Killer Cop Defense: Auditory Exclusion.

Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby, right, being escorted into court for an early proceeding in her upcoming manslaughter trial in the killing of Terence Crutcher. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File.

Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby, right, being escorted into court for an early proceeding in her upcoming manslaughter trial in the killing of Terence Crutcher. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File.

The visual evidence of Terence Crutcher’s murder by Officer Betty Shelby was so clear, and so overwhelming, there was no choice when it came to prosecuting her. The sheer obviousness of her guilt has led her lawyers to trying out something new. It’s a twinkie defense, that’s clear, but we should all remember that juries will buy a twinkie defense, especially if they want to, which will most likely happen in this case.

…It will probably be a long time before Shelby sees the inside of a courtroom. But her lawyers are already previewing her case in the media — and Shelby’s attorneys have a strange argument they’ll use in her defense.

Shelby had no idea her backup was right behind her, prepared to subdue Crutcher with a less-lethal taser, the lawyers are saying, because she was temporarily deaf due to the stress of the situation. The law enforcement community calls it “auditory exclusion.”

“She didn’t hear the gunshot, didn’t hear the sirens coming up behind her just prior to the shot,” defense lawyer Scott Wood told the Associated Press last week. Auditory exclusion is “the no. 1 perceptual distortion by people I have represented who have been involved in shootings,” he added.

Wood’s scientific-sounding argument will make Betty Shelby’s ears a strange new battlefield in the struggle to reform American law enforcement. If her lawyers manage to present “auditory exclusion” as hard science, her trial will mark a step toward allowing the use of a cloud of medical-sounding jargon to obscure the implicit racial biases that cops carry to explain a killing that has all the hallmarks of the epidemic of biased policing of black people.

Is “Auditory Exclusion” Science or Subjectivity?

 

Professor Philip Stinson, a former cop and criminal lawyer who now teaches at Bowling Green State University, maintains the most comprehensive database anywhere on police officer prosecutions for killing civilians. Out of 77 officers charged with murder or manslaughter for killing a civilian since the start of 2005, he said, none appears to have argued in court that “auditory exclusion” excused their actions.

“From my standpoint, it’s completely nuts,” Stinson told ThinkProgress. “I don’t see this being admissible at all.”

But researchers diverge on whether people can go temporarily deaf under duress.

Those ThinkProgress reached who study the brain’s physiology said they know of no research supporting it. “Stress does all sorts of things to sensory systems,” wrote Stanford neurologist Dr. Robert Sapolsky, “but the idea of deafening is ludicrous.” Dr. Andrew Steptoe at University College London, who studies “peritraumatic dissociation” during episodes of intense fear or stress, said the idea is plausible “but I know of no solid evidence for this.”

But approached from a psychologist’s perspective, the theory is better grounded. Penn State Behrend associate professor Melanie Hetzel-Riggin said it helps to imagine the difference between hardware and software here.

“On the hardware side, they’re right, there’s probably no physiological problem in that your hearing itself is fine. What’s happening is the info isn’t going anywhere,” she said. “It is possible, although I’m unaware of any research supporting this one way or the other, that during that experience of threat your hearing could be focusing on that and not anything else going on around you.”

[…]

Police training materials are commonly designed to neutralize the panic psychology that Shelby’s lawyers hope will exonerate her. Simulations like the “force option simulator” at San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Training Center are in widespreaduse.

With public pressure for reform mounting over the past couple years, police departments have invited reporters to try their hand at the simulators as part of a PR offensive.

The reporter sessions illustrate how your average geek off the street would struggle with the stresses of the job, to be sure. But the point of the training is to ensure cops are better than us at this stuff. The people whom society entrusts with deadly force and unique authority are supposed to know how to avoid such dangerous responses to something that overloads our brain’s fight-flight instincts. Police academies traditionally give 13 times as much attention to training officers to handle violent situations professionally as to deescalation practices.

“The good thing about police officers and other people who are emergency responders is they have all this training to make it muscle memory, to make it automatic,” said Hetzel-Riggin.

“There are many situations that are going to be perceived as less threatening, because police officers have the training, the practice.”

With all that training, there’s only one thing left – implicit bias. And all too often, when it comes to cops, explicit bias. It’s a problem everyone is tip-toeing around, and it’s the one problem which desperately needs to be addressed. Way more than enough people have been murdered by cops.

Full story is at Think Progress.

Standing Rock (Inyan Woslata).

Standing Rock Joins the World’s Indigenous Fighting for Land and Life.

 

Frank Cooper and Kaya Littleturtle of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina greet Sami representatives from Norway, Inger Biret, Kvernmo Gaup, and Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska on Friday. Desiree Kane.

Frank Cooper and Kaya Littleturtle of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina greet Sami representatives from Norway, Inger Biret, Kvernmo Gaup, and Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska on Friday. Desiree Kane.

From Paris to Standing Rock It’s the Climate Choices Ahead.

 

President Barack Obama congratulates Senior Advisor Brian Deese on the first day of the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2016. Deese worked with Secretary of State John Kerry and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to make the agreement possible. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough watches at left. Pete Souza/White House.

President Barack Obama congratulates Senior Advisor Brian Deese on the first day of the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2016. Deese worked with Secretary of State John Kerry and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to make the agreement possible. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough watches at left. Pete Souza/White House.

Militarization and Mistaken Identity: Police Crack Down on DAPL Protectors.

 

An increasingly militarized police presence is cracking down via video and other technology to identify and arrest water protectors at Dakota Access pipeline construction sites—even when they're not present. Mary Annette Pember.

An increasingly militarized police presence is cracking down via video and other technology to identify and arrest water protectors at Dakota Access pipeline construction sites—even when they’re not present. Mary Annette Pember.

Dalrymple has managed to “borrow” up to 6 million dollars from a state owned bank, to feed police to protect people from the scary Indians and allies.  And Kirchmeier is planning to call on cops in Laramie, Wyoming, to come here and “help”.  I’m furious and disgusted.

Tribal Leaders Speak at DC #NoDAPL Rally.

 

All via ICTMN.

Lawyer Kills Wife, Blames Black Lives Matter.

Atlanta — Attorney Tex McIver, shown in this 2010 photo.

Atlanta — Attorney Tex McIver, shown in this 2010 photo.

A wealthy, white attorney in Georgia has shot his wife to death, and conveniently blames a fear of Black Lives Matter for the ‘incident’. This story has more holes than ragged lace, and it looks like cops are going right along with it, leaving pertinent information out of their report, and not bothering to ask pesky questions, like “why did you go to a hospital that was further away, when there was one right there?” There’s also the question of falling asleep, right after claiming to be in fear of his life. Really? I’ve been deeply scared before, it’s never induced me to take a nap.

According to reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tex McIver killed his wife, Diane McIver, while they were returning to Atlanta after a weekend getaway.

McIver, a high-profile lawyer in Atlanta, told his wife to sit in the front passenger’s seat and he sat in the back seat while a chauffeur drove them home. At some point during the trip, the driver exited the highway to avoid traffic near downtown Atlanta. McIver told police that he heard about Black Lives Matter protests in Buckhead and after several individuals approached the vehicle near Peachtree and Pine streets (where a homeless shelter is located), he feared that he would be carjacked. As a result of being afraid, he told his wife to hand him a gun that was in the glove department and wrapped in a plastic grocery bag. At some point, McIver said he fell asleep near Piedmont Park, which is less than five minutes from where he first became frightened, and shot his wife in the back after the driver hit a bump in the road. She eventually died from the gunshot wound. After being questioned by Atlanta police, McIver was allowed to leave without being arrested.

However, there are several inconsistencies in McIver’s story. The Black Lives Matter rally that he referred to took place five days earlier near Lenox Mall, about 10 miles away from where he claimed he feared that a Black protester would carjack him. Moreover, there has never been an incident in Atlanta where a Black Lives Matter protester carjacked or committed armed robbery during a protest. Also, the driver took Diane to a hospital on Clifton Road, which is four miles away from where she was shot. Emory Midtown Hospital was less than two miles away.

Also, the Atlanta Police Department have been less than transparent. The officer who responded to the shooting did not list the driver in the police report or include any of his or her statements. The APD has said very little about the shooting or investigation since releasing a report two days after the shooting occurred.

Golly, nothing wrong about that story, oh no. FFS, it could hardly be more apparent that the cops are not going to even pretend to do their supposed job here. So nice to be white and wealthy, yeah?

Via Rollingout. The Daily Kos also has a look at this tall tale, and takes a good look at all those gaping holes the cops don’t seem to care about.

Standing Rock: Cops Continue to Lie.

Courtesy Sacred Stone Camp Police raise weapons and approach unarmed water protectors at a peaceful action on September 28, 2016

Courtesy Sacred Stone Camp
Police raise weapons and approach unarmed water protectors at a peaceful action on September 28, 2016

 

A police officer raises his weapon at unarmed water protector. Courtesy Leland Dick.

A police officer raises his weapon at unarmed water protector. Courtesy Leland Dick.

 

Women plant willow tree seedlings in the path of Dakota Access construction on September 25. Courtesy Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN).

Women plant willow tree seedlings in the path of Dakota Access construction on September 25. Courtesy Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN).

As I wrote in this post, cops are getting increasingly worrisome here in Ndakota. Sarah Sunshine Manning has a column up at ICTMN, please go read, and more importantly, share! We need help getting the truth out, and countering the increasing amount of lies coming from cops and oil corps.

Last week, water protectors from the camps near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, engaged in peaceful non-violent direct action at three different Dakota Access Construction sites. And despite the peaceful and prayerful atmosphere at all three sites, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department quickly released a statement alleging that the demonstration turned violent, and that one unidentified Dakota Access security worker was assaulted by “protestors” as knives and guns were wielded.

Water protectors on the ground vehemently refute this claim, and they contend that the allegations of the Morton County Sheriff’s Department are completely fabricated.

Still, just days later on September 28, police confronted water protectors with armored police vehicles blocking the road, and with shotguns drawn, as water protectors gathered for another peaceful action.

The unarmed water protectors reported being terrified, and many made frantic and fearful pleas over social media calling for support and help.

“Please share and make everyone aware!” Linda Black Elk posted on Facebook. “COPS WITH GUNS DRAWN APPROACHING UNARMED PEACEFUL PROTECTORS.”

For many water protectors, social media has become a means of documenting actions in order to counter the continued false narratives of the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

The tactics of the Morton County Sheriff’s Department and Dakota Access continue a tragically predictable pattern of villainizing peaceful protests in order to justify excessive police, security and military presence.

It is critical that the voices of water protectors on the ground be elevated.

Nick Tilsen, an organizer and executive director for Thunder Valley CDC, was among those present at the prayerful action Sunday as well as the action where the alleged violence occurred; the same alleged violence that prompted excessive police force later in the week.

In an interview with Sonali Kolhatkar of the show “Rising Up with Sonali,” Tilsen said of the accusations of violence and the attack on a security worker “is 100-percent wrong. This false accusation is totally made up.”

Tilsen said the allegations were nothing more than propaganda.

“By the time we got to the construction site, all of the workers had packed up and left, because they saw us walking for a quarter of a mile,” Tilsen said. “We actually didn’t have interaction with the security guards or interaction with the workers that day.”

According to water protectors and journalists on the ground, all actions that day were peaceful. Additionally, women, children and elders continue to be among those standing in prayer for water and life.

The first peaceful action on September 25 took place much earlier than the action where the alleged violence took place. This earlier action was at a Dakota Access construction site in South Dakota, where a handful of water protectors gathered before daylight and strung over a thousand small prayer ties across Dakota Access machinery.

The full article, and more images is here. If you are able, please, please share, get this news out, get it everywhere, we need help with this.

How Not to Stop Police Violence.

Dash camera footage shows violent arrest of Sandra Bland. CREDIT: Associated Press

Dash camera footage shows violent arrest of Sandra Bland. CREDIT: Associated Press.

As the fight to end police violence rages on across the country, a state senator in Texas wants high schoolers to learn how to communicate with law enforcement during traffic stops. But the proposed curriculum assumes that the people targeted during those stops are the problem— not the officers.

Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) is currently eyeing legislation that would require schools to teach ninth graders about encounters with police on the road. Noting that there’s a deep-seated mistrust of police, he wants the Texas Board of Education to ensure that young people learn what their rights are early on. But Whitmire, who says his idea was inspired by Sandra Bland’s violent arrest and subsequent death in custody, also wants students to learn how they should behave around officers who pull them over.

“Ms. Bland’s tragedy is a huge motivation for me to hold the officer accountable and also assist the public in some of the better practices when they encounter law enforcement,” he told the Texas Tribune. “[If] Ms. Bland and the officer would have taken a deep breath, I don’t believe she would have been taken to jail, where she ultimately met her fate, unfortunately because she was not treated right when she got to jail.”

She wasn’t treated right? She was murdered, Senator. Dead, never coming back. That’s more than not being “treated right”, we aren’t talking about cops being rude.

As for teenagers in Texas, it’s impossible to know if officers will shoot them during traffic stops — even if they’re obeying orders and expressing their rights in a respectful way. While Whitmire said that officers should also let go of the “‘I caught you’ mentality,” his proposal still puts the responsibility of de-escalation on teenagers, rather than the adults hired to serve and protect them.

Local police officers included in conversations about the proposed legislation agree that the responsibility to reduce tension during a stop shouldn’t fall on officers’ shoulders.

“On the side of the street is not the place to litigate what you believe the officer is doing is wrong or what the officer believes you are doing wrong,” Executive Director Kevin Lawrence of the Texas Municipal Police Association explained to the Tribune. “It needs to be a better understanding by our general citizenry of what law enforcement is expecting of them. They need to understand that when they’re being contacted by a law enforcement officer — we’ll just take a traffic stop as an example — they need to think about that stop from the officer’s point of view, not their own.”

There isn’t enough fuck you, and fuck that in the universe for this continued idiocy. No, cops need to be accountable, and the responsibility for not escalating anything at all should be firmly on the shoulders of every single cop. You want to swagger around, weighed down by weapons, playing lord of the universe, you fucking take responsibility. I can’t even express how much I hate this shit, that it’s on me and every other person out there to prevent our own murder, especially as cops seem to be very keen on murdering people who are not only fully complying and have their hands up, they are now seen as a threat after they have been tased, for fuck’s sake! No, cops, go fuck yourself, you are all wrong, wrong, wrong. You stand up, and take responsibility. You stand up and do the right thing. You stand up for your community, because you are a part of that community. You point the finger at the bigots, the violent morons in uniform standing next to you. You point the finger at all the bullies. You refuse to work with them, you refuse to work at all unless there are goddamn standards put in place. Point the finger at all those upstanding people in blue who go home at night and beat the shit out of their partners and kids, then wander around with weapons the next day. Clean up your own houses, put that focus on policing yourselves. There isn’t a person anywhere who can trust a fucking cop.

While well-intentioned, Whitmire isn’t the first lawmaker to offer advice about how to behave around cops. And not all of that advice has been positive.

Following the shooting death of Jamar Clark in Minnesota, Rep. Tony Cornish (R) wrote an op-ed about how to “reduce the use of force by police.” In it, he wrote, “Don’t be a thug and lead a life of crime so that you come into frequent contact with police,” and “Don’t make furtive movements or keep your hands in your pockets if told to take them out.”

This year alone, police have shot multiple people who had their hands raised.

Full story at Think Progress.

Amnesty International Smacks Kirchmeier.

Via Facebook.

Via Facebook.

Amnesty International has turned their attention to Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, an incompetent bigot who has repeatedly run to media with reports of pipe bombs, guns, knives, and violence in the camps at Standing Rock, and has been proven wrong every time, but he continues to do this. With the last peaceful direct action being met with armored vehicles, cops in armored riot gear and wielding assault rifles at people who were planting corn and willow, he once again shows his plain desire to rain down violence and destruction on peaceful people. He managed to restrain himself to arresting 21 people. I have mentioned our surprise at seeing a monstrous, shiny, new mobile command center hulking behind silos, last week on our way into camp. Kirchmeier has all the shiny, militarized goodies, and it’s apparent that he’s just aching to use them. Not once has he or his force bothered to protect the Standing Rock Protectors, he refused to stop the attack and assault by private goons, but instead chose to run to the media with stories of those poor, beset upon goons and their vicious animals. Indians? Oh, who cares about them?

Kirchmeier has been trying, every day, to amp things up, and it’s getting very worrying now, because all it will take is one moment, one loss of control, one bullet fired. Ndakota doesn’t offer much opportunity for “action”, the kind of action a strutting chicken like Kirchmeier would like to see. I get the feeling he sees this as one chance for some of that glorious cop action, a story to end his days on. This man is dangerous because he is weak, and too in love with those shiny, militarized toys.

Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier
Morton County Sheriff’s Department

28 September 2016

Dear Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier:

Following the protests that took place at a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site on 3 September, we are writing to ask you to investigate the use of force by private contractors, remove blockades and discontinue the use of riot gear by Morton County Sheriff’s deputies when policing protests in order to facilitate the right to peaceful protests in accordance with international law and standards.

[Read more…]

Black Lives Matter.

A Black Lives Matter demonstrator (Shuttershock)

A Black Lives Matter demonstrator (Shuttershock)

Have a wander over to http://blacklivesmatter1.com/ – you can keep up with the latest news, and help out a bit by becoming a member, donating, or just spreading the word. And don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter. Everyone who reads here should know the importance of signal boosting, can’t stop the signal!

White Saviors Need Not Apply.

Stop Mass Incarcerations Network sponsored a children's march on the anniversary of Tamir Rice's death at the hands of the Cleveland police (a katz / Shutterstock.com)

Stop Mass Incarcerations Network sponsored a children’s march on the anniversary of Tamir Rice’s death at the hands of the Cleveland police (a katz / Shutterstock.com)

In this post, I wrote about problematic white people at the Očeti Sakowiŋ camp. Certainly this does not apply to all white people, there are plenty of thoughtful, mindful white people who get it. As with most people who manage to do the right thing, they get to be unsung heroes, because it’s more important to talk about people who are serious problems, big ol’ roadblocks when it comes to any sort of social progress. I have no doubt there are plenty of times when white people feel as though they are constantly picked on, but it’s desperately important to understand that there are many good reasons for that.

Here in uStates, and in way too many other places in the world, people have been brought up and raised in a drowning pool of colonial kool-aid. Colonial thinking is extremely bad, it’s bad for everyone and everything. It’s destructive, dismissive, disrespectful, condescending, and unthinkingly arrogant. It’s short-term thinking, which is the very worst kind. There’s no looking to the past, through the present, into the future. Colonial thinking does not allow for a time bridge, or the importance of all generations, past, present, and yet to come. Look at the photo up there ^. Look at that child’s face. Every child’s face should reflect trust and happiness. That so many children, all over the world, know fear, distrust, and suspicion at such young ages is wrong on every possible level. That so many children, if they are not white, are viewed as sufficiently mature to be a threat, therefor, it’s okay for them to be gunned down by cops and citizens. Wrong. So wrong. That’s racism run amok, when you target children and think it’s okay to do that, for those children.

I know I’m not alone in being very tired of the fact that in spite of everywhere, in every way, every. single. thing. is made better, easier, softer, kinder for white people, yet they still manage to complain if the sugar-coating on a bitter pill isn’t thick enough.

I have mentioned, so many times, that I’m half white, and it’s that half which shows on the outside. When I’ve been at the camps, frinst., and someone is speaking about wašiču, and not in a nice way, I don’t take offense, I don’t get upset in any way. I listen, because generally speaking, I know I’m going to hear something valuable. Sure, I often hear things which hurt, but that happens when you’re trying to always learn throughout your journey on this earth. When you do hear things that hurt, it’s important that your hearing isn’t overwhelmed to the point that you miss bitterness, generational trauma, and/or the pain of deep wounds from the speaker. When you miss things like that, you miss the opportunity to understand. When you miss the opportunity to understand, you lose the opportunity of forgiveness and healing. When you lose the opportunity of forgiveness and healing, you lose the ability to be an ally. When you lose the ability to be an ally, you lose the possibility of peace.

When you’re white, at least here in uStates, it’s so very easy to be dismissive of the deep wounds of generational trauma; to handwave horrible acts because that was X amount of years ago. Ask yourself, if you have been hurt, does it help if someone tells you to get over it already? It’s not possible to “get over something” when that something has never been addressed in any meaningful way. It’s not possible to “get over something” when a majority of people refuse to even consider said harmful acts, and the repercussions echoing down the generations. Would white people consider it helpful if I simply posted: “White people, get over yourselves!”?

Then there’s the problem of white people trying to help when they have no understanding and little respect. Then you get people who are determined to be white saviors. No one is looking for white saviors. People of colour have already had long histories with white people who considered themselves saviors to the “lesser” races. Being an ally, that’s good. A wannabe savior? Bad. Lorraine Berry has a very good article up about the selective doubt of white people, and the savior problem. It’s in-depth, so just a bit here, click on over for the full read, and it’s a good one.

White people spend a lot of time telling black folks what their stories mean. If it’s not white writers insisting that they can tell a person of color’s story better than a black writer can, or Trump running mate Mike Pence telling black people that they talk about systemic racism too much, or Iowa Congressman Steve King telling Colin Kaepernick what his protest against police brutality “really means,” or folks who insist that “slavery wasn’t that bad,” there’s no shortage of white folks who insist that they know better than black folks when it comes to interpreting what happens to black bodies. It would be tempting to dismiss it all as the ravings of a minority of kooks if it weren’t for the ubiquity of the phenomenon. Everywhere, it seems, white people just can’t help themselves.

[Read more…]

Standing Rock Camp: The Bad.

12

13

Okay, this is the 2nd part of being back at Očeti Sakowiŋ camp on Wednesday, the 28th September. First part is here. The photos are full size, click for readability. It took a considerable amount of restraint to stop myself from titling this post: White People, Please, Sit Down and Shut Up. As I have mentioned before, many times, you’d never know I was any part Indian going by looks. I’m quite white, and and right now, I’d be happier if I dyed myself purple or something, anything to be dissociated from the behaviour on the part of some white people at the camp. Standard Disclaimer: there are a lot of white folks at the camps who are terrific people, helping out, and being a good and important part of the community. Unfortunately, this does not mitigate the behaviour of other white people.

The rules, detailed above, have been in place, but they are now written out and emphasised throughout the camps, and still, white people are managing to be utterly oblivious, and continue to break them, because, well, those rules, they can’t mean me, right? Yes, they mean you, oh great white crunchy saviours.

It’s no secret that a good amount of young white people flocked to the Red Warrior camp early on, months ago. That’s fine, but white people, you really, seriously need to sit down, shut the fuck up, listen, learn, pay attention, and figure out how respect works. Respect is not something which is owed only to white people.

There were even more young blonde women in camp, sporting dreadlocks. Perhaps that’s some sort of attempted connection to Celtic roots, I don’t know, but many of these young women were waltzing about the communal area in full privilege blindness, seeming to think this was a crunchy white person nature camp. It isn’t. It’s not considered terribly respectful to walk around the communal area with one breast exposed because your two year old child might want a drink, either. A tiny bit of sense can go a very long way. A lot of young white people are duly fired up about issues, and that’s fine, but where is your respect for doing things the Indigenous way? These same young white people are continually advocating for going out to the DA work sites and protesting in a decidedly non-Indigenous manner. They talk constantly about going up to “the front lines”.

That happened while we were there on Wednesday morning. Much agitation about going out to the “front lines”. A whole lot of young people went out, and they didn’t come back. They were all arrested, with one exception. One of the very crunchy, “nature camp” young women, white, took the open mic and was trying to explain the arrests, and what happened, then backtracked to why she was there, speaking. She had taken her toddler with her, and said she was about to be arrested when she brought her child out, and asked what would happen to her. The cops decided to let her go, rather than place her child in the system, since she’s not from here. As she was saying all this, a furious young Native woman, standing by the rule boards in the first photo, slammed her hand down on the appropriate place on the board, and yelled at her for taking her small child, and not paying attention to the rules. The young crunchy woman muttered something, dropped the mic and took off. To say that white people need a lesson in figuring out respect is an understatement, to say the least. This is not your nature camp, and any retaliation won’t land on you, it will land on the people who live here. We don’t need white leaders, we don’t need white saviours, and we don’t need the damn near impenetrable shield of obliviousness so many white people walk around with.

After the arrests, Phyllis Young had something to say. She started out by saying she was going to go easy this time, apparently, the day before, she had been absolutely infuriated by all the front line talk and more. In particular, she seriously dislikes front lines. I agree with her, front lines is a term of war. Ms. Young talked about understanding warmongering, she was a warmonger in her youth, she was at Wounded Knee in the ’70s. That’s not what is happening here and now though, or at least, it’s not what is supposed to be happening here and now. Ms. Young talked about white people playing saviour, and that in doing so, they had only one frame of reference, that of war. The collective memory of white America is nothing but war. There’s nothing else. This is not in any way helpful to all the people at the camps, it is not in any way helpful to all those who actually live here, and who will have to live with the consequences of stupid actions. Ms. Young wanted to know who was going to come up with the bail money, who was going to get everyone out of jail. Who was going to pay the court costs, the fines that will be imposed. I’m willing to bet it won’t be the wannabe white saviours. There’s also the issue of young Native people ending up with a criminal record. White people might consider that some sort of badge of honour, but need to remember they are white. A record won’t impact them nearly to the same extent it will affect a person of colour, especially a person of colour living on a reservation. FFS, is it all that much to ask white people to bloody think?

There have also been pro-pipeline infiltrators in the camps, white people, natch. Again, there’s some young white person agitating, talking about needing to go out to the “front lines” and setting up a time and place. A second person sits up on a hill with a telescope, and informs the cops of the destination. The cops get there first, everyone gets arrested, and no one makes it back to camp. As I mentioned in the first part, the presence of cops has been seriously amped up, and they have a monster mobile command center just past the turn off to Sacred Stone Camp. They have militarized vehicles, SWAT, and are running around with assault rifles. Indigenous people know we cannot afford to make this a war, cops and others are just waiting for an excuse. White people may see all that as a challenge, but that’s entirely the wrong point of view to have at the camp.

In conclusion, white people, please, I fucking beg of you, stop. Just fucking stop. Sit down. Listen. Learn. Pay attention to the rules. Understand that you are an ally, but also understand that you have no particular stake in what happens at Standing Rock. After this, you get to go home and pat yourself on the back for being a “good” white person. Before you deliver that pat, it would be useful to figure out what constitutes a good white person, a good ally. Understand that it is not your camp. Understand that this is not a war, and it’s certainly not up to you to make it one. Understand that you are not a saviour of any kind, nor are saviours being sought. Understand that you are still thinking in a completely colonial way. Understand that colonialism got us into this situation, it won’t help get us out. Learn respect. And please, stop being so damn embarrassing.

For all you wonderful people who are making things or have things to send, this is where:

For those of you who have things to send, this is where:

SHIP TO:

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
attn: Johnelle Leingang
North Standing Rock Ave
Fort Yates, North Dakota, 58538

Much, much, much love, thanks, and appreciation. It might be a small thing to you, but it’s in no way small at all, your generosity and love shines through.

Arizona Cops: No Native Voices Allowed.

Protectors of the sacred Moadag Do’ag Mountain - Photo Amanda Blackhorse.

Protectors of the sacred Moadag Do’ag Mountain – Photo Amanda Blackhorse.

I find myself constantly running headfirst into the conclusion that most white people have zero understanding of the concept of respect, unless they mean what they feel is owed to themselves. This has become a serious problem at the camp, but I’m not quite up to going in to that one yet, I’m still trying to tamp my anger down. Heading up the worst of the worst when it comes to arrogant white people who think they owe no one or no thing any respect, it’s our favourite: cops. The Tonoho O’odham, Ahwatukee, and Gila River communities have been fighting to protect Moadag Do’ag (South Mountain) in Phoenix, Arizona. This is an age old story. Indians fight to protect what is important to them, government rolls over them, most people are ignorant of the ongoing fights of indigenous people everywhere, and don’t much care, white people either sneer or try to take over and play saviour, and cops act well outside their authority in putting Indigenous people down. Once again, young people are active in trying to preserve their culture, and to protect their lands, and the lesson they learned? No native voices, please.

Calling for the end to the pre-construction of a six-lane highway that will parallel and cut through the southwestern part of a sacred mountain, the Ahwatukee and the Gila River Indian community hopes to deliver a message to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) that the fight to protect Moadag Do’ag (South Mountain) in Phoenix, Arizona is far from over.

However, before they could share their views with the agencies involved, local authorities told community members — which included the Protecting Arizona Resources and Children organization, approximately 20 O’odham runners from the Gila River Indian Community and others — that their sacred prayer items would not be allowed into the ADOT community meeting.

Prior to the meeting, the community, which is also concerned that the highway is set to parallel the community of Ahwatukee and the Gila River Indian Community reservation boundaries, hosted a 10-mile prayer run from an encampment at the sacred mountain Moadag Thadiwa to Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee, Arizona.

The public meeting, sponsored by ADOT and Connect 202, was a preliminary design meeting to gather feedback and the opinions of community members.

The peaceful group arrived for the meeting Tuesday evening, but were denied entrance to the facility by police. At first, the police stated the prayer staff carried by the O’odham runners was not allowed in the meeting because it could be considered a weapon. But when members of the group volunteered to leave their staff and prayer sticks outside, the police allegedly changed their rules.

Another runner who was holding a single eagle feather was then told the group was not allowed to attend the public meeting because Desert Vista High School doesn’t allow religious items onto their campus.

The group attempted to explain the items were for prayer but the police officers did not allow passage.

One member of the group went into the ADOT planning meeting without a prayer staff and announced the purpose of the prayer run and the need to protect Moadag. The police immediately escorted the speaker and others out of the building.

Outside, a runner sang the traditional O’odham song of Moadag and then it rained. The police then announced the group had to leave school property.

Amanda Blackhorse at ICTMN has the full story.

To read more about the fight to save Moadag and the current encampment at Moadag visit their Facebook page.

Alfred Olango: Tasered and Shot to Death.

Agnes Hasam, a family friend of the Alfred Olango, speaks to protesters gathered at the El Cajon Police Department headquarters to protest fatal shooting of an unarmed black man Tuesday by officers in El Cajon, California, U.S. September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Earnie Grafton

Agnes Hasam, a family friend of the Alfred Olango, speaks to protesters gathered at the El Cajon Police Department headquarters to protest fatal shooting of an unarmed black man Tuesday by officers in El Cajon, California, U.S. September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Earnie Grafton

In the latest shooting, two officers responded to calls about an African-American man in his 30s walking in traffic and “not acting like himself,” according to police in El Cajon, a city of about 100,000 residents some 15 miles (24 km) northeast of San Diego.

Police did not immediately identify the victim, but local activists and friends named him as Ugandan-born Alfred Olango. They said he was mentally ill and that he may have been suffering a seizure in the moments before his death.

[…]

El Cajon officers found Olango behind a restaurant at about 2 p.m. PDT (2100 GMT) on Tuesday and ordered him to remove his hand from his pocket. After he refused, one officer drew a firearm and the other readied a Taser device, police said.

Olango paced back and forth as the officers tried to talk to him with their weapons pointed at him, police said.

Police said Olango then pulled an object from his front pants pocket, placed both hands together and extended them toward an officer in “what appeared to be a shooting stance.”

The officers simultaneously shot and used the Taser on the man, who died after being taken to the hospital, police said.

No weapon was found at the scene, El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis told reporters. He did not say what the man was pointing.

“Now is a time for calm,” Davis said. “I implore the community to be patient with us, work with us, look at the facts at hand before making any judgment.”

Actually, I think it’s time for cops to explain why they think tasering and gunning someone down at the same time is now the thing to do. Cops everywhere, gunning people down, bearing more similarity to the bad old days of mob rule than any type of “law and order”. FFS, this has to stop, and no more moronic excuses of “I was scared”. Tasers incapacitate people, there’s no need to follow them up with any bullet, let alone a round of fatal ones. Out of control Keystone Cops, yeah, you’re doing a great fucking job out there.

Via Raw Story, here and here.

University of North Dakota: How To Be A Racist Ass.

More University of North Dakota students wear blackface (Photo: Facebook).

More University of North Dakota students wear blackface (Photo: Facebook).

Just what in the fuck is being taught at UND? How to be the very best racist you can be?

The University of North Dakota is investigating another racially-charged photo that was posted to social media. This time, the photo contains four white people wearing black facial masks with the caption “Black Lives Matter”.

A facebook user posted the picture on her page, tagging UND saying “the problem is growing worse here at UND.”

UND spokesperson tells Valley News Live that police and administration were notified Wednesday about the picture and they are investigating. The spokesperson tells us the students in the picture attend UND.

This picture comes just 24 hours after another one. The first picture was posted on snapchat. It showed three white students smiling and holding up a peace sign with the caption of “locked the black b*tch out.”

UND President Mark Kennedy sent out statement on Thursday saying he is appalled that within 48 hours two photos have been taken and that the university has much work to do.

Nice you think so, Mr. Kennedy. I’d say you haven’t been paying much attention to what’s happening right under your nose. I’m really not sure why you’re all of a sudden appalled, as you do live Ndakota, and surely you must be aware of the rampant racism problem here, first and foremost against us Prairie ni**ers (Indians), then anyone else who isn’t a lovely shade of pasty white.

The following statement is from UND President Mark Kennedy:

I am appalled that within 48 hours two photos with racially-charged messages have been posted on social media and associated with the UND campus community. It is abundantly clear that we have much work to do at the University of North Dakota in educating our students, and the entire University community on issues related to diversity, inclusion, and respect for others.

The UND Police Department and the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities are going through their processes in investigating these two incidences. We are moving as fast as we can. I understand that we all would like a swift resolution. However, our society, our legal system, and campus conduct processes are predicated on due process. We must maintain the integrity of our policies and procedures by following due process.

I have been disappointed to learn that we have people in our university community who don’t know that the kind of behavior and messaging demonstrated in these two photos is not ok, and that, in fact, it is inexcusable.

Our mission is educational in nature. Our student conduct process is educational in nature. This is our opportunity to provide an education to all members of our campus community, especially those who may not understand the gravity of their actions. Based upon my conversations with students and others, I can assure you that the messages of the two photos are painful to many individuals.

I have heard from many within our campus community, as well as alums and individuals not directly connected to the University, who are encouraging us to use this situation as an opportunity to address what some see as long standing issues within our community and across the country.

We must demand better of ourselves and our university community. I am directing my team to explore best practices for diversity education amongst premier institutions and will work collaboratively with the AVP for Diversity and Inclusion and University Senate to bring it to reality at UND.

As I have said before, we value diversity and inclusion and take seriously respect for others as well as the exchange of different thoughts and ideas. To achieve the vision of One UND, we must take steps to demonstrate these values across our university community.

You really want to do something, Mr. Kennedy? First, dump the UND cops. There isn’t a cop shop anywhere in Ndakota that isn’t a hotbed of bigots. Next, lose the mealy-mouthed, “well, we must investigate for a really long time” bullshit, because what that says is that you’re going to use that line until this conveniently blows over, assuming more open bigotry doesn’t pop up on student social media. For once, stand up, tell the truth, and fucking do something, because you have a bigger problem than you think – not only are you rife with white students who are asshole bigots, they appear to be quite fucking stupid, too. At the very least, you may wish to seriously up the standards for white students, just to insure minimal intelligence.

Via KYFR.

A Cop’s Accidental Discharge.

Reynier Miranda at his home in Southwest Miami-Dade on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo: Roberto Koltun rkoltun@elnuevoherald.com).

Reynier Miranda at his home in Southwest Miami-Dade on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo: Roberto Koltun rkoltun@elnuevoherald.com).

MIAMI — Raynier Miranda had committed no crime. He was no threat. And he was in the hallway of his building when he was shot by a cop — who had no idea she’d shot him.

Now the South Miami-Dade maintenance worker is recovering at home after surgery and Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Wanda Roman has been suspended.

Last week, the South Miami-Dade maintenance worker was cleaning the hallway at the West Kendall apartment complex where he also lives. At the same time, Roman was inside her apartment cleaning her revolver. The gun went off.

The bullet went through the front door and struck the unsuspecting cleaning man. It wasn’t until he reached the hospital that Miranda learned he’d been shot — the bullet piercing the aortic artery in his left arm and passing through his chest half an inch from his heart.

“I had no idea what happened. I didn’t see anybody around. I had no idea,” Miranda said Thursday, speaking in Spanish. “I was bleeding. I saw a lady coming and I started yelling for help.”

Miami-Dade police had little to say about the shooting, calling it an open investigation. They did say Roman is a 10-year veteran and has been suspended with pay pending a criminal investigation into the shooting. Her personnel file wasn’t available Thursday.

A source familiar with the investigation, however, said Roman wasn’t suspended because of the accidental discharge. She was relieved of duty because she delayed telling her supervisor that her gun went off. That happened, the source said, because Roman had no idea Miranda had been shot until the incident was investigated.

Okay, hands up, who believes this load of nonsense? An open investigation. I should hope so. Cops are supposed to be trained in weapons safety. Pretty sure that includes unloading any ammunition prior to cleaning, buuuut that’s not what gets Ms. Roman in trouble, no. And she delayed mentioning this (translation: wasn’t going to say anything about it at all) because she had no idea she shot someone. Let’s see, if I’m cleaning a loaded weapon, and if that weapon fires, I can hear and see that happening. Pretty sure I’d notice a hole in my door, too. Not being a complete asshole, I’d rush to the door to make sure there wasn’t anyone in the hall at that time, because my first thoughts would be along the lines of “oh fuck, please don’t let anyone be outside, please don’t let anyone be outside, oh gods, what if I killed someone?” We’re expected to believe she just carried on, with no curiosity whatsoever about shooting through her door? This sounds like an episode of Keystone Kops.

The bullet that hit Miranda passed through his body and came out his back. He underwent surgery to close the artery in his arm and is now recovering at home. A sling holds up his left arm. Stitches run through his chest.

[…]

Married and the father of a 2-year-old, Miranda has been working at the apartment complex where he lives for three years. He moved to Miami from Cuba about five years ago. He has no plans to move because of the Sept. 15 incident and said he intends on returning to work after he recovers.

Miranda said he only knows Roman from exchanging pleasantries when they pass in the hallway. He said Roman hasn’t spoken with him since the shooting. If she did, Miranda said, he wouldn’t know what to say.

“I’m very frustrated. She’s caused me a lot of frustration,” he said. “It was very bad. I was in a lot of pain.”

Not even a “Oh hey, so sorry I almost killed you.” Apparently, Ms. Roman either does not care in the least, or is the most oblivious, unthinking, and uninquisitive person on the planet. If I had come that close to killing a young man, leaving his partner and child alone, I’d be crushed by guilt, sorrow, and regret. A terrific example of those who are supposed to protect and serve. At the very least, I hope to hell someone took Ms. Roman’s gun[s] away.

Via Raw Story.