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Post by Ceci on May 3, 2007 16:33:13 GMT -5
The images of the police on May 1st was rather riveting to say the least. One could not be appalled at the authorities dressed in riot gear while using billy clubs and rubber bullets against the crowd of people. In fact, the Detroit Free Press has an article on the occurrence so that people can read exactly what went down: I admit when I saw the footage, I could not help but be a little bit disturbed that the police were so indiscriminate that they had to beat down a camera man and several reporters. And then, they had to extend this action against ordinary people who were there, before the happening, in a peaceful rally. It is also ironic that Chief Brattron is undergoing a five-year renewal of his contract for the city while this is happening. What do you guys think about this?
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F.Gordon
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Post by F.Gordon on May 3, 2007 16:37:58 GMT -5
I think it is disgracefull. I will be soon entering law enforcement training/criminal justice major to join the Police/Sheriff career, and from research and clear cut rules of a bad turn and what not to do, they lost their composure. I heard this morning that they were attacked by someone or some group, perhaps not related. But either way it was isolated, and regardless of how close things come to danger for the LEO, keeping a clear head is part of being an officer in hectic situations. All clearly involved in it should be suspended without pay or removed, depending on what they specifically did.
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Post by Ceci on May 3, 2007 16:53:16 GMT -5
I think it is disgracefull. I will be soon entering law enforcement training/criminal justice major to join the Police/Sheriff career, and from research and clear cut rules of a bad turn and what not to do, they lost their composure. From watching the footage in the news (although I know that You Tube probably has the whole thing), I certainly agree. I think that there might have been better ways to disperse the crowd in this happening. It had been reported that the marches in L.A. were peaceful. In fact, there was a smaller turnout than last year. Which makes me wonder why at the end of the day that this had to happen? However, the police involved must realize that what they were doing reflected their history of the past tactics of the LAPD, especially when the L.A. Riots come to mind. Chief Bratton, had allegedly attributed these actions to agitators in the crowd. However, I tend to think that his comments might have been to save face. At least he had the presence of mind to call for not only an internal investigation of what happened, but also for an independent committee to get to the bottom of this. I'm sure that there would be some punitive measures taken when it is all said and done. I don't think that the police officers will be smelling like roses after this is through. Btw, good luck with your studies. I hope that it is successful.
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Post by truthseeka on May 9, 2007 23:06:29 GMT -5
Yeah, welcome to the American police state.
But honestly, the immigrants got off light. I mean, come on, this IS the LAPD. If this was a protest with nothing but American citizens, people probably would have died.
This is setting the precedent, though. The next time illegal aliens protest like this, they WILL get their heads cracked wide open. Problem, reaction, solution...
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Post by Ceci on May 9, 2007 23:14:01 GMT -5
I don't know about that. The police in that video were really laying down on not only the protesters but also the media. Some of things that they did really stunned me. I just wonder how Chief Bratton is going to punish the cops who did this. After all, in some of the cases of police brutality they got off light.
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SeventhSeal17
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Post by SeventhSeal17 on May 9, 2007 23:16:38 GMT -5
I don't think a rather isolated incident like this can qualify America as a "police state"
Look at what is going on in Paris right now... and that is after a simple election!
There is a happy medium to everything.
Did the police abuse their power? Yes. Did they have to do something? Yes.
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Post by truthseeka on May 10, 2007 22:16:19 GMT -5
I don't think a rather isolated incident like this can qualify America as a "police state" Look at what is going on in Paris right now... and that is after a simple election! There is a happy medium to everything. Did the police abuse their power? Yes. Did they have to do something? Yes. Well, I don't mean that this incident ALONE shows the police state. It's more like this is an example of the police state. And when you add other examples, like the gun confiscation in New Orleans, you get the bigger picture. Have you read any of the Patriot Acts? The stuff in there is LITERALLY from Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. It has provisions for secret arrests; it actually PUNISHES cops who report your arrest to newspapers, for example. Not to mention the warrantless searches. And sure, they haven't started using this en masse, but the mere fact that this stuff is on the books is scary enough. On ATS a while back, I made a thread about secret police that are above the law. I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just telling you what I've read about.
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Post by Ceci on May 10, 2007 22:18:45 GMT -5
Well, on ATS, people would probably believe the notion of the police state a bit more than outside of the site. But, we can talk about it here. I think that there is more to this notion simply because of what you discussed about the Patriot Acts and the government's constant violation of the Constitution in terms of its policies regarding the War on Terror. But in terms of the police, you have to take into account the racial profiling that probably went on during the incident in LA. After all, the police, in some ways, has a long history of using it--especially in communities of color. With those things also into play, it is not surprising that the police would hit the crowds hard on May 1st. The LAPD has a lot to answer for in its response because the culture inside the police force is glacially changing.
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SeventhSeal17
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Post by SeventhSeal17 on May 10, 2007 23:02:04 GMT -5
I'm an Irish-American. I fear nothing and no one.
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Post by Ceci on May 10, 2007 23:16:15 GMT -5
I think that there are some things that have been done during the Bush administration that does lead up to the Police State in America. After all, when there is wire-tapping and datamining of our information as well as the incidents of torture in Gitmo, what happened on May 1st does eerily reflect a clamp down on the people's right to protest. After all, there has been a lot said that when George W. Bush was governor of Texas, he did not like people to protest there as well and set up "Free Speech" zones that were far from his speeches. This has been carried out during subsequent speaking engagements ever since.
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SeventhSeal17
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Post by SeventhSeal17 on May 11, 2007 9:12:46 GMT -5
I'm not saying there isn't the blueprint, or inner working for that matter, of a police state. I'm saying that as of now, 2007, nothing has progressed that far.
The clock is ticking on his administration... let's just hope there isn't too much damage already done.
And, to add to this, people aren't as stupid as they appear. If protests continue being broken up this way, you're going to find that the word "peaceful protest" will be a thing of the past.
If the police are going to stomp the hell out of me anyways, you can bet your ass I'd show up with an aluminum bat.
It's no different, really, then the labor strikes of Detroit for the Teamsters, or race riots in Los Angeles. When police get nasty... people get nasty.
And there are far more people then there are police.
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Post by truthseeka on May 16, 2007 10:56:20 GMT -5
There was another illegal alien protest recently when the cops used excessive force. There was a guy who flipped off illegal aliens who were talking smack to him. The cops took him out of the car and slammed his head into the pavement.
I'll look for a link to that...
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