This week, motorcycle bike clubs, riders, and supporters in the Modesto and greater Central Valley area made a historic show of solidarity against the police harassment of local bike club, “Most Envied”, of West Side Modesto. Things have been brewing for some time between police and the motorcycle club. According to members of Most Envied problems stem from continued harassment, intimidation, terror, violence, raids, threats, and what many bikers believe, an attempt by the police to create an all out ‘gang war’ between Most Envied and other local bike crews. But, the united show of support from local clubs shows that the bikers of the Central Valley aren’t going to take this repression lying down.

On Tuesday, July 1 about 100 bikers gathered outside of Modesto City Hall as they prepared to go before the City Council to demand that the police end the harassment against Most Envied. Once inside, several speakers took the floor representing Most Envied and demanded that the Modesto Police Department end their war of repression and profiling. One speaker, John Mataka, detailed a list of complaints of continued harassment by the police against members of Most Envied. These included police raids, helicopter fly bys over members homes, attempts to get club members fired from their places of employment, harassment of club members on various holiday outings, intimidating family of club members, and constant harassment of those within the group.

Once the large crowd had left the meeting and as police looked on nervously, one member of another motorcycle club yelled, “They want us to go to war [with Most Envied,] but it’s not going to happen!” People then cheered and clapped. But, as the bikers left, they were followed by the police. A short distance away one reporter saw a member of Most Envied slammed stomach first into an unmarked police car, with an officer right behind him. The reporter then pulled into a parking space and began to watch as two members of Most Envied were taken from their bikes, had their tattoos and bodies photographed, and held by police for close to an hour. Modesto Police Officers were also joined by Stanislaus County Sheriffs, as well as several other law enforcement officers armed with various weapons and armor. About 10 police officers and about 5 police cars were used in the arrest of one man who was charged with “assault with a deadly weapon,” and the lengthy detention of another.

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HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom) member and vehicular dweller, Donna Deiss, who had her right humerus bone fractured by Officer Christian LeMoss on May 9th, 2008 at the Three Trees parking lot on W. Cliff Dr. in Santa Cruz has had all charges but one dropped. She now faces a single charge of 148 (a) PC or resisting arrest. Misdemeanor charges of battery on a police officer and possession of marijuana have been dropped without explanation. Deiss is still scheduled for arraignment on July 2nd at 8:30AM on the lone remaining charge of 'resisting arrest.' "I plan to plead 'Not Guilty' and seek a jury trial," she told HUFF members.

The Santa Cruz Police Department had issued a press release three days after the incident in which they claimed "When the officer attempted to detain Ms. Deiss she threw a cup of hot liquid onto his face. Despite being burned, the officer was able to control and eventually take Ms. Deiss into custody." Deiss claims the officer never properly detained her, was not in uniform, did not identify himself as a police officer, and had no reason to detain her, much less grab her violently, spin her onto a parked car, cuff her, then throw her on the ground breaking her arm. Read More

previous coverage: 60 Year Old Homeless Woman Says Police Broke Her Arm || Donna Deiss Describes Her Interaction with SCPD Sergeant Christian LeMoss

When a prison riot between inmates and guards broke out in a maximum security facility, Salinas Valley State prison in California on Thanksgiving Day in 1998, corrections officer Donald J.Vodicka's life would be changed forever. In an attempt to document evidence of injured inmates, Vodicka was behind the camera that day. What was normal standard procedure would be shunned on by a group of guards, and Vodicka was told by other guards to get rid of the photos and evidence of injured inmates. To cover-up evidence.

Vodicka was up against a prison guard gang known as "The Green Wall." A gang of guards whose corruption would force Vodicka into becoming a "whistleblower." A gang like any other street or prison inmate gang, with a hand signal that flashed the letter W for "wall" and some bearing tattoos, and other signs that gangs have. Named "The Green Wall" for the color of the uniforms they wore. Vodicka stated that what began as 15 members had grown to over 400, of the 600 guards and officers in Salinas Valley prison. A gang who disregarded prison codes and procedures, and whose corruption was worse than some of the inmates they were paid to guard. Vodicka said they "bullied, and instilled fear and intimidation in the prisoners." Read More

On June 16th, around a dozen protesters gathered at Ashby and MLK in Berkeley to protest the shooting of Anita Gay, grandmother, mother, and resident of Berkeley. She was killed on February 16, 2008 by a Berkeley Police officer who is now back on the street. Following the killing of Anita Gay by Berkeley police Justice for Anita! Justice for All! was formed.
The group is composed of family, friends, and concerned community members.

Photos | Event Announcement | Previous Indybay Coverage

"Jonah" Larrama, a traveler who spends most of his time in SF and NY, is being held at the Northwest ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Detention Center in Tacoma, WA. He is known locally from Food Not Bombs, Homes Not Jails, and various tenants' rights, homeless rights, bike rights and animal rights activities among other things. He was arrested at the end of May for trespassing to watch the sunset from a roof of a building in Seattle and spent some time in county jail. An ICE raid took place at the jail and he was transported to the Northwest Detention Center because his citizenship status is in question.

The Northwest Detention Center is a private for-profit immigration prison owed by a corporation called GEO, which operates prison facilities in Australia, The UK, South Africa, the US and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The facility's housing capacity is 1,000 detainees, making it the largest detention center owned by GEO Group on the West Coast. They are notorious for mistreating their detainees, sometimes to the point of fatality. The GEO Group is an international corporation that operates prisons around the country and is frequently in the news for its abuse of prisoners in its care resulting in many preventable deaths.

There will be a variety show benefit at Station 40 in SF at 3pm on Sunday, June 22nd. Read More

Copwatcher and member of the Free Mind Media Center (a Santa Rosa based radical infoshop and bookstore) Ben Saari, was arrested on May Day while doing Copwatch and has charges pending against him.

On May 1st, as thousands were entering Santa Rosa’s Juliard Park from the east side, Santa Rosa police officers began trying to corral youth, mostly young Latinos, on the west side of the park. SRPD had extended metal batons at ready and a very agitated police dog. Different squads of police were yelling conflicting orders at the nebulous group of youth they’d defined as a gang. As police advanced on the crowd, which Mr. Saari was pushed into, Mr. Saari made a point of communicating with the advancing officers and keeping a safe distance between himself and the officers. At one point an officer being most directly observed stepped up his pace and shoulder-checked Mr. Saari, claiming the contact as Mr. Saari’s interference with police activities and arresting him for such. Mr. Saari was never told by the police or the police department what he was being arrested for. He was only informed of his charges when released on bail by the person who posted the bail.

Elements of Sonoma County Law Enforcement, particularly among the Santa Rosa Police and Sonoma County Sheriff, have been resistant to public observation of their activities from a safe distance, in some cases not identifying themselves, obscuring the visibility of interactions or even threatening the observers with arrest.

Read More | "Watch The Cops" : copwatching and Sonoma County law enforcement | Copwatcher Arrested May 1st Santa Rosa | Ben Saari’s Arrest | Tell Santa Rosa DA To Drop Charges Against Copwatcher

On June 5th, after a federal judge cleared the way, Blackwater Worldwide, the 'World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army', opened a large training facility in San Diego, just three blocks from the border that separates California and Mexico.

Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill wrote a book chronicling how this dangerous private security corporation leveraged over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to build an elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror." Now, Blackwater is setting its sights on the so-called "war on drugs" and recently opened its own private CIA, called "Total Intelligence Solutions," marketing "CIA-type services" to Fortune 500 companies.

Blackwater is aggressively building up a parallel infrastructure to the U.S. national security apparatus as its owner, Erik Prince, promotes Blackwater as the "Federal Express" of the military industrial complex.

Grassroots activists in San Diego, led by relentless local groups like Citizens' Oversight Projects, Activist San Diego, and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego, are ramping up their campaign to shut down Blackwater's base of operations on the border. On Wednesday, June 11th, these groups are organizing a major protest outside the Blackwater facility at 7685 Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa. Read More

see also: Military contractor Blackwater files suit to push through new California facility | No to Blackwater on Border Gain Allies

anarchists write, "Over the last week, we took out six surveillance cameras from the exteriors of four different buildings on the University of California in Santa Cruz campus. This was an act of rebellion to the social control in our daily lives. These cameras are the eyes of the police.

"This task was easy to accomplish, and would be easy for anyone to reproduce. We checked out the camera locations in advance, and came back at night for the attack. We found a few steel barbed-wire fence posts nearby and pulled them up. With just one strike, the cameras broke right off of the walls they were bolted to. We cut the cords (when they didn’t just break on their own), bagged them up and took them with us.

"There has been a rapid expansion of surveillance technology that affects all of us. From the consolidation of international databases for tracking and monitoring individuals to the placement of cameras in every intersection. From the magnetic card readers at many of the dorms and buildings on the UCSC campus that track and log information on students entering and exiting (which has been used in students’ arrests in the past), to the militarization of the borders, preventing our ability to travel and migrate freely, contributing to the organizing of the global economy to the whims of the bosses. There are limitless examples of the pervasiveness of social control technology both locally and globally. There is also a growing resistance." Read More and View Photos

Berkeley Copwatch has organized a Know Your Rights and Copwatching Training Week for Saturday, May 24th through Friday, May 30th in Berkeley. Copwatch observes police interactions with civilians and teaches community members about their basic rights with the police as well as how to effectively observe police actions.

On Saturday, May 24th, there will be a Know Your Rights and Copwatching Training from 6-8:30 pm at the Grassroots House, at 2022 Blake St. On Tuesday, May 27th, a Know Your Rights and Copwatching Training will take place from 3:30-5pm at People's Park (Dwight at Hillegass in Berkeley). On Thursday, May 29th, there will be a Know Your Rights and Copwatching Training from 6-8:30pm at the Grassroots House, 2022 Blake St.

On Friday, May 30th the video "These Streets are Watching" will be shown from 7-9pm at the Grassroots House, 2022 Blake St. This 50 minute video examines police accountability through the eyes of three communities: Denver, Cincinnati and Berkeley. Independent filmmaker Jacob Crawford weaves three cities' responses to police brutality into a story of community empowerment and direct action. All of the events during the week are free and open to the public. After each training, Berkeley Copwatch will go on a Copwatching shift so that participants can put their new skills to use.

Two years after six local activists were arrested on Cinco de Mayo at Story and King Roads on the Eastside of San Jose, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office dropped all charges against the last of the defendants, Brian Helmle. The charges stem from Mr. Helmle’s arrest, along with five others, for their participation in a speakout against police brutality and copwatch on May 5, 2006.

“After two years of fighting these charges to defend the legal right of the people in this country to observe and record police behavior, the racism that we were trying to confront on Cinco de Mayo was borne out by the way the legal system treated us. Of the six of us, I was one of two white people and I was the only one who could afford a private attorney through help from my family, and I think that those are the only reasons why my charges were dropped” said Mr. Helmle. Read More

see also: San Jose Copwatcher has charges dismissed, community members speak out | The Other USA - San Jose