This video posted here at the Huffington Post and shown earlier this week on Countdown with Keith Olbermann shows an out of control, rogue officer, bodycheck a bicyclist into the ground.  Had the bicyclist fallen differently, his head would have cracked on the concrete and he would have died.

"War" on Terror

Today at TPMCafe Senator John Kerry discussed ways our response to extremism and terrorism should be changed.  As so many well informed people have been saying all along about the "War on Terror," everything about the way our government approaches the subject needs to be rethought from the bottom up.  The basic strategy of Communist guerrilla recruiters, which was highly successful in so many places, was always to swell the ranks by winning over the hearts and minds of the local population.  Terrorist organizations have adopted roughly the same strategy.  The militaristic approach our nation has employed during the Bush years plays right into the hands of the recruiters.

More after the flip.

America's obsession with "the reefer" just bumped up against America's love of canines.

32 Pounds of Marijuana Found in Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

"He refused to comply with the officers and so the officers had to deploy their Tasers in order to subdue him. He is making incoherent statements; he's also making statements such as, ‘Shoot cops, kill cops,’ things like that. So there was cause for concern to the officers," said Ozark Police Capt. Thomas Rousset.

Techno RNC Style

Yesterday I saw a video described as a new advertisement attacking Obama.  The production quality was so poor I assumed it was a hoax.  This morning I found more references to it, meaning the RNC really did create it.  Watch the video here.  

What target audience could this ad possibly have been created for?  The only people who would become alarmed about a Marxist in the Obama campaign would never understand the video, because they would be like 100 years old.  Somebody should tell the RNC that the Soviet Union collapsed, and Marxists are like cute pets now.

More after the flip.

Law enforcement officials claim that Tasers save lifes. This may be true, in the broadest sense. But the fact is, Tasers DO kill people.

So why do police use them as their first option instead of as their last resort?

I want to do two things in this diary. Highlight the problem, and pose a very simple solution.

And, as an added bonus! read about the ones who elected to tase a severely injured young man who FELL OFF A BRIDGE!

NOTE: If you are a 'taser-praiser' - one of those otherwise "liberal" people who blindly sticks up for the police to do whatever they want (You probably welcomed the FISA sellout too, I imagine) - please don't waste your time reading this and just jump straight to the comment section and blast me for bringing this up and tell us all how great the taser is and how it's saving lives and making America safer.

If you are a reasonable individual who is noticing a growing problem with police and the "non-lethal taser" then make the jump for 2 new reports of cops gone wild with this damned things and one follow-up report where one ex-cop might just be held "accountable". Maybe.

I just had to share this with my fellow Kossacks...

Here is our wonderful officers doing their best to serve and protect in New York City.

Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride meant to promote awareness and use of bicycles as commuting alternatives.  Bicyclists in most states and cities enjoy the same right to the roads as do cars, trucks and SUVs.

But that "right to the road" is always a dangerous undertaking, for the cyclists involved.

This time the victim was white.  He had just suffered a 30 foot fall off a highway overpass in Ozark, Missouri, and had a broken back.  And then the cops arrived.  What happened next is hard to believe.  The boy was incoherent and refused to comply with the police officers' orders (maybe because he just suffered a 30 foot fall), so they tasered him 19 fucking times!  I bet that'll teach him some respect for law enforcement officials in the future:

(cont.)

It's not definite.

You know the effort that goes in to letting cops who have committed brutality and other crimes off the hook.

The coroner's report that has come back says the man may have been dead after the 7th of 9 50000-volt-jolts fired by the officer.

A 21 year old black man in Winnfield, Louisiana, named Baron "Scooter" Pikes, was tasered 9 times in 14 minutes by a white police officer in January after he was arrested and handcuffed.  He died.    Seems a tad excessive to me.  However, here's the story of his arrest and subsequent death according to the police report by the arresting officers:

(cont.)

Update [2008-7-20 15:34:52 by Steven D]: Title changed for Clarity.

Incredible, but true

Federal prosecutors said Yonkers officer Wayne Simoes used excessive force when he grabbed the woman by the waist, hoisted her in the air and slammed her, face first, into a tile floor.

Fellow officers didn't bat an eye when he did this, but now he is going to be charged with a federal civil rights violation.

A brutal attack on the part of the Memphis police against a transgender woman by all accounts is undergoing some internal investigation by the Memphis police; pressure needs to be put on them to insure that proper action is taken. Further, there needs to be greater media exposure of this brutal attack. Please read on to learn more about the attack, what is being done, and who you can contact to see that justice is served.

Via Pam's House Blend:

Follow me over the jump for more (and contact information for officials in Memphis).

Check out this video of a brutal police beating in a police station. A Memphis police officer didn't like the fact that Duanna Johnson, a black transwoman, didn't respond to the names "faggot" or "he/she," so he beat her with handcuffs and sprayed her with mace, and no one, not even the nurse who was sent out, helped her.

(Sorry, I can't embed the video format here and I can't find it on YouTube. But it's working on my site so please check it out there. And the text news report is after the jump.)

Homeowners Fighting Police Brutality Illegally Arrested, Never Charged

Home Closed by Dept. of Licensing & Inspections, Property Seized by PA State Police

Press Conference:  Tuesday, June 17th, 1 pm, Outside West Side of City Hall

Click here for a .doc version of the below release:
http://babel.serve.com/...

On Tuesday, June 17th, at 1pm, the owners and residents of 1652 Ridge
Avenue will hold a press conference on the western steps of City Hall to
inform reporters and interested parties about the June 13th police
action seizing their property and sealing off their home.  Please read
the release below for more details.

Contact:  Hannah Sassaman, hannahjs@prometheusradio.org, 267-970-4007
        Andy Switzer, andrew_switzer@hotmail.com, 267-269-5448

http://babel.serve.com/...

Winter Rabbit posted this diary on Tuesday night. This is an important report and perhaps you'll do what I did and send some dough.

Longest Walk, Ohio, police brutality

Imagine beginning to walk from San Francisco in order to raise awareness about American Indian concerns in a good way and having walked over 2,400 miles since February; but then, you get to Ohio where eight police cars come swooping at you while one does the blocking. Suddenly, an officer comes and reaches into the window, grabbing the wheel.

Source

COLUMBUS Ohio – Unprovoked Columbus, Ohio police, attacked Long Walkers, by first pointing a taser at the head of Michael Lane and then forcing Luv the Mezenger to the ground and handcuffing him.

The Longest Walk Northern Route was walking this prayer through Columbus on Monday, June 2, when squad cars and arrest wagons arrived. Without discussion of the purpose of the prayer walk, or even verify that the Ohio Department of Transportation had been notified of the prayer walk, police attacked the walkers.

Imagine beginning to walk from San Francisco in order to raise awareness about American Indian concerns in a good way and having walked over 2,400 miles since February; but then, you get to Ohio where eight police cars come swooping at you while one does the blocking. Suddenly, an officer comes and reaches into the window, grabbing the wheel.

Source

COLUMBUS Ohio – Unprovoked Columbus, Ohio police, attacked Long Walkers, by first pointing a taser at the head of Michael Lane and then forcing Luv the Mezenger to the ground and handcuffing him.
The Longest Walk Northern Route was walking this prayer through Columbus on Monday, June 2, when squad cars and arrest wagons arrived. Without discussion of the purpose of the prayer walk, or even verify that the Ohio Department of Transportation had been notified of the prayer walk, police attacked the walkers.