Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Whole World Is Watching* ...

... but somehow the Denver thugs cops don't seem to realize that they can't abuse do business as usual.

First up, a knockdown, drag out fight ... between an unarmed woman from the non-violent group Code Pink that think they have the right to peaceably assemble and a right to free speech and a Denver cop:
CodePink protester is slammed to the ground by police in Denver
Follow the link and notice how the cop beat her down because she didn't obey their orders quick enough while they were establishing a 'perimeter.'

Notice that after bashing her with a billy club the cops left her and several other people alone and there was no perimeter established.

Also notice she was only arrested when she started explaining to a news crew what had happened.

Next up, the rest of the constitution goes out the window:
Protesters denied access to attorneys, forced to march in leg shackles

In the letter, obtained by RAW STORY, the ACLU revealed that the police refused those arrested access to attorneys. Police did not let detainees use phones unless they posted their own bonds, and even failed to provide shoes, in one case marching a protester into court in bare feet and leg shackles, according the ACLU.

What's more, police are said to have tricked protesters into pleading guilty, by giving them the impression they had to plead guilty in order to post bond. This meant that no one was allowed to make a phone call unless they plead guilty, thus making it impossible for arrestees to even call a lawyer until admitting guilt.

Most ominously, the ACLU letter claims that protesters were told they would be "facing 'years' in jail for a conviction of a single particular charge."

"In fact, all the charges were municipal court violations that do not carry such penalties," the ACLU added in a footnote.
And finally, there is this Cops Gone Wild video of them saying a public sidewalk is private property and literally shoving a producer from ABC out into traffic and then cursing him for obstructing traffic ... but it wasn't for 2 hours until they arrested him.

The capper is the headline from ABC that blames the Democrats for the cops actions:
ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors
Video is here.

I sense a pattern, the cops in Denver, (like cops everywhere), are willing to violate anyone's rights if they don't 'respect my authority.'[/Cartman]

They do it all the time, it's just hard to believe they do it when The Whole World Is Watching.

* The Whole World Is Watching was chanted by demonstrators during the police riot at the 1968 Dem convention.



Cross posted at SteveAudio

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