It's long past time for the American police state that has accelerated in the wake of 9/11 to be disbanded. You cannot protect freedom by burying it beneath the boot heels of the state.
Reshared post from +Peter Smalley
[Politics]
Meanwhile, in
Syria…Errr,
Egypt…I mean,
Libya– no wait,Iraq…This is our America: a police state, where civil protest is treason, to be put down with brutality and superior firepower.
Wake up and smell the anger, Sweet Land of Liberty. And hurry.
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Post imported by Google+Blog. Created By Daniel Treadwell.
Does anyone know an active duty LEO here on Google+? If the police are told to deploy for a situation where there is a hint of possible damage and/or harm to LEO on the scene does that automatically call for riot gear to be mandatory for the LEOs on site? Looks like this is DC which is by default always on high alert. Does the DC police deploy like this for every demonstration within the city proper? I'm seriously asking here, I like to understand the situation first rather than jump to conclusions from the pictures.
+Jason Bautista I believe that photo was actually from a silent protest that occurred at the Virginia capitol in Richmond recently against the bill that would have required women to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound before getting an abortion. The only threat of violence came from the police themselves.
+Sam Abuelsamid I understand that the protest was peaceful. My question is what is it that mandates the need for riot gear to be deployed. Who makes that call? Police on the street are doing what they are told to do, The Captain? Chief of Police? The Mayor? The Governor?
+Jason Bautista There is a video in this post which shows the decision to deploy the extreme measures being taken. https://plus.google.com/u/0/111972311379491101006/posts/JJZGs8xB4FM
Thanks for the video. So the question for me is Did the protesters in fact violate any laws that warranted this force? Looking at other protests in the past year, the UC Davis protest in particular, this seems to be the "by-the-book" response. Step 1. Ask the protesters to disperse citing the law/ordinance they are in violation of. Step 2. If they do not disperse with the force on hand back off and call in overwhelming numbers to deal Step 3. Arrests if needed. Step 4. Use force if needed.
I'm trying to remember which cities the Occupy movement met similar responses. It seems that Governors around the nation are a bit nervous when they see large crowds making their way to the capitol and have allowed the local police to respond quickly with a show of force. I could understand if the protesters started to deface property or endanger the lives of others but I didn't see that in the video.