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.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING:
HOW TO HANDLE ENCOUNTERS WITH COPS

Saturday October 16th 1:30pm - 5:30pm

Do you know what to do if you’re stopped by the police? Do your children?
Are you tired of your rights being violated?
This workshop focuses on the law "on the street” — what your rights are and how cops try to trick you out of them. We want to share strategies to survive police encounters.

Hosted by Redwood Curtain CopWatch

The training will be in EUREKA at PARC [Peoples' Action For Rights and Community]. 

For Immediate Release September 14, 2010

JACKSON, MS - The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi announced today the filing of a civil lawsuit on behalf of a Jackson man who was unconstitutionally arrested and imprisoned after exercising his first amendment right to observe a police interaction in a public parking lot and then asking for the officers' names and badge numbers.

"We do not have secret police in the United States," said Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. "Observing police in public are fundamental rights, protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Individuals must know that they can exercise this right without fear of arrest."

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING:
HOW TO HANDLE ENCOUNTERS WITH COPS

Saturday Sept. 25th 1:30pm - 5:30pm

hosted by Redwood Curtain CopWatch

at PARC [Peoples' Action For Rights and Community]

EUREKA
Q St. Alley between 3rd and 2nd St.

ALL AGES
FREE
SNACKS

Call (707) 633-4493 for more info.

Humboldt County Sheriff Officers shot and killed Robert Garth in the morning of Saturday August 7, 2010. CopWatchers and friends of the Garth family went to Blue Lake, after learning of the shooting.  We took lots of video and photos. We want here to share what we learned, in brief.

First this: As we write this post (Saturday night, August 7, 2010), we anticipate two things. The first is that the media (i.e. Thadues Greenson of the Times-Standard who was in Blue Lake) will parrot, stating as fact, the police story.  That's what the media ALWAYS does.

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where "no expectation of privacy exists" (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.

Maryland Citizens Face Felony Charges for Recording Cops

Infowars.com
May 23, 2010

In Maryland, it is a felony to record thuggish cops as they push around skateboarding teenagers, beat sports patrons, and pull guns on motorists for speeding.

“Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera, and others have been intimidated to shut their cameras off,” reports WJZ 23 in Baltimore.

Maryland cops are using a Maryland law that states conversations in private cannot be recorded without the consent of both people involved in order to go about their business of harassing, intimidating, and assaulting citizens.

WHY WE PROTESTED AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

On Thursday, April 8, 2010, fifteen to twenty community members gathered in the reception area of the District Attorney's office, fourth floor of the courthouse, to address Paul Gallegos regarding a recent incident and the systematic injustice related to that and many other instances.  As you may remember, on March 15th of this year, two people from Redwood Curtain CopWatch were arrested because Sheriff's Deputy Joseph Marsh did not want to be videotaped while he was detaining and searching a man in Eureka.

On April 6, 2010, the two of us who were arrested learned that the DA had not (yet) charged us with any crime related to our arrests.  After we were arrested and in jail, we signed Agreements to Appear in court on April 6th.  When signing an Agreement to Appear, the document informs the signer that if s/he does not appear on that date, s/he can be arrested again.

On April 6, we were not on the court schedule, which means the DA had not yet decided what charges or if he would charge us at all.

WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY!!

NO CHARGES AGAINST COPWATCHERS AFTER BUNK ARRESTS

“In the interest of justice,” the Humboldt County District Attorney, Paul Gallegos, needs to decline from charging Kimberly Starr and Ray Thompson, of Redwood Curtain CopWatch, with any crimes stemming from their March 15, 2010 arrest. We insist that the DA's office today officially put this case to an end. The arrests of Ms. Starr and Mr. Thompson, while they were engaged in copwatch activities (observing and recording police activity), were warrantless, unjustified, and clear violations of their civil liberties. Now , almost a month later, the DA's office continues to say that the case is “pending.”

Feel free to contact us any time day or night.

*Here is our phone number: (707) 633-4493

*Our email address is: copwatchrwc@riseup.net

*You may want to send us a message via
our contact form here.

You can call the phone number anytime, and often someone will answer.  You can also leave as long a message as you want.  If you are witnessing police activity, for instance, you can report to the voice mail what is happening WHILE it is happening- for hours if necessary.  Try to notice and report to us the officers' names and other details.

Witness to a Shooting, Karina Vargas

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0a328d6a244268cf99a62d5a44668da1

YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia , News feature, VIDEO, AUDIO, Words by Karina Vargas, as told to Josue Rojas, Posted: Feb 20, 2009  

from their website:  http://westdenvercopwatch.wordpress.com/

....Police are consistently traumatizing and occupying our communities. Something as simple as a video camera, a pen and a pad of paper can significantly help deter the police from violating our community members’ rights.  We collect footage that both holds the police accountable and informs the people of their abuse of power.

People all over the country, on October 22nd, will mobilize against
police brutality, repression and the criminalization of a generation. 
This is the 13th year of this Ocotber 22nd Day of Action.

Behind the Redwood Curtain, we recognize and continue actions into October 23rd. 

We remember Christopher Burgess, who was 16 years old when Eureka Police Department officer Terry Liles chased, shot and killed him on Ocotber 23, 2006.