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solarbirdAs always, I recommend going to the tally thread here. Far more here than I can tally, including more intentional blindings, more shooting-for-sport, and some real gore, particularly a near-range plastic bullet that broke a skull and opened a massive head wound. She'll be recovering for a year and a half if she's lucky.
These are just items that caught my eye.
----- 1 -----
She Protested In Seattle, Then Spent 2 'Terrifying' Days In Jail
A transgender woman arrested at a Seattle protest says guards ignored repeated harassment while she was held in jail without charges.
By Nick Garber, Patch Staff
Jun 8, 2020
https://patch.com/washington/seattle/she-protested-seattle-then-spent-2-terrifying-days-jail
SEATTLE, WA — Last Sunday, May 31, Joan Fochs got the call to shut down early at the Interbay grocery store where she works, as the city braced for another night of protests against police violence. She closed up shop, packed up water bottles and baking soda to protect against tear gas, and headed downtown to join the crowds.
"As a transgender person I identify with all persecuted minorities," explained Fochs, 23. George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police confirmed her belief that American police too often act with impunity, she said.
She met up with a group of protesters around 9:30 p.m. They hadn't gone far when a group of Seattle police officers on bicycles swerved in front of the group, telling them to disperse.
As one officer rode straight toward Fochs, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, bracing for impact. To her relief, the officer stopped just short of her, she said. Then he made a surprising pronouncement.
"He said, 'You're under arrest. You assaulted me,'" Fochs recalled. In a statement, she said, the officer accused Fochs of trying to dismount him from his bicycle while being out past the city's 5 p.m. curfew. She was booked on suspicion of assault, denied bail, and brought to the King County Correctional Facility around 2 a.m. Monday.
With that began a traumatic, two-day ordeal for Fochs, in which she says she was improperly housed with male inmates, repeatedly sexually harassed and largely ignored by jail staff when she voiced concerns for her safety and mental health. She has not been charged with a crime.
----- 2 -----
‘What I saw was just absolutely wrong’: National Guardsmen struggle with their role in controlling protests
POLITICO spoke to 10 National Guardsmen who have taken part in the protest response across the country since the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
06/09/2020 07:03 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/09/national-guard-protests-309932
Pvt. Si’Kenya Lynch, a member of the D.C. National Guard, was on duty at Lafayette Square near the White House last Monday when U.S. Park Police cleared the area of protesters ahead of President Donald Trump’s now-infamous photo op.
Lynch said she supports the protests, and that her brother was among the demonstrators on the other side of the line, adding that “he coughed a lot” due to the tear gas fired into the crowd.
“I was happy to see him out there ... to walk for me when I couldn’t,” she said, adding that if she hadn’t been activated as a citizen-soldier, she would have been among the protesters “to support the people, and I wanted to support what was right.”
POLITICO spoke to 10 National Guardsmen who have taken part in the protest response across the country since the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Many Guardsmen said they felt uncomfortable with the way they were used to handle the unrest because demonstrators lumped them in with the police. They felt that while they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, their presence at times intimidated Americans from expressing their opinions and even escalated the tension.
And in the case of Guardsmen involved in the Lafayette incident, some felt used.
“As a military officer, what I saw was more or less really f---ed up,” said one D.C. Guardsman who was deployed to Lafayette Square last Monday and who, like some others, spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely. The official line from the White House that the protesters had turned violent, he said, is false.
“The crowd was loud but peaceful, and at no point did I feel in danger, and I was standing right there in the front of the line,” he said. “A lot of us are still struggling to process this, but in a lot of ways, I believe I saw civil rights being violated in order for a photo op.
“I’m here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and what I just saw goes against my oath and to see everyone try to cover up what really happened,” the Guardsman continued. “What I saw was just absolutely wrong.”
----- 3 -----
Seattle Public Schools to consider temporarily cutting ties, reevaluating relationship with police
By Becca Savransky, SeattlePI
Published 11:46 am PDT, Wednesday, June 10, 2020
https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Seattle-Public-Schools-to-consider-temporarily-15330479.php
The Seattle Public Schools Board this week will consider a resolution to temporarily cut ties with the Seattle Police Department as protests have continued in Seattle and across the country against police brutality.
SPS Superintendent Denise Juneau said, due to current national events, a resolution will be voted on "to reevaluate our relationship with SPD" and put into place a district-wide one-year suspension of School Emphasis Officers and School Resource Officers.
"We must ensure that SPD’s values and actions are in alignment with our strategic plan, Seattle Excellence, as well as our values as an organization," Juneau said in an announcement to staff, families and students. "SPD will not be present on our campuses except in emergencies."
----- 4 -----
Miranda Yaver
twitter.com/mirandayaver
10 June 2020
https://twitter.com/mirandayaver/status/1270759694160691200
[THREAD]
As we discuss police reform, vital that we address the high rates of sexual misconduct incl. sexual assault by police officers, and laws that allow them to get away with this behavior, with 32 states allowing police to have sex with arrestees and call it consensual. (THREAD) /1
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
----- 5 -----
Cory Doctorow #BLM
twitter.com/doctorow
10 June 2020
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1270753204725100544
The long range acoustic device (LRAD) is a "less-lethal" focused-sound antipersonnel weapon that has made several appearances in the current round of anti-police-violence protests, wielded by cops to rout and demoralize crowds.
https://soundlazer.com/how-does-a-long-range-acoustic-device-lrad-work-teardown/
1/
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
----- 6 -----
DUNKE
twitter.com/ItssDunke
9 June 2020
https://twitter.com/ItssDunke/status/1270386352161505283
[EDITOR: ONE COMMENTER SAYS THIS IS FOUR YEARS AGO; I can't pin it down because there was one four years ago, and one last month, and it's hard to say which is which. Just FYI.]
“KKK is here to stay” and this was in Rome GA y’all be safe ... notice how the police let them peacefully protesting without interference
[EMBEDDED VIDEO AT LINK]
----- 7 -----
Tacoma teachers union wants uniformed police officers removed from schools starting in fall
BY ALLISON NEEDLES
JUNE 10, 2020
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article243427501.html
The Tacoma Education Association passed a resolution Tuesday night asking Tacoma Public Schools’ Board of Directors to remove school resource officers (SROs) starting this fall.
Tacoma Public Schools currently contracts with the Tacoma Police Department for full-time, on-duty officers, at all five comprehensive high schools.
The teachers union brought forward the resolution at a meeting Tuesday after some members shared stories of students not being comfortable around the officers. They also had a conversation about the death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma, who died while being arrested by police on March 3.
----- 8 -----
'I can't breathe,' Oklahoma man tells police before dying. 'I don't care,' officer responds.
Newly released video of the 2019 incident shows officers restraining Derrick Scott, 42, who is heard asking repeatedly for his medicine and saying he can’t breathe.
June 10, 2020, 5:55 PM PDT
By Tim Stelloh
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i-can-t-breathe-oklahoma-man-tells-police-dying-i-n1229586
Newly released body camera footage from an arrest in Oklahoma City last year shows a suspect saying “I can’t breathe” before he died at a hospital.
In the May 20, 2019 footage, released this week by the Oklahoma City Police Department, three officers are seen restraining the man, Derrick Scott, 42, who can be heard asking repeatedly for his medicine and saying that he can’t breathe.
“I don’t care,” one of the officers, Jarred Tipton, can be heard replying at one point. “You can breathe just fine,” another officer can be heard saying a couple of minutes later.
These are just items that caught my eye.
- [SEATTLE] She Protested In Seattle, Then Spent 2 'Terrifying' Days In Jail
- [WASHINGTON, DC] ‘What I saw was just absolutely wrong’: National Guardsmen struggle with their role in controlling protests
- [SEATTLE] Seattle Public Schools to consider temporarily cutting ties, reevaluating relationship with police
- 32 states allow police to have sex with arrestees and call it consensual
- What an LRAD is, and how it fucks people up.
- [ROME, GEORGIA] “KKK is here to stay” rally [EDITOR: MAY BE OLD]
- Tacoma teachers union wants uniformed police officers removed from schools starting in fall
- 'I can't breathe,' Oklahoma man tells police before dying. 'I don't care,' officer responds.
----- 1 -----
She Protested In Seattle, Then Spent 2 'Terrifying' Days In Jail
A transgender woman arrested at a Seattle protest says guards ignored repeated harassment while she was held in jail without charges.
By Nick Garber, Patch Staff
Jun 8, 2020
https://patch.com/washington/seattle/she-protested-seattle-then-spent-2-terrifying-days-jail
SEATTLE, WA — Last Sunday, May 31, Joan Fochs got the call to shut down early at the Interbay grocery store where she works, as the city braced for another night of protests against police violence. She closed up shop, packed up water bottles and baking soda to protect against tear gas, and headed downtown to join the crowds.
"As a transgender person I identify with all persecuted minorities," explained Fochs, 23. George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police confirmed her belief that American police too often act with impunity, she said.
She met up with a group of protesters around 9:30 p.m. They hadn't gone far when a group of Seattle police officers on bicycles swerved in front of the group, telling them to disperse.
As one officer rode straight toward Fochs, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, bracing for impact. To her relief, the officer stopped just short of her, she said. Then he made a surprising pronouncement.
"He said, 'You're under arrest. You assaulted me,'" Fochs recalled. In a statement, she said, the officer accused Fochs of trying to dismount him from his bicycle while being out past the city's 5 p.m. curfew. She was booked on suspicion of assault, denied bail, and brought to the King County Correctional Facility around 2 a.m. Monday.
With that began a traumatic, two-day ordeal for Fochs, in which she says she was improperly housed with male inmates, repeatedly sexually harassed and largely ignored by jail staff when she voiced concerns for her safety and mental health. She has not been charged with a crime.
----- 2 -----
‘What I saw was just absolutely wrong’: National Guardsmen struggle with their role in controlling protests
POLITICO spoke to 10 National Guardsmen who have taken part in the protest response across the country since the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
06/09/2020 07:03 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/09/national-guard-protests-309932
Pvt. Si’Kenya Lynch, a member of the D.C. National Guard, was on duty at Lafayette Square near the White House last Monday when U.S. Park Police cleared the area of protesters ahead of President Donald Trump’s now-infamous photo op.
Lynch said she supports the protests, and that her brother was among the demonstrators on the other side of the line, adding that “he coughed a lot” due to the tear gas fired into the crowd.
“I was happy to see him out there ... to walk for me when I couldn’t,” she said, adding that if she hadn’t been activated as a citizen-soldier, she would have been among the protesters “to support the people, and I wanted to support what was right.”
POLITICO spoke to 10 National Guardsmen who have taken part in the protest response across the country since the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Many Guardsmen said they felt uncomfortable with the way they were used to handle the unrest because demonstrators lumped them in with the police. They felt that while they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, their presence at times intimidated Americans from expressing their opinions and even escalated the tension.
And in the case of Guardsmen involved in the Lafayette incident, some felt used.
“As a military officer, what I saw was more or less really f---ed up,” said one D.C. Guardsman who was deployed to Lafayette Square last Monday and who, like some others, spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely. The official line from the White House that the protesters had turned violent, he said, is false.
“The crowd was loud but peaceful, and at no point did I feel in danger, and I was standing right there in the front of the line,” he said. “A lot of us are still struggling to process this, but in a lot of ways, I believe I saw civil rights being violated in order for a photo op.
“I’m here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and what I just saw goes against my oath and to see everyone try to cover up what really happened,” the Guardsman continued. “What I saw was just absolutely wrong.”
----- 3 -----
Seattle Public Schools to consider temporarily cutting ties, reevaluating relationship with police
By Becca Savransky, SeattlePI
Published 11:46 am PDT, Wednesday, June 10, 2020
https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Seattle-Public-Schools-to-consider-temporarily-15330479.php
The Seattle Public Schools Board this week will consider a resolution to temporarily cut ties with the Seattle Police Department as protests have continued in Seattle and across the country against police brutality.
SPS Superintendent Denise Juneau said, due to current national events, a resolution will be voted on "to reevaluate our relationship with SPD" and put into place a district-wide one-year suspension of School Emphasis Officers and School Resource Officers.
"We must ensure that SPD’s values and actions are in alignment with our strategic plan, Seattle Excellence, as well as our values as an organization," Juneau said in an announcement to staff, families and students. "SPD will not be present on our campuses except in emergencies."
----- 4 -----
Miranda Yaver
twitter.com/mirandayaver
10 June 2020
https://twitter.com/mirandayaver/status/1270759694160691200
[THREAD]
As we discuss police reform, vital that we address the high rates of sexual misconduct incl. sexual assault by police officers, and laws that allow them to get away with this behavior, with 32 states allowing police to have sex with arrestees and call it consensual. (THREAD) /1
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
----- 5 -----
Cory Doctorow #BLM
twitter.com/doctorow
10 June 2020
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1270753204725100544
The long range acoustic device (LRAD) is a "less-lethal" focused-sound antipersonnel weapon that has made several appearances in the current round of anti-police-violence protests, wielded by cops to rout and demoralize crowds.
https://soundlazer.com/how-does-a-long-range-acoustic-device-lrad-work-teardown/
1/
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
----- 6 -----
DUNKE
twitter.com/ItssDunke
9 June 2020
https://twitter.com/ItssDunke/status/1270386352161505283
[EDITOR: ONE COMMENTER SAYS THIS IS FOUR YEARS AGO; I can't pin it down because there was one four years ago, and one last month, and it's hard to say which is which. Just FYI.]
“KKK is here to stay” and this was in Rome GA y’all be safe ... notice how the police let them peacefully protesting without interference
[EMBEDDED VIDEO AT LINK]
----- 7 -----
Tacoma teachers union wants uniformed police officers removed from schools starting in fall
BY ALLISON NEEDLES
JUNE 10, 2020
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article243427501.html
The Tacoma Education Association passed a resolution Tuesday night asking Tacoma Public Schools’ Board of Directors to remove school resource officers (SROs) starting this fall.
Tacoma Public Schools currently contracts with the Tacoma Police Department for full-time, on-duty officers, at all five comprehensive high schools.
The teachers union brought forward the resolution at a meeting Tuesday after some members shared stories of students not being comfortable around the officers. They also had a conversation about the death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma, who died while being arrested by police on March 3.
----- 8 -----
'I can't breathe,' Oklahoma man tells police before dying. 'I don't care,' officer responds.
Newly released video of the 2019 incident shows officers restraining Derrick Scott, 42, who is heard asking repeatedly for his medicine and saying he can’t breathe.
June 10, 2020, 5:55 PM PDT
By Tim Stelloh
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i-can-t-breathe-oklahoma-man-tells-police-dying-i-n1229586
Newly released body camera footage from an arrest in Oklahoma City last year shows a suspect saying “I can’t breathe” before he died at a hospital.
In the May 20, 2019 footage, released this week by the Oklahoma City Police Department, three officers are seen restraining the man, Derrick Scott, 42, who can be heard asking repeatedly for his medicine and saying that he can’t breathe.
“I don’t care,” one of the officers, Jarred Tipton, can be heard replying at one point. “You can breathe just fine,” another officer can be heard saying a couple of minutes later.
