MEDIA UPDATE & CLARIFICATION*: September 13, 2011

Jury Seated and First Testimony Heard in Civil Trial About Fatal Police Beating of Martin Cotton

Oakland, CA:   On the morning of September 12, 2011 in U.S. District Court, Northern District in Oakland, CA, a seven person jury was sworn in to hear the civil trial brought by the family of Martin Frederick Cotton II, who was killed by a fatal police beating in Eureka, California four years ago.  Supporters and members of Redwood Curtain CopWatch and the Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality rallied outside the courthouse early in the morning, spreading the word about the trial about to occur, speaking out against state brutality, and holding signs "Cops Beat Martin To Death.  Justice For Martin Cotton!" 

TRIAL BEGAN SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 at 8:30am
[RALLY at 7:30am on 12th, first day of trial]

Trial Wed (9/14), Thurs (9/15), Friday (9/16), Wed (9/21), Thurs (9/22) 
8:30am- 2:30pm  
Must have U.S. ID or Passport to go in

READ UPDATES:  1  2     Hear Interview 9/16  4

“We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove YouTube videos of police brutality, which we did not remove,” Google wrote in its Transparency Report, Business Insider reported.

Google said that it “did not comply with those requests, which we have categorized in this Report as defamation requests,” revealing that the Internet giant had been bombarded with requests for information and for content to be removed by the US government.

Martin F. Cotton II was BEAT TO DEATH by Eureka Police and Humboldt Sheriff's on August 9th, 2007. 

Please join us Tuesday August 9th, 2011 in Remembrance of Martin Cotton and in Resistance to the injustice system that took his life.

Martin Cotton won't be forgotten!  Stop Police Brutality

---1:00pm RALLY in front of the Courthouse in Eureka

and Walk to the Boardwalk for peaceful REMEMBRANCE of Martin

We have plenty of signs, some from past demonstrations and a bunch from folks in the Bay area- sent in support of Justice for Martin Cotton! 

Then, later on...

---6:00pm  "Tell It Like It Is!” Open Mic: Survival Stories about Police Violence

at Synapsis 47 W 3rd Street, Eureka

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

TIME: 7:00PM

OSCAR GRANT COMMITTEE PRESENTS

A FORUM ON POLICE, RACISM,

BRUTALITY AND VIOLENCE

This sounds much like what Redwood Curtain CopWatch was told by witnesses to the Eureka police beating Martin "Fred" Cotton II in August 2007. 

Jasiri X tells the story of Jordan Miles, the 18 year old honor student who was brutally beaten by 3 undercover Pittsburgh Police officers while walking to his grandmother's house. "Jordan Miles" was mixed by Diezel and directed by Paradise Gray.

Call Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala at 412.350.4400 and demand he file charges against the 3 police officers who brutally beat Jordan Miles

For more info go to
http://justiceforjordanmiles.com/

84-year-old man allegedly beaten by police officer after calling 911

By Eric W. Dolan Wed, May 18th, 2011

An Alabama police officer allegedly hospitalized an elderly man who called 911 to report an accident across the street from his house while his wife watched the entire beating from her wheelchair.

The Courthouse News Service reported that 84-year-old Dorsey Henderson of Fairhope, Alabama called 911 after investigating the car accident and discovering that the driver of the vehicle was severely intoxicated.

Henderson told the driver of the car he was under citizens arrest and needed to wait near his car until police arrived.

I want to report an incident on January 13th 2011 of excessive force and false arrest of Brian Schelske by Maricopa County Sheriffs Office in Arizona.
Warrant # 8W 2011-000327.

The house was bombed with concussion bombs in military fashion at 3:30 am as if bombing the enemy. A tank rolled over the cyclone fence.

The two victims of police harassment were marched out with hands over their heads half naked. The 59 yo woman was made to stand naked with just panties breasts exposed, hands tied behind her back in the cold for 30 minutes. There had to be 15-20 cars lined up along the road for the display of public humiliation.

The woman was not arrested but has a perforated eardrum and is suffering from depression and PSTD after this horrific incident.

The man, a former mental health patient, does not even remotely fit the description on the original police report. The woman was off work on disability after a fall but worked as a Renal Dietitian and faculty at the local community college. She was also a Nutritionist on the Navajo Indian Reservation for the WIC Program.

Oakland Teachers’ Union Joins Growing Opposition to Civil Gang Injunctions

Monday’s Hearing Will Determine Possible Start Date for City Attorney’s Proposed Two-Square Mile “Safety Zone”

by Michael Siegel Sunday Feb 13th, 2011

A judge has released video that shows a police officer threatening to taser two suspects, one in the neck, the other in the genitals. Constable Christopher Hominuk has pleaded guilty to one count of threatening bodily harm. (Feb, 8, 2011)

Video: Officer threatens taser use

Peter Small Courts Bureau

Videos showing a Toronto cop threatening to Taser two suspects demonstrate the need to record virtually all police interactions with the public, a prominent lawyer says.

“It shows the tremendous value of insisting that police-citizen encounters, and especially police-detainee encounters, are video and audio recorded,” Paul Burstein, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, said Tuesday.

There is no reason to believe police mistreatment of suspects is rampant, he added.

“Whether it’s rampant or rare … The only way to guard against it is to ensure that these encounters are video and audio recorded.”

The 2nd International Copwatch Conference will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on July 22, 23 and 24 of 2011.

Potential Presenters, Participants, and Tablers please read and register HERE.

The conference will include sessions of panel discussions, workshops, and video screenings that focus on particular aspects of policing. Some topics to be included are policing in the context of colonialism; policing and immigration; policing as a gendered and racialized practice; the fluidity of defining crime and criminality; keeping the police accountable; community alternatives to policing and practice of restorative justice models, and a range of other topics.

Jeremy Marks, a black high school student was put in jail last year for videotaping a LAUSD school police officer assaulting another teenager at a bus stop. All Jeremy did was videotape the incident & nothing else yet he was put in jail for approx 7 months, & was bailed out right before XMAS thanks to someone from Google....he was charged with 'Attempted Lynching.' (His bail was $155,000 & he was threatened with 7 yrs prison time)

On Jan 26, 2011, DA Steve Cooley had Jeremy's home raided and 30 + LAPD cops came in and took computers, cell phones etc.....trying to get any evidence they can before his trial!

LA District Attorney orders Gestapo-style police raid on home of Jeremy Marks

Terror tactics in the police war on video

By Doug Kauffman and Ian Thompson  January 27, 2011

Copwatch groups are made up of concerned community members, who take action to lawfully monitor local law enforcement activity in their neighborhoods. Copwatch groups are proactively working to reduce police violence and misconduct in exercising their right to hold the police accountable for their actions. Many Copwatch groups use video recording to document police misconduct, thereby shifting the balance of power between law enforcement agencies and the communities they patrol, and in some cases affecting changes in police practices and policies. Video recordings of police activity are both constitutionally protected and vital to help deter police misconduct or expose it when it happens.

Thank you for standing with us in the fight for justice.

Sincerely,

Annette Warren Dickerson
Director of Education and Outreach
Center for Constitutional Rights

Amicus Brief in Glik v. Cunniffe, et al.

Synopsis

We were having some trouble watching this video, but hope it works for you HERE!

On October 23, 2010, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 in the Bay area organized a Shut Down of the Ports and Rally in protest of the murder of Oscar Grant and in resistance to police violence, especially against youth of color, and the violence and pervasiveness of the Prison Industrial Complex.  Read below a Solidarity Statement from Japanese Railworkers. Below that is a strong VIDEO of the Press Conference About the Shut Down and Rally.

Protest After OPD Kills Derrick Jones

Thu Nov 11 2010 (Updated 11/29/10)
Derrick Jones - Another Oakland Police Department Murder

Derrick Jones was shot and killed by the Oakland Police Dept on Monday November 8th 2010 on the 5800 block of Trask Street. On November 11th protesters took to the streets to protest the murder of another unarmed man by the police. Family members of Jones and Oscar Grant joined a demonstration at 5815 Bancroft Way (near 58th Ave.) before marching to the Fruitvale BART station, the site of Grant's fatal shooting. BART shut down the station for several hours during the evening commute because of the protest.

Join us for a HEARING ON RACISM AND POLICE VIOLENCE
Oakland • February 2011

Come share Testimony and Demand Accountability on the Issues of Racist Law Enforcement and Police Suppression of Civil Liberties. Testimony will include witnesses to police killings across the country and experts on the impact of racial profiling and mass incarcerations.

THE HEARING (originally planned for January) HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY & SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH & 20TH 

Oakland High (1023 MacArthur near Park Blvd) Oakland, CA

SPONSORED BY:

• Mieklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
• Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
• New Years Movement
• East Side Arts Alliance
• Onyx• Collision Course Video
• African People’s Socialist Party
• National Lawyers Guild
• Hard Knock Radio
• US Human Rights Network

October 27, 2010

Re:  Open Letter About Racial Profiling Incident

Dear Mr. Gallegos,

    We are writing in regards to a serious issue of police misconduct that occurred in September of this year and we believe represents an appalling pattern by the Arcata Police Department. Specifically, we are alarmed by the treatment that “Rosa”*  endured as she was the victim of racial profiling and intimidation by the Arcata Police officers, subsequent to her witnessing them conducting an arrest. Her observation of  the police's violent treatment of another person resulted in the officers targeting and harassing her, and arresting her without cause or due process. This woman, our friend, is a petite, middle-aged woman of color. She is well known in the community as a hardworking person and a caring mother and grandmother. Given her reputation, any circumstances that would lead to an arrest seem highly unlikely and indicate some other motive.

On Wednesday, October 20th, in preparation for the National Days of Action Against Police Brutality (Oct 22-23), join the Black Student Union and Redwood Curtain CopWatch for the film...

"We're Still Here, We Never Left"

"Todavia Estamos Aqui, Nunca Nos Fuimos." 

*This Free Event starts at 6:00pm

*Location:  Gist Hall, Room #219  Humboldt State Campus, Arcata

*All are welcome (students and non-students alike)

This film details the police riot in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles on May 1st, 2007- which led to the founding of the Revolutionary Autonomous Communitues (RAC). 

RAC's Food Program and events bring communities together in resistance to police brutality and for liberation!

"We're Still Here, We Never Left" has footage never before seen on the mainstream media- documenting the truth about the police repression on May 1st, 2007, and showing the growing popular movement in oppressed communities.