the police on my very doorstep. I am mad as everyone else about what happened in Ferguson, but these people miss the point completely. And I want to say that the Philly Police were an example to police around the country about how to handle these kinds of losers. They didn’t take the bait even though these idiots were chanting “F… the police.” The police stayed calm and non threatening. They wore no riot gear. They were truly professional. F… these anarchists. They are losers. They lack any positive message. They were nothing but a bunch of trust fund Trotskyists half wits who sought to make their brilliant point through the medium of petty vandalism. F these people. If they ever come back again to my neighborhood they will have to worry about us citizens fighting them, not the police. 2. Louis Says: August 24th, 2014 at 12:54 pm <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/#comment-56703> First world, trust fund anarchists. Sounds like the police did a good job. 3. brendangrad Says: August 24th, 2014 at 1:06 pm <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/#comment-56704> I’m a pretty liberal guy, but these kids represented nothing but stupidity. I was at the corner by Milk & Honey when they came rushing down 45th and then down onto my block (4400 block of Baltimore). I was literally frightened they were about foolishly start a riot on my block that I’ve lived on for 8 or 9 years now. And these were 99% white faces I was seeing hiding behind their chic black bandanas. Not a one of them had probably ever interacted with the police before let alone been the victim of racial profiling or police brutality. They are lucky nothing worse happened. But I’m not trying to make an empty threat here when I saw that the people who live on my block won’t take that kind of shit again if they pull it. And yeah, I was very proud of our police. They were an example to the world. Totally professional. 4. Eveyruttheimer Says: August 24th, 2014 at 5:04 pm <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/#comment-56705> As a mother and a teacher I have more than sympathy for these kids. I see every day how youth is impacted by traumatic events in our society and these riots in ferguson are no exception. Young people have demonstrated their anger and pain toward the police department all across the country. My students have told me following the events in ferguson that they don’t see the police changing their behavior without force. And after seeing so many stories in the news of police in Philadelphia and elsewhere using excessive force against unarmed teens – often inspired by racism – I’m finally tending to agree. Foolhardy as these kids my be, I believe their hearts are in the right place and they should be supported as much as possible. Their actions may be driven by emotion and anger, but it is justified anger, and they were acting in solidarity with the people in ferguson… Which I think is noble simply in itself. 5. brendancalling Says: August 24th, 2014 at 7:06 pm <http://www.westphillylocal.com/2014/08/24/two-protesters-arrested-after-skirmish-with-police-on-saturday/#comment-56706> @eveyruttheimer; the article makes pretty clear “The members of the group did not take part in the rally and arrived as it was dispersing.” I’m pretty sure this was mean simply to provoke. 6. On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 6:38 PM, Kelvyn Anderson <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Megan, that appeared on the Declaration > <http://phillydeclaration.org/2014/08/24/two-protesters-tazed-and-arrested-during-march-in-west-philly/>, > and speaking as a neighbor, I share your frustration and am in complete > agreement with Patty's earlier comments. How does this help? We've got > armed robberies and other crimes which need police response, now there's > less resources to deal with them. The majority of us want mutual respect > and dialogue between police and citizens, not petty hooliganism and > nonsense like this. > > -Kelvyn > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "48th Street Neighbors" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >
