Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

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

fuck the police

xps while i don't know that this is not true, it seems more complicated than that—i think the contract itself has nothing to say about this but the way it coordinates with the state enactment of some 'law enforcement officer's bill of rights' statutes (which were adopted in many states in the 70s) means that the city can't jail prior to criminal charges without running afoul of bargaining provisions that require some kind of favorable complicated-ass meditation with the union for non-criminal discipline.

Turning into a shootout between protesters and white guys with assault rifles. This is getting real bad very quickly.

Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel appeared unaware that the 3rd Precinct was on fire or rioters had gained entry to it until CNN's Don Lemon told him live on the air just now.

"That's very possible. I apologize for that," Fruetel said. He said he just came from another fire.

— Theo Keith (@TheoKeith) May 29, 2020

WHAT A PHOTO. pic.twitter.com/LhDTnXHa5B

— Spicy Pisce$ (@_kailssss) May 29, 2020

Moodles where are you getting that re shootout

xp thanks - credited in the thread:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAuQhsplytj/?igshid=zlsu9wlnrjhq

only report I heard of shots fired was in the Kentucky protest

Don't know how reliable this is

Holy fuck. #Minneapolis police radio just announced 5 white dudes with AR-15's and Texas plates heading to the protests.

Be careful out there. The right wing nut jobs are there to help the cops kill people.

— Fetus Kebabs: Forza 7 Pro Racer (@FetusKebabs) May 29, 2020

BREAKING NOW: Protesters have broken into the Ohio Statehouse. Crowds gathered Thursday night to protest police brutality after the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody. Peaceful protests in Columbus escalated around 9:45 p.m.https://t.co/4BBObYsoS5

— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) May 29, 2020

i found another tweet saying the MPD were looking to apprehend these 5, but i wouldn't exactly trust them to do that

the multi-state approach to these protests is huge. law enforcement must be shook

I'm seeing bits and pieces of details pop up on my feed, so please take with a grain of salt. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on.

law enforcement must be shook

I wouldn't take this as foregone. They are well-armed and body-armored, and the system backs them in depth. They are used to projecting force on a daily basis and are better trained at violence than the protestors are.

Jesus

BREAKING: Louisville police confirm at least seven people shot tonight during protests over Breonna Taylor's death.https://t.co/ZVIYvm6Mqz

— Tessa Duvall (@TessaDuvall) May 29, 2020

xp both protesters and law enforcement seem to be approaching things quite strategically/tactically. i'm watching these in about the same way i watched the philando castile protests, and just the degree of deliberate back-line support for protesters—setting up nearby locations for provisions and medical assistance in churches and such—seems conspicuously higher. and everyone seems to have the game down, of staging confrontations around the police authority to project force and compel people to disperse, with back-and-forths that last a while before police deplete the crowds or they're called away to some more urgent site. i imagine the police are getting exactly what they'd always dreamed of, a little warfare in the city.

Trump tweeted the T word. didn't take him long.

Wtf?!?

Andrea Jenkins, vice president of Minneapolis City Council, says George Floyd and Officer Chauvin worked at restaurant near Third Precinct.

"They were coworkers for a very long time." pic.twitter.com/Xv90wfLtDu

— Evan Rosenfeld (@Evan_Rosenfeld) May 29, 2020