Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

Just saw this fascinating 2017 Pew poll while researching a column. Percentage of respondents who think the US has done enough to achieve racial equality:

White cops: 92%
White public: 57%
Black cops: 29%
Black public: 12%https://t.co/DfGBApnDYS

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) May 27, 2020

a local bookstore posted a thing of themselves writing in floyd's name on the 'names' page in claudia rankine's 'citizen', the one that is designed to be revised as more people are killed.

i knew that was how it worked and my edition is several years old now but i was surprised to see that in the couple dozen new ones, so many were twin cities-located victims. i've had students who skipped class to attend the protests around some of them as they were happening. i guess the surprise was not in the victims, but in their inclusion on the list making it look like the story, even for rankine's general intended american-caught-in-history reader, centered on my home.

since philando castile i've been pointing out to my students that one of the killers graduated from the school they are attending, because when i found that out it struck me how much more urgent it could be to keep teaching this material, for all that it seems kind of marginal (as what it is, and for me to be the one doing it, to the students i usually have). that guy could well have been signed up for just the kind of course i normally teach.

… and brushed it aside with the same confused testy refusal to think that so many of the students bring to it. it's so frustrating to see, even in a setting where they are generally trying to be 'on good behavior', so many people who like to think of themselves as non-racist having their biases and inclinations reinforced by a fundamental thoughtlessness about ostensibly non-racial ideas like who (if anyone) deserves to die, what justice requires, the difference between supporting someone and critically evaluating their actions, the possibility of evaluating actions in a situation independently of the perspectives of 'both' 'sides' to it… the muck makes constructive engagement such a fruitless slog sometimes.

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/27/u-of-m-president-announces-plans-to-cut-some-ties-with-minneapolis-police-department/

I talked to Alondra Cano earlier this evening. Was told she and Jeremiah Ellison and a couple others (Reich & Gordon I think) are working on legislation to defund MPD, hoping to present it to council this Friday. Please email your councilmember and let them know we NEED THIS.

— jgarcia (@jasoncomix) May 28, 2020

This is a sad morning.

I live about 8 blocks from the riot at third precinct building, they moved West down Lake Street not South down Minnehaha where I am.

This day has been coming for a long time. MPD has to be held accountable.

related protests in LA and memphis as well, although no riots. this is going to be an intense summer, i think.

already seeing the "work within the system" cries

fuck that

reports of ppl gathering at a target in st paul, transit is shutting down all buses and trains after 4 today in the cities

I saw Rosedale closed today after reports protesters could be headed there.

is there anything making the rounds about best practices for collective action / protest in terms of Covid safety?

yeah i saw something like that on twitter, lost track of it tho

from the photos there is a LOT of covid safety going by the wayside

Yeah it was so chaotic people are thinking about keeping 6 ft apart

apparently university avenue at snelling has been widely looted

so many goddamn white people care about Target and riots before they express one jot of sympathy or an ability to empathize

capitalism has got white people trained to do unpaid work for them.

"work within the system, guys! c'mon!"

the most ignorant comment which i see everywhere is people saying 'target doesn't have anything to do with the police'

The President has weighed in

Trump on George Floyd: "I feel very, very badly. That’s a very shocking sight." He adds, "That was a very, very bad thing that I saw. I saw it last night and I didn't like it...what I saw was not good. Very bad."

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 28, 2020

the local old-white-crank columnist dropped a somber yeats-quoting column fully embracing the obvious conclusion from watching the video which is… borderline inconceivable to me

De-escalation tactic: This officer is letting folks take selfies and examine the scene. Shaking hands with onlookers (protesters?) while those on outskirts scream “F—- the police!” Officer: “I hope he’s held accountable and I don’t even work with him.” pic.twitter.com/cOOBxOY1XX

— Dave Orrick (@DaveOrrick) May 28, 2020

was that soucheray? couldn't bring myself to click on that xp

the local old-white-crank columnist dropped a somber yeats-quoting column fully embracing the obvious conclusion from watching the video which is… borderline inconceivable to me

― j., Thursday, May 28, 2020 5:35 PM

no idea "Who Goes with Fergus" was popular with the Midwest columnist set.

omg i had totally forgotten about that clown xp

i drove down hennepin past lake street like an hour ago. fucking surreal. boarded up for blocks as if businesses are expecting a hurricane.

this won't be news to some of you, but I wasn't fully aware of the SC's role: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/george-floyd-supreme-court-police-qualified-immunity.html

This is good, worth a deep listen:

https://www.topic.com/runningfromcopscolon~colontext=running20from20cops20is20thehave20ended20up20on20camera.

It's basically a takedown of that Cops tv show

link doesn't work but if it was to the Running From Cops podcast, it is indeed excellent

Well THAT was uncalled for. pic.twitter.com/Qdu4LyrZ9U

— Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) May 29, 2020

Target on ford parkway. Walgreens also had a busted window. I was able to get into lunds to try to get supplies to donate, and all of them were cleared out. Keep doing the right thing twin cities ✊ pic.twitter.com/PeKQ3o992Z

— reopening is cowardice (@Ho_nomo) May 29, 2020

Businesses boarding up along grand, heavy police presence. Barricades in front of ace hardware and menards on university.

— reopening is cowardice (@Ho_nomo) May 28, 2020

if these are accurate it suggests spread well away from the main commercial drag (though these are still commercial areas) where there was protesting and looting earlier today, and/or neighborhood locals or opportunistic passers-by, as well as deliberate targeting of corporate businesses

Midway on fire pic.twitter.com/8Y5sE0qsBu

— Dan Marshall (@DanMarStP) May 29, 2020

the smoke is so thick in the air right now

cops raced by a while ago, shooting at the Walgreens

Scanner: “3rd Precinct has been overrun. Evacuating 3rd Precinct.” From the sounds of it, all officers are being evacuated from the police station at the main protest site.

— Libor Jany (@StribJany) May 29, 2020

jesus christ

wild footage on https://twitter.com/ur_ninja

the comments on that 1st twitter link suggest that the station is on fire

watching it burn on tv

wow

this is the type of shit I expected years ago.

1/ As I learned researching my new history of Minneapolis, there are two important times a gov called the National Guard to Mpls. Knowing these stories help show why this week’s events are not new, but part of the systemic racism built into cities across the country. (cont)

— Tom Weber (@webertom1) May 29, 2020

Today I was cleaning up on Lake and I decided to go inside the Target, and some kid was in there in a target uniform doing a bit asking ppl if “they found everything okay” lmao

— tommy bayer (@TommmyBear) May 28, 2020

idk why that MLK quote "Riots are the language of the unheard" eluded me previously, but it is such a good quote

i found this interesting

Minneapolis is one of the most pleasant and livable cities in the country and approximately none of its cops live in it pic.twitter.com/xU19uFUDZS

— 'Weird Alex' Pareene (@pareene) May 27, 2020

New angle and wider shot of crowd gathering at overrun MPD 3rd Precinct and fire at the corner of Lake and Minnehaha. pic.twitter.com/MaB0U9OukL

— Seth Kaplan (@Seth_Kaplan) May 29, 2020

The fire at the MPD’s 3rd Precinct was only at one corner 5 minutes ago. It’s now spread across the entire building. With no firefighters on scene... that building will likely be destroyed tonight. pic.twitter.com/t6p3Yv1KYV

— Seth Kaplan (@Seth_Kaplan) May 29, 2020

there's a livestream on FB on a page for "Unicorn Riot Media".

a friend points out that

* the mpd union contract precludes their members' being jailed before charged in cases like these (which people think could otherwise have quieted some anger)

* the leadership are not saying this and denouncing it, despite it tying their hands in this situation

its burn down pic.twitter.com/2XoKEmFCwU

— canyon boy (@mitsubishipunk) May 29, 2020

Burn down every precinct from sea to shining sea tbh