It started with Scott Walker's book, "Unintimidated," where he portrayed protesters as ISIS like thugs trying to "intimidate" him. To anyone else, it looked like a First Amendment right to redress our government.
Walker's mischaracterization continues to fester and swell, portraying American protesters as anti-American. Oh my, that troublesome First Amendment.
Tell me if you think the woman in the video below should be charged with obstruction after being pushed to the ground by police, remaining on the ground until those same policeman cuff her and charge her with "interfering." Lesson: Protesting is now illegal in this country:
The St. Louis Metrololitan Police Department Department tweets, "Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in FOX 2's video failed to obey officers' orders and was charged with 'Interfering.'To one right wing observer who said he "was there," tweeted that while she was being pushed back and stumbling uncontrollably...
Yea, that's the ticket. Obstruction lying the pavement behind the police line. This nation is in serious trouble:
The video stirred outcry online, where some accused the officers of assaulting the woman. “They could have broken her hip like that,” one Twitter user wrote. “Who is that evil?”
The police department eventually responded to the backlash with a tweet, saying: “Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in @FOX2now's video failed to obey officers' orders & was charged w/ ‘Interfering’.”
Municipal police are not the best and brightest, and are neither civil libertarians and nor advocates for human rights. To the contrary.
ReplyDeletePolice do not hire on the basis of intellect and demonstrated history of defense of civil liberties.
Mostly, muny police post-911 are entitled gangs with a bad attitude who will harass, cite, arrest and in extreme cases kill with little or any cause.
Police misconduct is SOP.
What is unusual is people standing up and reporting and challenging what has happened.
However, adjudication is a joke. In Wisconsin, those cited with muny citations face muny judges who by statute are not required to possess even a J.D., (law), degree. Muny judges' job is to convict.
Entire communities, (mostly minorities) live with fear and dread of police and this situation provokes little outcry in the political culture.
I live in Fitchburg. On Aug. 9, 2016 I was obstructed from voting for some 35 minutes, after which I was cited for first one, then two, disorderly conduct citations. I challenged the bogus citations. Our home was subsequently harassed twice at approx 1:00 A.M., my partner was harassed by police while driving, and police and City Hall bureaucrats perjured themselves in open court, muny court.
This is a police state which can only operate with little public scrutiny, an aspect of most communities