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Indybay Feature
Political Repression In SF: Is Richard Bruce, Proof Of A Red Squad?
The police in charge at the breakaway protest today were the same as at all of the large political protests over the past year. Many of these police seem to only be in charge when a "disturbance" is political.
Having a "red squad" (a police unit designed to monitor and harass those who have left leaning political views) is illegal. But all evidence points to the existence of this in the supposedly progressive city of San Francisco.
"We recognized that the events of 9-11 forever changed the way we look at security. In line with our continual efforts to better protect the City's population, the Special Operations & Security Bureau (SOSB) was formed. The main purpose of this bureau is to enhance existing law enforcement efforts with the goal of achieving normalcy during these times of heighten alert.
The SOS Bureau will network extensively with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as other public and private organizations. By doing this, we will strengthen our coordinating, planning and training efforts thereby enhancing our services to the community. "
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/police/bureaus/sos/sosaboutus.htm
Basically 9/11 allowed SF to recreate a "red squad" and Richard Bruce has been in charge of keeping protesters in line ever since.
The incident today, where protesters were arrested for illegal assembly on a South of Market SIDEWALK is only the latest in a series of incidents. One of the more suspicious recent incidents is the initial refusal by the SFPD to give the IAC a permit for today’s protest. The end result was a protest that ended under the watchful eyes of a police station. The police on the roof with binoculars and cameras were not just trying to figure out about today’s action; they were monitoring and taking pictures of those in the crowd to help build up better knowledge of the internal dynamics of political groups in SF.
The three officers today who seemed to be in charge during the more questionable police actions were Richard Bruce (Deputy Chief of the Special Operations & Security Bureau), Robert Puts (Commander in the Field Operations Bureau) and Captain Dennis Martel. Bruce is in the highest position so most of the blame should always fall on him.
"We recognized that the events of 9-11 forever changed the way we look at security. In line with our continual efforts to better protect the City's population, the Special Operations & Security Bureau (SOSB) was formed. The main purpose of this bureau is to enhance existing law enforcement efforts with the goal of achieving normalcy during these times of heighten alert.
The SOS Bureau will network extensively with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as other public and private organizations. By doing this, we will strengthen our coordinating, planning and training efforts thereby enhancing our services to the community. "
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/police/bureaus/sos/sosaboutus.htm
Basically 9/11 allowed SF to recreate a "red squad" and Richard Bruce has been in charge of keeping protesters in line ever since.
The incident today, where protesters were arrested for illegal assembly on a South of Market SIDEWALK is only the latest in a series of incidents. One of the more suspicious recent incidents is the initial refusal by the SFPD to give the IAC a permit for today’s protest. The end result was a protest that ended under the watchful eyes of a police station. The police on the roof with binoculars and cameras were not just trying to figure out about today’s action; they were monitoring and taking pictures of those in the crowd to help build up better knowledge of the internal dynamics of political groups in SF.
The three officers today who seemed to be in charge during the more questionable police actions were Richard Bruce (Deputy Chief of the Special Operations & Security Bureau), Robert Puts (Commander in the Field Operations Bureau) and Captain Dennis Martel. Bruce is in the highest position so most of the blame should always fall on him.
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martel was often in charge of repression against fnb in the 90's. i believe he said once that fnb was trying to make an anarchist staement and "we aren't going to allow it". he's been around forever.
Neville or Melville Gittens, in the right of the last picture, took away my sf.indymedia press pass. I hope he calls in about it - he took the phone number.
On the 11 o'clock news, he was on, and they totally cast it as though everyone had failed to disperse, not mentioning that everyone was walking quickly down the street and scattering at the time.
I really wish this news channel had had a chance to interview a young Mr. Shimura, a tourist from Japan who speaks about 10 words of english who I saw exiting the jail with his Girardelli's chocolate shop bag and other things he had purchased on his tourism trip to San Francisco. He was just standing on the sidewalk near the sony metreon and the police came along and arrested a group of 14 year old girls on their way to a movie, plus tourists like this and a couple of soccer mothers - not that a lot of soccer moms don't come on the breakaway, but they usually don't carry purses and bags when they do it. yay for SF tourism
On the 11 o'clock news, he was on, and they totally cast it as though everyone had failed to disperse, not mentioning that everyone was walking quickly down the street and scattering at the time.
I really wish this news channel had had a chance to interview a young Mr. Shimura, a tourist from Japan who speaks about 10 words of english who I saw exiting the jail with his Girardelli's chocolate shop bag and other things he had purchased on his tourism trip to San Francisco. He was just standing on the sidewalk near the sony metreon and the police came along and arrested a group of 14 year old girls on their way to a movie, plus tourists like this and a couple of soccer mothers - not that a lot of soccer moms don't come on the breakaway, but they usually don't carry purses and bags when they do it. yay for SF tourism
I don't drink beer.
And nobody threw anything at anyone today.
You're fucking deranged... but we can tell that it's you posting because you write in all-caps.
Having fun with the new computer, are we?
And nobody threw anything at anyone today.
You're fucking deranged... but we can tell that it's you posting because you write in all-caps.
Having fun with the new computer, are we?
There was an undercover getting close-ups with a very small camera of protestors on the sidewalk watching the arrests. He was clean-cut, young, asshole looking, with an ugly brown yuppie jacket. He was at Market and 3rd, I believe.
what did he look like? was he half european and half latino or asian? I spent my time turning my face to cameras. There were a number of people with unidentified cameras who kept running ahead and then panning the crowd, any of whom could have been. However, there were at least 4 indymedia cameras too. It's weird how sfpd let the TV stations into the street to take close up pictures and ask questions while they arrested people with sfimc press pass, but they still persistently miss easy to observe or research facts about the nature of the breakaway marches. entering 'black bloc' in google could help you learn a lot within 5 minutes of time, but they fail to do this, or to interview people and keep ascribing strange motivations to the group. All this could be solved with a minimum of research and interviews with participants. If you went to google and searched for antiwar protest articles plus keyword 'todd gitlin', you would observe a trend where later journalists just look at earlier articles by other journalists where they quote Todd Gitlin and they proceed and quote him again. He's a NYU professor who made his name studying the 60s, but right now I believe he sharply criticizes both the mainstream and civil disobedience sectors of the antiwar movement, and acts like he's an expert on everyone. It's kind of like the Chron locating Kevin Keating because they speculate that he has to be a leader. -I saw an LA times person interviewing a nonparticipant teenager as though he were part of the black bloc, and the guy didn't really know what to say.
Richard Bruce and Dennis Martel conducted the harassment campaign against SF's Critical Mass for over a year: July 1997 to August 1998. During this time, Bruce made several false arrests and issued dozens of bogus citations. One the favorite tactics of these two thugs was to harass videographers and copwatch members, to the point of making false statements about the rights of onlookers to photograph and document police. Hundreds of complaints were filed with the OCC (Office of Cop Coverups) at the time. Yes, Richard Bruce and Dennis Martel have been a part of SF's covert Red Squads for well over a decade.
We will meet with these fascist cop called D.Martel at his home...NO JUSTICE - NO PEACE - FIGHT THE POLICE!!!!
It's great to publicly ID the pigs and post their photos in indymedia. We should regularly put pictures and names of these pigs on indymedia, especially the worst abusers, and especially of plain clothes undercover cops, like one publicly pointed out by a quick, clever woman who pretended to know him so that she could hug him and confirm that he was carrying a gun in the small of his back, before publicly pointing him out. He was also apparently carrying an ankle holster under his pants cuffs.
But when war breaks out, we should realize that there aren't enough pigs in S.F. to prevent us from shutting the city down. Everyone should spontaneously break into smaller groups, breakaway marches should have smaller breakaway marches and then still smaller ones all over the city to shut this mutha down!! Let's make the war too expensive for the govt, big busines and chain business, and thus the stock market, at home in the belly of the beast!!
Hes the police officer who declared the protest on the sidewalk to be an illegal assembly.
http://www.nobhillassociation.org/2002_Annual_Meeting.asp?id=10
http://www.nobhillassociation.org/2002_Annual_Meeting.asp?id=10
Deputy Chief Rick Bruce, considered a contender for the slot given to Fagan two weeks ago, was promoted to head the newly created 130-officer Special Operations and Security Bureau, SOS, formed to protect The City's public transportation system against terrorist attacks.
Captains Kathryn Brown, Sylvia Harper, James Dudley and Robert Puts were all promoted to commander. Brown will work under Deputy Chief Heather Fong in the department's administration detail. Harper will report to Pengel and Dudley and Puts will report to new Operations Deputy Chief Greg Suhr, who was promoted from commander.
http://www.examiner.com/news/default.jsp?story=n.cops.0725w
Captains Kathryn Brown, Sylvia Harper, James Dudley and Robert Puts were all promoted to commander. Brown will work under Deputy Chief Heather Fong in the department's administration detail. Harper will report to Pengel and Dudley and Puts will report to new Operations Deputy Chief Greg Suhr, who was promoted from commander.
http://www.examiner.com/news/default.jsp?story=n.cops.0725w
Rick Bruce for chief
OUR VOTE GOES for Deputy Chief Rick Bruce getting the seat as our next police chief ("Race on for top cop," June 26). From collective experience here in the Ingleside Police District while he was captain, and while he was commander of field operations, he possesses a set of qualities rare in one person, much less a civil servant. He's funny, absolutely necessary to survive the streets of San Francisco, smart as a fox and San Franciscan through and through.
http://www.examiner.com/opinion/default.jsp?story=op.letters.0627w
OUR VOTE GOES for Deputy Chief Rick Bruce getting the seat as our next police chief ("Race on for top cop," June 26). From collective experience here in the Ingleside Police District while he was captain, and while he was commander of field operations, he possesses a set of qualities rare in one person, much less a civil servant. He's funny, absolutely necessary to survive the streets of San Francisco, smart as a fox and San Franciscan through and through.
http://www.examiner.com/opinion/default.jsp?story=op.letters.0627w
"Seeking to publicly acknowledge the hard work and dedication of uniformed police officers, Commander Rick Bruce has implemented the San Francisco Police Department’s Patrol Officer of the Month, a new program that recognizes individuals who personify the admirable qualities common in all San Francisco street cops. "
http://www.sfpoa.org/what/officerofthemonth/200011.html
http://www.sfpoa.org/what/officerofthemonth/200011.html
January 15, 1997 at 7:30 pm @ Pacific Rod & Gun Club, San Francisco
Elections and speaker, Lt. Rick Bruce, author of Assault Weapons Guide.
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:PNx5J0CuvlEC:http://www.ggnra.org/eventpre.htm+%22Rick+Bruce%22+%22San+Francisco%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Elections and speaker, Lt. Rick Bruce, author of Assault Weapons Guide.
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:PNx5J0CuvlEC:http://www.ggnra.org/eventpre.htm+%22Rick+Bruce%22+%22San+Francisco%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"Ingleside Station's popular police captain, Rick Bruce, has been reassigned to lead the Tactical Company of the SFPD. Ingleside Station, the second largest police district in the city, has jurisdiction south of Cesar Chavez (Army), including Upper Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Fairmount, and over into Glen Park"
http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/1999/September/rumors.html
"Meanwhile, Captain Rick Bruce, the newly appointed captain at Ingleside Station, tried to clarify how police would respond to complaints about dogs.
Bruce said the police would step up enforcement of the leash law at the park. But they'd begin by posting larger and "better articulated" signs, so that dog owners would be adequately forewarned.
He noted that while he might occasionally send officers on motorized bikes, he wouldn't assign officers to look for dogs on a regular basis. "I have no intention of wasting police resources in Glen Park. There are more violent parks in the city," he said.
Bruce acknowleded that "simmering disputes" over park use, as well as complaints from a very few people, were behind the tougher measures. But he quickly added, "We don't look at any underlying motivations for complaints. The only thing that is relevant is that we have people who are demanding that we enforce the law."
And what are the odds of resolving this latest conflict in Glen Park?
From the looks of an incident last month, they're pretty slim. Police posted one of Captain Bruce's "better articulated" signs, outlining the current leash and pooper-scooper laws and the fines for not obeying them.
"
http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/1997/June/glen697.html
http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/1999/September/rumors.html
"Meanwhile, Captain Rick Bruce, the newly appointed captain at Ingleside Station, tried to clarify how police would respond to complaints about dogs.
Bruce said the police would step up enforcement of the leash law at the park. But they'd begin by posting larger and "better articulated" signs, so that dog owners would be adequately forewarned.
He noted that while he might occasionally send officers on motorized bikes, he wouldn't assign officers to look for dogs on a regular basis. "I have no intention of wasting police resources in Glen Park. There are more violent parks in the city," he said.
Bruce acknowleded that "simmering disputes" over park use, as well as complaints from a very few people, were behind the tougher measures. But he quickly added, "We don't look at any underlying motivations for complaints. The only thing that is relevant is that we have people who are demanding that we enforce the law."
And what are the odds of resolving this latest conflict in Glen Park?
From the looks of an incident last month, they're pretty slim. Police posted one of Captain Bruce's "better articulated" signs, outlining the current leash and pooper-scooper laws and the fines for not obeying them.
"
http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/1997/June/glen697.html
They work to prevent the disarming of the working class. Doesn't that make them left wing?
"Don't the cops film demonstrations? Always did. I asked Chief Rick Bruce of the SFPD's Airport Division if they still filmed demonstrations. "Yes." That was his answer."
http://www.sfcall.com/issues%202002/5.31.03/h__brown_7_5_02.htm
"SF Creates Unit to Protect Infrastructure
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=...
“Newly appointed San Francisco Police Chief Earl Sanders announced Wednesday night that he was creating a unit designed to protect the city from terrorist attack… In a letter, Mayor Willie Brown told Sanders that the "S.O.S" bureau, to be headed by Deputy Chief Rick Bruce, will be charged with "protecting the city's transportation and infrastructure, and will protect us from and prepare us for any attack, either foreign or domestic, upon our city."” (SF Chronicle 7/25/02)
http://www.imakenews.com/calrac/index000018174.cfm
"Following is a letter sent to the community July 7 by Captain Rick Bruce of Ingleside Station.
Dear Ingleside Resident/Merchant:
Due to recent retirements and promotions, I will be reassigned to the Tactical Company in the very near future. My replacement at Ingleside Station will be Captain Marsha Ashe, who is currently working as the Night Supervising Captain of the entire Patrol Force. I have known Captain Ashe for many years, and have every confidence that she will do an outstanding job as the new commanding officer of the Ingleside District.
I would like to take a moment to thank the hundreds of residents, merchants and community leaders that have provided so much support over the years for the officers assigned to this station. Any success that we have enjoyed over the years, in terms of neighborhood safety and police-community partnerships, would not have been possible without your unending support.
When I came to this district slightly over two years ago, I began to meet the neighborhood people that I variously considered to be my district constituents, clients, liaisons, and representatives. As I prepare to leave this district, I no longer think of you in the same terms. Today, I think of you simply as old friends.
Once again, thank you for your constant support. I know that the Ingleside District will continue on its current path, and that community safety will continue to improve with each passing year. I look forward to seeing each of you in the future, for as anyone familiar with the neighborhoods of this big city will tell you, it's really no more than a collection of small towns, and our paths will likely cross again.
Sincerely,
Captain Rick Bruce,
Ingleside Station
"
http://home.earthlink.net/~visvalley/mail899.html
"It's my understanding that skaters have caused problems with pedestrians
and vehicles," said Lt. Rick Bruce of the Northern Station. "We are
concerned about it."
"
http://www.snapsite.com/guests/sfsk8/public/custom/06.txt
Any more background info would be appreciated since Ricky seems to be the main person in charge of harassing protesters and its good to know who we are dealing with.
http://www.sfcall.com/issues%202002/5.31.03/h__brown_7_5_02.htm
"SF Creates Unit to Protect Infrastructure
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=...
“Newly appointed San Francisco Police Chief Earl Sanders announced Wednesday night that he was creating a unit designed to protect the city from terrorist attack… In a letter, Mayor Willie Brown told Sanders that the "S.O.S" bureau, to be headed by Deputy Chief Rick Bruce, will be charged with "protecting the city's transportation and infrastructure, and will protect us from and prepare us for any attack, either foreign or domestic, upon our city."” (SF Chronicle 7/25/02)
http://www.imakenews.com/calrac/index000018174.cfm
"Following is a letter sent to the community July 7 by Captain Rick Bruce of Ingleside Station.
Dear Ingleside Resident/Merchant:
Due to recent retirements and promotions, I will be reassigned to the Tactical Company in the very near future. My replacement at Ingleside Station will be Captain Marsha Ashe, who is currently working as the Night Supervising Captain of the entire Patrol Force. I have known Captain Ashe for many years, and have every confidence that she will do an outstanding job as the new commanding officer of the Ingleside District.
I would like to take a moment to thank the hundreds of residents, merchants and community leaders that have provided so much support over the years for the officers assigned to this station. Any success that we have enjoyed over the years, in terms of neighborhood safety and police-community partnerships, would not have been possible without your unending support.
When I came to this district slightly over two years ago, I began to meet the neighborhood people that I variously considered to be my district constituents, clients, liaisons, and representatives. As I prepare to leave this district, I no longer think of you in the same terms. Today, I think of you simply as old friends.
Once again, thank you for your constant support. I know that the Ingleside District will continue on its current path, and that community safety will continue to improve with each passing year. I look forward to seeing each of you in the future, for as anyone familiar with the neighborhoods of this big city will tell you, it's really no more than a collection of small towns, and our paths will likely cross again.
Sincerely,
Captain Rick Bruce,
Ingleside Station
"
http://home.earthlink.net/~visvalley/mail899.html
"It's my understanding that skaters have caused problems with pedestrians
and vehicles," said Lt. Rick Bruce of the Northern Station. "We are
concerned about it."
"
http://www.snapsite.com/guests/sfsk8/public/custom/06.txt
Any more background info would be appreciated since Ricky seems to be the main person in charge of harassing protesters and its good to know who we are dealing with.
"They work to prevent the disarming of the working class. Doesn't that make them left wing?"
Their pro-gun stance isnt what makes them right wing. Their ties in many parts of the country to the KKK and Aryan Nations groups is what makes them right wing.
Their pro-gun stance isnt what makes them right wing. Their ties in many parts of the country to the KKK and Aryan Nations groups is what makes them right wing.
Last night at one of the marches I happened to be standing behind a guy who was filming close-ups of someone's face -- looking over his shoulder, he was clearly going for face-ID, not anything else. Undercover, very likely.
The scary thing was, he wasn't a large, muscley guy dressed up in street clothes. He was a skinny guy, didn't look that old, with a big, untrimmed beard.
Don't be paranoid, but be alert.
The scary thing was, he wasn't a large, muscley guy dressed up in street clothes. He was a skinny guy, didn't look that old, with a big, untrimmed beard.
Don't be paranoid, but be alert.
It was hilarious to see Officer 'Puts' above trying to break up an occupied intersection with just one other cop with him! He'd drag one person away and then the guy would run around behind him and sit back down!
Eventually they pretended to be distracted by a confrontation with a motorist and gave up, leaving a meter maid to keep an eye on things.
Don't think many tickets got written that day . . . . meter maids out in full force at all the blocked intersections, standing around trying to look useful, no cops anywhere in sight.
And if you sit on the dumped newspaper racks the city workers won't touch you. If you get up they'll come for the rack with their trucks.
Are any newspapers still being sold downtown anymore?
Guess Rob's idiot words won't be getting read much in the downtown.
Eventually they pretended to be distracted by a confrontation with a motorist and gave up, leaving a meter maid to keep an eye on things.
Don't think many tickets got written that day . . . . meter maids out in full force at all the blocked intersections, standing around trying to look useful, no cops anywhere in sight.
And if you sit on the dumped newspaper racks the city workers won't touch you. If you get up they'll come for the rack with their trucks.
Are any newspapers still being sold downtown anymore?
Guess Rob's idiot words won't be getting read much in the downtown.
Dennis Martel was also responsible for a raid on a peaceful PRIVATE New Years Eve party where the SFPD came and dragged people kicking and screaming out into the street for no reason. The people at the party who were beaten by the cops filed charges against the cops and wons a measley settlement. Martel is known around town as a dirty cop, so it doesn't surprise me at all that he shows up in these pictures.
Does anyone know if we have any legal recourse? Last night a group of maybe 150 people were gathered outside of the jail. They were being very peaceful. They had commited no crimes whatsoever, even waiting for traffic lights and staying strictly on the sidewalk. We had not recieved any order to disperse, and if anything most of the protesters were trying to be friendly to the police. Absolutely no property damage was committed. Certainly it was a lawful assembly. Yet, for some reason, an officer was panning up and down the entire line of protesters with a video camera. Frankly, I don't have any idea what they would have been doing if not building a database of peaceful dissidents. If that is what they are doing, isn't that clearly illegal? If so, don't we have some option?
We'd like to suggest that whenever a group encounters officer Bruce that they start singing/chanting the ELO refrain "Don't bring me down, BRUCE!" over and over and over.
the best recourse we have right now is our actions. peaceful. always be peaceful. and then when a camera is running over your body declare "get that camera outta my face! I do not consent to being filmed!" they will have that on video, and that can be used against them. also we have to be real vocal about our non-consent. say things like I do not consent to this search, to being detained...I do not waive my constitutional rights. when we say these things, then we have given ourselves power, and when we document it, there is no way that anything we do or say can be used against us in a court of law. It is extrememely important to vocalize non-consent! If you get busted, if you just feel violated, file a report at the nearest cop shop and call the National Lawyers Guild 415-285-1011. They are really really helpful and they've been kickin' ass for the winning side!
I feel sad I even have to suggest this....in order to make it harder for police to identify individuals, people should consider changing their hair color/ styles. They should also consider wearing costumes...it' s more fun protesting when you're all dressed up anyways.
From what I can tell, SFPD officers should initiate complaints against this illegal department rather than just beat protesters on the sidewalk who AREN'T breaking the law. Isnt that their JOB?
THE SAD THING IS THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN ARRESTED NOW HAS AN FBI RECORD, A CALIFORNIA RECORD, AND A SAN FRANCISCO CRIMINAL RECORD. YOU HAVE THIS RECORD FOR LIFE AND THE CIA, FBI, AND POLICE CAN ACCESS YOUR INFORMATION AT ANY TIME. IF IN 2004 YOU ARE CAUGHT SPEEDING, THE COP WILL LOOK UP YOUR RECORD AND SEE THAT YOU TRIED TO SABATAGE USA. THEY WILL NEVER CUT YOU A BREAK AND LITERALLY THROW THE BOOK AT YOU. THIS WILL HAPPEN TO YOU EVERY DAY YOU ARE ALIVE IN USA. ALSO, YOUR RECORD GETS TRANSMITTED TO INTERPOL SO IF YOU ARE BUSTED SAY, FOR DRUGS IN FRANCE, ENGLAND, JAMAICA, OR NICARAGUA, THE COPS THERE WILL ACCESS YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD AND THEN PROCEED TO FUCK YOU UP BY EXTRACTING A HUGE BRIBE FROM YOU OR JUST THROW THE BOOK AT YOU. AS FAR AS EMPLOYMENT GOES, YOU CAN NEVER GET A REAL JOB. YOU’LL HAVE TO END UP SELLING ORANGES ON THE FREEWAY ONRAMP BECAUSE ANY TIME YOU APPLY FOR A REAL JOB, THEY WILL DO A BACKGROUND CHECK AND FIND YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD. REMEMBER, YOUR RECORD IS PERMANANENT, EVEN IF YOU DIE. YOU CAN NEVER GET A JOB AS A SOCIAL WORKER ANYWHERE IN AMERICA BECAUSE SOCIAL WORKERS WORK FOR A GOVT INSTITUTION. THEREFORE, YOU WILL NEVER BE HIRED. I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU THINK ABOUT THE LONG-TERM RAMIFICATIONS OF BEING ARRESTED. WHO THE HELL WANTS AN FBI # TO HAUNT THEM FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE??
USE YOUR HEAD, you must be that guy I see on the corner of Market that sells clothing bought from Goodwill. ARE you kidding? Use your head and with common knowledge, you know that doesn't happen. Idiot.
USE YOUR HEAD, you must be that guy I see on the corner of Market that sells clothing bought from Goodwill. ARE you kidding? Use your head and with common knowledge, you know that doesn't happen. Idiot.
Hey dumb ass(es?), You are instructing people arrested to make fools of themselves all you want about not consenting to being filmed, but as long as your in a public place you cant do shit about it. If your image is used and profited from , then you deserve a portion of the proceeds. I seriously doubt the cops will use an image for profit, more like prosecution, so don't waste your breath any more than you have been already. Ass
cop 1---say billy aint that buford over there beatin the hog piss outta that dyke.
cop2---yeah hes been goin off since friday, he just aint sleeping enough ya know.
superviser-- curb those comments boys some of these kids got pretty good hearing.
cop1---sorry sarge.
cop2---ahh its not like theyre even smart enough to notice......
me in my mind----??"@#$@%%@@#$ you, you,"#@$$%#(&$%^"pigs,
not only am i smart enough to notice you officer I also have excelent hearing and a damn fine memory............
THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT
tape them, photograph them,sned them e-mails
and dont ever forget them, they wont forget you.........
cop2---yeah hes been goin off since friday, he just aint sleeping enough ya know.
superviser-- curb those comments boys some of these kids got pretty good hearing.
cop1---sorry sarge.
cop2---ahh its not like theyre even smart enough to notice......
me in my mind----??"@#$@%%@@#$ you, you,"#@$$%#(&$%^"pigs,
not only am i smart enough to notice you officer I also have excelent hearing and a damn fine memory............
THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT
tape them, photograph them,sned them e-mails
and dont ever forget them, they wont forget you.........
Well, this isn't really definitive, but from what I can glean, this is actually legal. As pointed out in the article, if the Chief of Police, Richard Bruce and the Chief of Investigations all agree, they can surveil whoever they want without violating the SFPD regulation. From what little I know of them, none of the three of them are exactly outspoken supporters of our civil liberties, so I'm guessing they are approving all of these requests as a matter of course. Furthermore, SFPD regulations are not very meaningful in terms of the actual law. Personally I think it would be time well spent to lobby your state legislator to make it actually illegal to tape protests, but for now, it doesn't sound like it is currently the case.
That being said, if you get arrested, and one of these tapes is used against you, definitely look into it further.. Might well be a workable cause to get that evidence thrown out.
However, the law doesn't completely abandon our rights- California state law prohibits keeping "intelligence" files on political protesters. This is where I think they are really violating a law. IF they really are taping people for the purposes of building a database of protesters, that is VERY illegal and would lead to another major scandal for the SFPD, and given their already questionable situation with the other scandals, might have real impacts... If anyone has any kind of evidence that they are in fact keeping files on protesters (other then the normal criminal records), that evidence would be very powerful... If you do, PLEASE post it here and contact the N Cali ACLU (http://www.aclunc.org), the Gaurdian, the Chronicle, etc.
That being said, if you get arrested, and one of these tapes is used against you, definitely look into it further.. Might well be a workable cause to get that evidence thrown out.
However, the law doesn't completely abandon our rights- California state law prohibits keeping "intelligence" files on political protesters. This is where I think they are really violating a law. IF they really are taping people for the purposes of building a database of protesters, that is VERY illegal and would lead to another major scandal for the SFPD, and given their already questionable situation with the other scandals, might have real impacts... If anyone has any kind of evidence that they are in fact keeping files on protesters (other then the normal criminal records), that evidence would be very powerful... If you do, PLEASE post it here and contact the N Cali ACLU (http://www.aclunc.org), the Gaurdian, the Chronicle, etc.
This all sounds too familiar ... Dennis Martel was the guy in charge of the illegal mass arrests of 279 people in 1995 in San Francisco during a march in support of prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal... we were surrounded, given no orders nor opportunity to disperse, and kept in jail for 3 days, after which we were released with all charges dropped. They had been threatening felony arson for 279 people because one dumpster was supposedly set on fire! They wanted our fingerprints, photos, & names... Martel in action.
see article below by Michael Parenti:
"We've all been charged with felonies by the way ... I'm facinga felony charge of arson, and obstruction of traffic and mobaction."- Dr. Michael Parente, author of such books as DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW, THE SWORD AND THE DOLLAR, INVENTING REALITY & MAKE BELIEVE MEDIA,
lecturer, political economist and activist.
"The fact that demonstrators were charged with felonies raises some serious question about how the state plans to deal with the growing unrest surrounding opposition to its plans to execute
Mumia Abu Jamal. As we see the state prepare to execute this political prisoner, as we see the state begin the process of taking hundreds of new political prisoners and charging them with ridiculous felony charges, we must decide how we are to respond.
DO WE RISE TO THIS OCCASSION AND DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ARE NOT AFRAID OR DO WE SQUEEZE UNDER OUR BEDS AND CONCEDE OUR FREEDOM TO THE REPRESSION?
"There's a movement for Mumia that's developed. On Monday evening, I and 800 other people, overwhelmingly young people, dedicated, multicultural, but largely white, marched to free Mumia
and the San Francisco Police corralled a good chunk of the crowd and perpetrated a mass arrest, claiming they arrested about 150 but when the papers were processed, there were 279 of us. We were
thrown in jail. I'm one of the few who met bail and got out. Most of the people couldn't come up even with the bond money. So they're in jail until Friday.
We've been charged with arson, mob action and obstructing traffic. There was really no arson ... people carried torches ... and some paper in a dumpster was burned at one point. They have a problem with evidence.
What impressed me about the event was the way the National Security State on the global and national level is mimicked in micro-form on the municipal level. You have a city here in San Francisco cutting back on health services .. on meals on wheels for
the elderly and confined .. on drug rehab. Then you look at this police force ... on the amount of equipment ... the amount of personnel... the hundreds of police that suddenly were mobilized with all their clubs and their bags of plastic hand cuffs ... and
getting in the prison and having my picture taken in two different places ... fingerprinted 3 different times ... All sorts of police in different kinds of uniforms ... with all of their equipment and guns and badges and keys ... The amount of money that is spent
on repression and control and the kinds of salaries they get. A guard working at Pelican Bay Prison, which is probably the most awful prison in America ... electronically controlled ... A guard goes in there with a starting salary of $55,000 with a high school diploma ... So they have plenty of money ... More and more money for more cops and more prisons and more repression, more clubs, more guns, more pepper mace and gas, more guns and more methods of repression and less money for a humane
community. "
see article below by Michael Parenti:
"We've all been charged with felonies by the way ... I'm facinga felony charge of arson, and obstruction of traffic and mobaction."- Dr. Michael Parente, author of such books as DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW, THE SWORD AND THE DOLLAR, INVENTING REALITY & MAKE BELIEVE MEDIA,
lecturer, political economist and activist.
"The fact that demonstrators were charged with felonies raises some serious question about how the state plans to deal with the growing unrest surrounding opposition to its plans to execute
Mumia Abu Jamal. As we see the state prepare to execute this political prisoner, as we see the state begin the process of taking hundreds of new political prisoners and charging them with ridiculous felony charges, we must decide how we are to respond.
DO WE RISE TO THIS OCCASSION AND DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ARE NOT AFRAID OR DO WE SQUEEZE UNDER OUR BEDS AND CONCEDE OUR FREEDOM TO THE REPRESSION?
"There's a movement for Mumia that's developed. On Monday evening, I and 800 other people, overwhelmingly young people, dedicated, multicultural, but largely white, marched to free Mumia
and the San Francisco Police corralled a good chunk of the crowd and perpetrated a mass arrest, claiming they arrested about 150 but when the papers were processed, there were 279 of us. We were
thrown in jail. I'm one of the few who met bail and got out. Most of the people couldn't come up even with the bond money. So they're in jail until Friday.
We've been charged with arson, mob action and obstructing traffic. There was really no arson ... people carried torches ... and some paper in a dumpster was burned at one point. They have a problem with evidence.
What impressed me about the event was the way the National Security State on the global and national level is mimicked in micro-form on the municipal level. You have a city here in San Francisco cutting back on health services .. on meals on wheels for
the elderly and confined .. on drug rehab. Then you look at this police force ... on the amount of equipment ... the amount of personnel... the hundreds of police that suddenly were mobilized with all their clubs and their bags of plastic hand cuffs ... and
getting in the prison and having my picture taken in two different places ... fingerprinted 3 different times ... All sorts of police in different kinds of uniforms ... with all of their equipment and guns and badges and keys ... The amount of money that is spent
on repression and control and the kinds of salaries they get. A guard working at Pelican Bay Prison, which is probably the most awful prison in America ... electronically controlled ... A guard goes in there with a starting salary of $55,000 with a high school diploma ... So they have plenty of money ... More and more money for more cops and more prisons and more repression, more clubs, more guns, more pepper mace and gas, more guns and more methods of repression and less money for a humane
community. "
Dennis Martel was the guy in charge of the mass arrest of 279 people back in '95 in SF during a march in support of prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal -- the cops surrounded us, having given no order to disperse. Many passers-by were swept up & held in jail with the rest of us. We were all eventually released after three days in jail, with all charges dropped -- they basically wanted our photos & fingerprints & names & information. And now, Martel continues with his nasty tactics...
see below, from Michael Parenti:
"We've all been charged with felonies by the way ... I'm facing a felony charge of arson, and obstruction of traffic and mob action."- Dr. Michael Parenti, author of such books as DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW, THE SWORD AND THE DOLLAR, INVENTING REALITY & MAKE BELIEVE MEDIA, lecturer, political economist and activist.
"What impressed me about the event was the way the National Security State on the global and national level is mimicked in micro-form on the municipal level. You have a city here in San Francisco cutting back on health services .. on meals on wheels for the elderly and confined .. on drug rehab. Then you look at this
police force ... on the amount of equipment ... the amount of personnel... the hundreds of police that suddenly were mobilized with all their clubs and their bags of plastic hand cuffs ... and getting in the prison and having my picture taken in two different places ... fingerprinted 3 different times ... All sorts of police
in different kinds of uniforms ... with all of their equipment and guns and badges and keys ... The amount of money that is spent on repression and control and the kinds of salaries they get. A
guard working at Pelican Bay Prison, which is probably the most awful prison in America ... electronically controlled ... A guard goes in there with a starting salary of $55,000 with a high school
diploma ... So they have plenty of money ... More and more money for more cops and more prisons and more repression, more clubs, more guns, more pepper mace and gas, more guns and more methods of repression and less money for a humane
community. "
see below, from Michael Parenti:
"We've all been charged with felonies by the way ... I'm facing a felony charge of arson, and obstruction of traffic and mob action."- Dr. Michael Parenti, author of such books as DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW, THE SWORD AND THE DOLLAR, INVENTING REALITY & MAKE BELIEVE MEDIA, lecturer, political economist and activist.
"What impressed me about the event was the way the National Security State on the global and national level is mimicked in micro-form on the municipal level. You have a city here in San Francisco cutting back on health services .. on meals on wheels for the elderly and confined .. on drug rehab. Then you look at this
police force ... on the amount of equipment ... the amount of personnel... the hundreds of police that suddenly were mobilized with all their clubs and their bags of plastic hand cuffs ... and getting in the prison and having my picture taken in two different places ... fingerprinted 3 different times ... All sorts of police
in different kinds of uniforms ... with all of their equipment and guns and badges and keys ... The amount of money that is spent on repression and control and the kinds of salaries they get. A
guard working at Pelican Bay Prison, which is probably the most awful prison in America ... electronically controlled ... A guard goes in there with a starting salary of $55,000 with a high school
diploma ... So they have plenty of money ... More and more money for more cops and more prisons and more repression, more clubs, more guns, more pepper mace and gas, more guns and more methods of repression and less money for a humane
community. "
"ARRESED ARE SCREWED FOR LIFE"?????
THE SAD THING IS THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN ARRESTED NOW HAS AN FBI RECORD, A CALIFORNIA RECORD, AND A SAN FRANCISCO CRIMINAL RECORD. YOU HAVE THIS RECORD FOR LIFE AND THE CIA, FBI, AND POLICE CAN ACCESS YOUR INFORMATION AT ANY TIME. IF IN 2004 YOU.........................................?????????????""""""""""
and i emphasize the ??????????.
thier illusion of omnipatance is more powerful than their physical might could ever be.
and thier records are meaningless if you dont get caught. jobs and cars and police records, yea. thier kind of the same to me anyway
screwed for life? i dont think so.
end the farce crime is art, art is crime.
THE SAD THING IS THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN ARRESTED NOW HAS AN FBI RECORD, A CALIFORNIA RECORD, AND A SAN FRANCISCO CRIMINAL RECORD. YOU HAVE THIS RECORD FOR LIFE AND THE CIA, FBI, AND POLICE CAN ACCESS YOUR INFORMATION AT ANY TIME. IF IN 2004 YOU.........................................?????????????""""""""""
and i emphasize the ??????????.
thier illusion of omnipatance is more powerful than their physical might could ever be.
and thier records are meaningless if you dont get caught. jobs and cars and police records, yea. thier kind of the same to me anyway
screwed for life? i dont think so.
end the farce crime is art, art is crime.
As for all of the records from being arrested: Relax. Jobs, etc. can only ask about convictions. Arrest records, without convictions, or with an order from a judge to allow it, can be expunged from your record. At that point they cannot be used against you.
You cannot give them to power to convince you that your life is ruined. It isn't.
Be angry if you were improperly arrested. Fight it, both any criminal case filed, and with a civil suit.
Don't be afraid, be angry and strong.
You cannot give them to power to convince you that your life is ruined. It isn't.
Be angry if you were improperly arrested. Fight it, both any criminal case filed, and with a civil suit.
Don't be afraid, be angry and strong.
Do not worry about an arrest/fbi record - you will not be screwed for life. I was arrested during Gulf War I, after a year I got it expunged from my record since I had no further arrests etc, and it has NEVER been a problem. In fact, since that arrest I have had numerous government and non-government jobs and have gone to law school and been admitted to the bar, which requires an extensive background check. At the time of my arrest, people warned me that it would haunt me forever but that has not happened, and I still strongly believe that I did the right thing. Do not let fear of future ramifications keep you from action!!!!!
In April 2001, I was walking peacefully in front of Carnegie Hall with two signs as part of a peaceful 20-person protest against Citigroup's global corruption.
I was abruptly plucked from the crowd, arrested and jailed. No one else was arrested. I was also the only one on the sidewalk that day that had been in Federal Court against this corporation for 5 years. Subsequently, I learned that since 1998, the NYPD has what they call a "Paid Detail." It provides corporate rent-a-cop services for $27 an hour. It costs more to get a supervisor with the power to arrest. Regardless of the cost, you get what look to be NYPD Blues, fully armed, but are actually on corporate payrolls.
I think it would be a good idea to file a FOIA request and see if SF has corporate rent-a-cop programs.
Pam Martens
I was abruptly plucked from the crowd, arrested and jailed. No one else was arrested. I was also the only one on the sidewalk that day that had been in Federal Court against this corporation for 5 years. Subsequently, I learned that since 1998, the NYPD has what they call a "Paid Detail." It provides corporate rent-a-cop services for $27 an hour. It costs more to get a supervisor with the power to arrest. Regardless of the cost, you get what look to be NYPD Blues, fully armed, but are actually on corporate payrolls.
I think it would be a good idea to file a FOIA request and see if SF has corporate rent-a-cop programs.
Pam Martens
Take a close look at the picture labled 3_watching. THose are not police watching protesters from a close vantage point. Those are in fact sheriffs deputies watching from atop the emergency dispatch center on Turk Street. The location from where they are watching was at least a half mile from the closest protest. Wow, they sure can do a lot of spying from that distance. They must have the worlds most powerful binoclars and zoom lenses in order to ID protesters. Come on people, wake up from your self pitying, everyone is out to get me mentality and start to see the truth. The more you wallow in conspiracy theories, the more you isolate yourselves from those who may support your basic ideals. If you keep going down this road, you will find yourselves with few supporters, and closed in your rooms thinking that every noise you hear is that of some government agent coming to get you.
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