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Indybay Feature
Copwatch Tuesday and Drum Circle Update
Once again intrepid Santa Cruz copwatchers will be out on Pacific Avenue from1-3 PM Tuesday January 13th in front of Borders bookstore in search of restoring civil rights downtown for those regularly and aggressively deprived of them. Bring a camera, audio recorder, friend, notebook. We'll be signing up volunteers and taking stories.
Last copwatch 2 weeks ago (12-30) witnessed Sgt. Harms and Officer Kline driving off a homeless man (BamBam) from the New Leaf area, apparently on complaint of a kiosk tender. The pretext used was "unattended property", though BamBam was near the property and waiting to be picked up for a ride to San Francisco. Cops and BamBam agreed to move the stuff across the street out of the "merchant zone" (actually a public zone,but the focus of concern), where BamBam continued to wait.
The Drum Circle--now reinforced by the return of the Farmer's Market with sympathetic neighbors (Sentinel and Metro bullshit notwithstanding, Farmers Market vendors are generally supportive of the Drum Circle)--proceeded with fewer drummers than usual but no reported police presence. The green mesh fences, however, were up as usually (until taken down by public assembly supporters). The crowd grew as the afternoon progressed until it had swelled to near-normal size.
It appears the community has (again) won public assembly rights in the drum circle--not through the machinations of attorneys, the generosity of the city council, the intervention of the ACLU, or even the supportive intervention of the Trash Orchestra, but through direct resistance and restoration of space by the drummers themselves. Good work, everyone!
Hot soup tomorrow at Copwatch. If you'd like to work on Copwatch-on-line, give a call to 423-HUFF or come to the HUFF meeting at the Sub Rosa Cafe Wednesday 9:30-11:30 AM.
The Drum Circle--now reinforced by the return of the Farmer's Market with sympathetic neighbors (Sentinel and Metro bullshit notwithstanding, Farmers Market vendors are generally supportive of the Drum Circle)--proceeded with fewer drummers than usual but no reported police presence. The green mesh fences, however, were up as usually (until taken down by public assembly supporters). The crowd grew as the afternoon progressed until it had swelled to near-normal size.
It appears the community has (again) won public assembly rights in the drum circle--not through the machinations of attorneys, the generosity of the city council, the intervention of the ACLU, or even the supportive intervention of the Trash Orchestra, but through direct resistance and restoration of space by the drummers themselves. Good work, everyone!
Hot soup tomorrow at Copwatch. If you'd like to work on Copwatch-on-line, give a call to 423-HUFF or come to the HUFF meeting at the Sub Rosa Cafe Wednesday 9:30-11:30 AM.
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Copwatchers circulated petitions, interviewed complainants, signed up volunteers, and videoed police for several hours Tuesday from their table outside Borders Book Store on Pacific Avenue in the warm sunshine.
We made contact with three activists publicizing a new on-line news service: http://www.couranttimes.org --which solicits local news stories, somewhat in the manner of indybay.org/santacruz, though hopefully without the periodic censorship.
Sgt. Michael Harms engaged in several debate/discussions with me on whether his enforcement of the Downtown Ordinances constituted harassment--which I'll be playing on Free Radio Santa Cruz tonight or Sunday, along with some interviews (101.1 FM, 6-8 PM thursday evening; 9:30- 1 PM Sunday evening). Later archived at http://www.huffsantacruz.org under "Bathrobespierre's Broadsides.
On Wednesday at the HUFF meeting we agreed to another Tuesday Copwatch at the same place and time on October 20th. Those interested should give us a call at 831-423-4833 or show up at the Human Rights Organization meeting Saturday at 2 PM at Tacqueria Vallarta at Pacific and Cathcart.
Meanwhile--a heads up!--a City Council member has alerted me that an expansion of the Downtown Ordinances--enlarging the "forbidden zones" where you can't sit, panhandle, etc., adding new ones, and making repeated infractions a misdemenaor is on its way to the next City Council meeting. Or may be.
The folks behind this--if this Councilmember's info is correct--would be Mayor Mathews, ex-Mayor Coonerty, and Councilmember Robinson. The laws were cooked up in meetings closed to the public, but open to merchants, city staff and police of the Downtown Working Group. Call the Councilmembers at 420-5020 for info. on what kinds of wonderful new laws await us.
As if things weren't bad enough, a new 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision has possibly gutted the Exclusionary Rule that bans prosecutors from using illegally evidence. For more info on that google for Herring vs. U.S.
We made contact with three activists publicizing a new on-line news service: http://www.couranttimes.org --which solicits local news stories, somewhat in the manner of indybay.org/santacruz, though hopefully without the periodic censorship.
Sgt. Michael Harms engaged in several debate/discussions with me on whether his enforcement of the Downtown Ordinances constituted harassment--which I'll be playing on Free Radio Santa Cruz tonight or Sunday, along with some interviews (101.1 FM, 6-8 PM thursday evening; 9:30- 1 PM Sunday evening). Later archived at http://www.huffsantacruz.org under "Bathrobespierre's Broadsides.
On Wednesday at the HUFF meeting we agreed to another Tuesday Copwatch at the same place and time on October 20th. Those interested should give us a call at 831-423-4833 or show up at the Human Rights Organization meeting Saturday at 2 PM at Tacqueria Vallarta at Pacific and Cathcart.
Meanwhile--a heads up!--a City Council member has alerted me that an expansion of the Downtown Ordinances--enlarging the "forbidden zones" where you can't sit, panhandle, etc., adding new ones, and making repeated infractions a misdemenaor is on its way to the next City Council meeting. Or may be.
The folks behind this--if this Councilmember's info is correct--would be Mayor Mathews, ex-Mayor Coonerty, and Councilmember Robinson. The laws were cooked up in meetings closed to the public, but open to merchants, city staff and police of the Downtown Working Group. Call the Councilmembers at 420-5020 for info. on what kinds of wonderful new laws await us.
As if things weren't bad enough, a new 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision has possibly gutted the Exclusionary Rule that bans prosecutors from using illegally evidence. For more info on that google for Herring vs. U.S.
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