Police/Legal/Prisons

Warning: possible warrant checks on Metro in Anacostia when riders short on fare

A new and ugly report has shown up on Twitter that Metro police are checking for warrants when anyone comes up short on their farecard in Anacostia. Not having the money to pay one's way out of Metro is surely not probable cause to believe there is an arrest warrant out for someone, but to these racist cops it makes no difference. I've also received an in-person report that in at least some neighborhoods police have "doubled down" on violence towards African-American young men since the protests began.

Police threaten illegal arrests after DC Ferguson blocks Chinatown, 395 tunnel

On the 15th of December, DC Ferguson civil rights protesters asssembled in Chinatown for the nightly round of street blockades. This time one of the targets was I-395 and NY Ave. For the second night in a row police attempted to bypass the legally required "3 warning" rule for mass arrests. This time they tried to say that warnings given at the 395 tunnel were still valid in Chinatown and could be counted against the required three warnings.They tried to go straight to the 3ed warning and got out zip ties, something not previously seen at these protests. Finally someone got police chief Lanier on the line, she said three new warnings were required at every intersection so the cops were thwarted in their hoped-for arrests.

Police gave two warning here at the 395 tunnel entrance before protesters marched on-photo by Chris Tonan

Family of Trey Joyner, shot by US Park Police, speaks out at DOJ protest

On the 15th of December the Hands Up Coalition held a rally in front of the Department of Justice demanding that killer cops be prosecuted and police departments be placed under community control. The mother of Trey Joyner, a DC man shot and killed by US Park Police, spoke about her case and how there has been no justice in the courts for her son or her family. He was killed because of a false report from "an informant" of a man with a gun, he was unarmed. Every 28 hours police kill another African-American in the US, protesters warn that unless this is stopped they will continue to "shut shit down."

Video-Trey's mother and father speak

Civil rights protesters storm H St Wal-Mart, shut down registers

On the 14th of December, civil rights protesters stormed into the Wal-Mart on H st for the 4th time. This time they stood their ground, and soon the cash registers were shut down. Some of the shoppers joined the protest. One of the cops or security guards claimed protesters would be arrested after ONE warning, not the three required by DC law. After a tense ten minutes and call by protesters for reinforcements, the activists exited the store and no arrests were reported.

Video of Wal-Mart occupation raw clips courtesy Netta and DeRay McKessa

Erica Totten photo

Reportback from Justice For All March against police murder

On the 13th of December, a march estimated by some at around 50,000 people from Freedom Plaza to the US Capitol protested the recent string of police murders of unarmed young African-American men. The "Hands up, don't shoot" and "I can't breathe" chants were heard often, referring to the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and the chokehold death of Eric Garner in NYC.

Video-Scenes from Justice For All march

Civil rights protesters storm Gallery Place movie theater

On the 12th of December, civil rights protesters assmebled in Chinatown and after the usual street shutdowns slipped around to the back entrance of the Regan Cinemas on 6th st and stormed inside. In addition to educating moviegoers about police murder and brutality, there was another reason for going there: the movie Exodus, playing there, is set in the Middle East and northern Africa yet people with dark skin are shown only as servants and slaves.

Video-Aggressive motorist threatens to ram civil rights protesters

Video-protesters storm Regal 14 Cinema

Die-In at the Regal Cinema 14 at Gallery Place

Rock Creek deer killers disappear after possible intercepted activist phone calls, emails

On the 11th of December, I found roads in Rock Creek Park barricaded in preparation for "Deer Removal" or the shooting of deer by USDA "wildlife Services" at about 6:30PM. By 10:30 PM, after a flury of phone calls in an effort to organize a hasty street protest, all the barricades were gone and the killers nowhere to be found.

Mothers of sons murdered by police speak out at Dept of Justice

On the 10th of December, the mothers of a number of young men slain by police spoke to a large crowd outside the Department of Justice. One was from nearby PG county. I heard speech after speech about police responding to attempts to surrender or otherwise non-threatening young men with a fusillade of gunshots. The words of the mothers of the fallen were folllowed by a march through the streets to the White House, shutting down traffic for blocks.

Stirring 1 min 20 sec video

Same video on Liveleak due to outage at Archive.org caused by Pacific storm

Police in Oakland, CA fire on civl rights protesters with "non-lethal" rounds from freeway overpass

Late night (Eastern time) on Dec 9, ugly reports surfaced on Twitter that police had opened fire on protesters taking over the freeway with so-called "less lethal" rubber or similar bullets, sending several protesters to the hospital with head wounds.

Youtube video of police attacks on civil rights protesters

6th night in row of protests after Eric Garner decision blocks 14th st Bridge

On the 8th of December, civil rights protesters shut down streets in evening rush hour for the 6th day in a row since a grand jury refused to indict NY cops for the chokehold death of Eric Garner. This is now the 3ed week of frequent street protests since St Louis cop Darren Wilson was also not indicted in the shooting death Michael Brown. At around 8PM protesters blocked the 14th st Bridge, stopping traffic there for the third time in a week.

Photo: John Zangas, 14th st blockade as time police give 2nd warning

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