Disturbing Video: California Police Shoot and Kill Man

Monterey Park, California

Police in Southern California shot and killed a man in a fast food parking lot -- an incident that was captured on video.

A man identified as 22-year-old Steve Rodriguez was smashing the windows of a Carl's Jr. restaurant in Monterey Park Monday morning with a three-foot long metal bar, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

When police arrived they attempted to subdue him with a Taser. One of the Taser darts hit him in the face, but he just swatted it off. He then swung the bar at an officer. That's when the cop opened fire, hitting Rodriguez several times.

Somehow he remained on his feet, so another officer emptied his revolver. In all 10 shots were fired. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. It is not clear what motivated Rodriguez to do any of this.

The video was shot by a teenager who was in a car outside of the restaurant. He started shooting when he saw the man breaking windows.

Here is the video, but be advised -- it is quite disturbing:

Reportback from Jan 14th anti-police demonstration

From PUGETSOUNDANARCHISTS:

On Saturday, January 14th, approximately one hundred people gathered at 23rd Avenue and Union in Seattle's Central District. This corner was once the site of a police substation that was attacked numerous times until it ceased operation in mid 2011. We fondly remembered the last anarchist demonstration that had left from this point in 2010, on the night of the verdict against Oscar Grant's murderer.

This march, however, was called for by members of Occupy Seattle demanding the resignation of SPD Chief John Diaz. Another call-out asked for anarchists to attend the march offering up a critique of police reform.

The anarchist presence was small at this demonstration, but the frustration caused by standing in the square and listening to people talk on the bullhorns of justice and reform for over an hour in the cold had our small group riled up. As the sun started to set and the temperature dropped into the 30s, we were elated to see the rally finally teeter from a platform calling for better-trained cops into shouts of 'get into the fucking street!'

A banner was seen with the words: "Solidarity with Oakland (A) Fuck the Cops," and fliers were handed out calling attention to our friends who had participated in the January 7th 'Fuck OPD' march in Oakland. After Oakland cops were paint-bombed, cruiser windows mashed, a news van attacked and several small fires lit, one person was hit in the head by cops and booked on a number of charges. The arrestee's bail was initially set at $595,000, based on the claim that he had a quarter-stick of dynamite, and then lowered to $250,000 at arraignment.

Much like Amelia Nicol’s case in Denver, this move smacks of an attempt by the courts and the cops to neutralize the embers that have spewn from the Oakland Commune. But instead of relinquishing Oscar Grant Plaza and the momentum that has been building, weekly Saturday demonstrations are now taking place in Oakland against the OPD.

The same forces have tried to quell anti-police sentiment in Seattle, but an eerie memory of the Winter of 2011 was stirred. Days before the march, federal prosecutors announced that they would not charge Ian Birk, the former SPD cop who murdered John T. Williams on August 30, 2010. Four other people were murdered that same week by Washington cops -- many by ‘less lethal’ weapons like tasers -- and anarchists in the Puget Sound came with a scathing critique of police accountability and the justice system that maintains their social control. Though the mainstream media will never be an ally, this Seattle Times article departs from the rhetoric of last winter which sought to prop up the police story of probable cause in Birk's shooting:

"Williams’ shooting resulted in a public outrage and was pivotal in uniting community groups to demand accountability from the department. There had been earlier videotaped incidents — an officer slugging a teenage jaywalker, for instance — but none reverberated in the community like the patrol-car dash-cam video of Williams ambling across the intersection in front of Birk’s car, a pocket knife and board in his hands. Birk was seen crossing in front of the car toward Williams, his weapon drawn, and then a series of shots a few seconds later. Native American and civil rights groups protested the shooting. The department’s credibility was further damaged when it had to withdraw a statement made at the scene that Williams had 'advanced on the officer.'"

Now that the Department of Justice's investigation has concluded and found several cases of excessive force, the media wastes no time in chastising the SPD. In response, the city and police have already organized a community forum to discuss officer training and the City's Race and Social Justice initiative. It is important that this be revealed for exactly what it is: a public relations attempt to assuage the liberal public that frets over the myth of 'racial and social justice'. In 2011, we burnt many bridges but also found many friends.

----

Despite the rumor that cops would force us onto the sidewalk, agitated individuals pushed past those waiting for the cross signal and into the streets. The shivering mass of people followed and marched north up 23rd avenue chanting 'The revolution has begun / They say more cops! We say none!' and 'Cops and bankers, we don’t need em! / All we want is total freedom!'. Bikes and graffiti writers flanked the crowd and media scurried ahead of the banners, trying to take sensational photos of the lit flares and black masks. At a major intersection, a banner reading 'ACAB' backed with 'All your base are belong to no one! (A)' was hoisted above the street. The crowd cheered as it flapped in the cold and surged forward once more.

The march turned southwest onto Madison and trash cans, construction signs and dumpsters were rolled into the street. Unlike the anti-police demos of early 2011, many of the marchers around joined in, kicking over signs and carrying a couch into on-coming traffic lanes. Uniformed police were nowhere to be seen amongst the merriment, but Peace and Safety vultures from Occupy Seattle tried to push dumpsters back into the alleys, decrying the redecoration as 'distracting' from the issue of the police. Others threw fliers into the doors of the co-op and toppled potted trees outside a yuppie furniture store, and yes, even a newspaper box or two was thrown.

A shout rippled through the crowd as one person skateboarded past with a torch; several more were handed out in remembrance of those murdered by the police. While some torchbearers chanted 'Justice for Sean Bell, Justice for John T, Justice for Oscar' others yelled for 'vengeance.' The glow of fire hovered overhead as the march turned down Pine and finally to the police barricades surrounding the East Precinct. Traffic had been diverted for several blocks since 4 p.m., and firetrucks were stationed nearby.

Many people scattered off into the night, while others stayed and argued with the cops lining the barricades. No arrests or injuries were reported but perhaps more important is the giddy feeling that lingers. The first signs of snow in Seattle dominate the news today, but another demonstration has already been called for on Monday, January 16th, leaving the recently evicted Turritopsis Nutricula squat and joining the Seattle MLK march. To the friends we have made in Seattle and our comrades in the Oakland Commune, let's warm by the hearth of another fiery year.

New York police kill man at his home after burglars flee

New York: New York City police killed a resident of a home that was being burglarized Thursday night while he apparently was rushing to help his brother.

The victim was identified as Brooklyn resident Duane Browne, 26.

Police from the 75th Precinct were sent to his home after receiving a report of armed burglars with their faces covered inside Browne's home, New York City Police Chief Ray Kelly said at a press conference.

Two men assaulted the victim's brother in the basement of the house while Browne was watching television with his girlfriend on an upper floor, Kelly said.

The burglars fled when they saw the police car arrive. Browne, not realizing the men had left, grabbed a 38-caliber revolver and came out the back door in an apparent attempt to assist his brother. He was confronted by police officers.

"Police told him to freeze," Kelly said. "He continued to move. They told him to freeze twice."

One of the officers then shot Browne in the chest, Kelly said.

"The officers were in uniform," the police chief said.

The shooting occurred in the same neighborhood where a policeman was killed last month while responding to a robbery.

"I don't think it played a role," Kelly said about the previous incident.

A police spokeswoman said, "The whole incident is under investigation."

However, Browne's girlfriend, Renita Ferdinand, cast doubt on whether the police acted properly.

She said Browne went downstairs to investigate suspicious noises. He returned wounded after being shot.

The police officers approached her and told her to leave, she said. They continued interrogating Browne while he bled, she told New York television news channel NY1.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/new-york-police-kill-man-at-his-home-after-burglars-flee-167052&cp

Fuck the Police, Long Live the Commune

From Bay of Rage An enormous banner reading “Occupy Oakland — Fuck the Police” was unfurled at the corner of 14th and Broadway, in preparation for the first of a weekly series of marches against the police and their repression against the Oakland Commune. From the hours of 7 to 9 pm on Saturday, January 11th, the crowd kept growing – notably different than many of the largely white, activist groups that have become so predominant in the Occupy movement. This had a completely different character: a rowdy, largely young group of people pissed off about the recent police repression. The police were taking this night more seriously than other demos – whether it was because the night was the 3rd anniversary of the Oscar Grant Rebellion or simply because they knew that the pigs’ current campaign of harrasment and arrests was fostering a culture of resistance and anger against them. All evening there were unmarked SUVs full of Oakland police cruising around the dowtown area, as well as sherriffs and motorcycle pigs hanging around the periphery of 14th and Broadway.

The energy built up with chants, heckling of the cops standing in lines across the street, and a ferocious freestyle session. Soon after 9, the group flooded into the street, heading south on Broadway. Banners declared “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees”, “Not gay as in happy, but queer as in fuck OPD” and “Police nowhere, liberation everywhere”. People donned masks as we neared the OPD headquarters, Wiley Manuel Courthouse and Glenn Dyer detention center on 7th St. Upon arrival, it was clear the pigs weren’t going to allow a fireworks show like the New Year’s Eve noise demo. Up to 50 pigs were stationed in one-deep lines, directly in front of their headquarters, with more pigs down Washington Street defending their vehicle lot, and others near Clay St. Judging by their arrangement, they were ready to surround and arrest us, to kettle the confrontational crowd. The mood was strange, quiet as we stood before the OPD’s fortress. The gap between the rage we wanted to unleash on the police and the reality of our suddenly indecisive crowd facing off a line of armed cops was unsettling. Our lack of confidence, of memory of overt collective resistance weighed heavy on us that moment. We milled in the street, someone shoved a shopping cart towards the cops. A few bottles were thrown. The hostility towards the police was too diffuse and they were too prepared in their defensive position for the immediate situation to escalate in a way that could benefit us.

Soon the decision was made to stay mobile, and we headed back to Broadway. The crowd took a left, and as we headed up the street several black-clad hooligans attacked two police cars that were stopped on the street, slashing their tires, and bottles were thrown at the pigs once more. At this point the divide in the crowd became evident — with OakFoSho who livestreams many Occupy Oakland demonstrations shouting “I wish I could catch the motherfuckers who are throwing shit on film”, and a few others decrying the bottle throwers. While militant tactics are not above critique (and there’s definitely much tactical learning and evolution to be done), threatening or filming people fighting back against the police is doing the pigs’ work for them.

Despite the unclear intentions of the group as a whole, some agitated for the march to turn towards the cop shop again, and ultimately it took a left on 9th Street and headed back to Washington. Strolling among the holiday-light bedazzled trees of the Oldtown commercial district, the chants of “Kill Pigs” and “A.C.A.B — all cops are bastards” lent a dissonant affect to the moment. Yuppies gawked from the upscale bars and restaurants as the active minority of a discontent populace streamed past them. We can only hope they enjoyed the sound of the Starbucks plate glass window shattering as much as we did. A few blocks down a Wells Fargo received an equally warm embrace. Shortly after that we passed a KTVU news van. It was swarmed by several people, some puncturing the tires, some scrawling a circle-A on the façade and others tearing the cables from the exposed switch board. This gesture should illuminate our relationship towards the media – they will never be our allies, we are not interested in pandering to them. This is war, and they are on the wrong side.

On this second approach, riot cops had formed a line blocking the way down Washington to the court. This was their technique in the early days of Occupy Oakland, when there was often almost no police presence at marches, until they approached 7th and Washington. But at this point we had more momentum than before, there was no way we would simply turn back. The “Fuck the Police” banner-carriers stepped up directly to the line, behind them a small bonfire was lit, and people let fly more bottles. But even though the energy had been high, there was no solid black bloc and those who were more confrontational were vulnerable to identification. Soon, the cops advanced, pushing the banner back and stomping out the fire. After they advanced, they began clearly pointing out and shining lights at those they wanted to target for arrest. Whether because of the fire or having sensed the tactical weakness of the group, the pigs suddenly charged.

It was a flurry of huge men moving faster than one would think possible. They clearly went after specific individuals, as well as those who were trampled or fell behind. They beat a few people badly with batons, and shot others with rubber bullets and bean bags that left a colored mark on clothing. The crowd was generally pushed north, and many escaped, but a group was kettled on 9th Street between Washington and Broadway. This kettle was eventually given a dispersal order and allowed to leave, although there was another police charge as people were walking north on Broadway. After this, the night ended uneventfully, though there were still cops posted up en masse at the North end of the plaza for some time. 6 people were arrested, 3 of whom were released without charges, and one of whom who is facing five felonies and one misdemeanor. Saturday night was a change of tactics for the OPD. In keeping with the intensifying direct repression of the Oakland Commune, this was the first time they had relied on snatching and kettling. Their sudden charges also seemed out of character, as though our stubborn resistance enraged or unnerved them. The OPD also tailed one person as they were leaving the march, and pulled them over to harrass and search them.

The apparatus of the police is what holds us back from so many of our dreams. It is only logical that occupiers and other rebels have made a habit of marching between the plaza and the bastion of law and order: the former a hotbed of subversive conversation and anti-capitalist scheming, the latter the organizational center of a reactionary, murderous force and a node in the network of confinement and criminalization. By establishing a circulation between the radical social center of our city and the compound where the attack on that dangerous sociality is staged, the occupation has expanded on territorial battles that were already present in Oakland. In dead urban space, Occupy Oakland created a flourishing social space that was — is — antagonistic to the city’s control. While OPD asserts their sovereignty in East Oakland by murdering and beating people of color, in downtown they do it with tear gas and rubber bullets.

But while it is useful to encroach on the pigs’ territory as much as we can, there’s a danger of falling into an unthinking pattern. 7th and Washington isn’t the only place that crystallizes the relationship of power between us and the state — what we’re up against not only goes far beyond those buildings, it’s more than the police. It remains to be seen if these weekly marches will become something else entirely or fizzle out, but either way we need to think through our tactics and strategies. We cannot take on a fully armed counter-insurgency force directly. If we want to keep our commune alive in the streets and foster rebellion in the metropolis of the Bay Area, it will take some serious discipline and creativity. Our demonstrations must shift in form and content, and be able to adapt to contemporary circumstances. The time has already come to attack what represses us, seize what we need, and strike in unexpected ways. If we cannot provide for ourselves and create new forms of living in Oscar Grant Plaza, we will do it elsewhere. Now that we have tasted the joy of gathering defiantly in the open air and molding our own worlds, we can’t go back. In the words of some Spanish comrades, “the greatest violence would be returning to normality”. The police intend to enforce that normality. We, however, refuse to accept it, and wager instead on the rebels of Oakland.

Long live the Oakland Commune, freedom to our comrades and all prisoners!

Here is some footage of the January 7th demonstration.

A month after police kill Garfield man in confrontation, officials, clergy urge patience as more protests are planned

GARFIELD, New Jersey— Few details have emerged a full month after the police-involved shooting of a 19-year-old Garfield man, and activists are planning another demonstration as some community leaders urge them to await the results of an investigation.

Malik Williams had voluntarily turned himself into police on Dec. 10 and was being booked on domestic assault charges when he fled out of the back door of the station, sparking a pursuit. Town police, aided by a Bergen County K-9 unit, tracked him to a residential garage on Dahnert Park Lane.

Police say when they opened the garage door, Williams had armed himself with tools.

"Upon encountering Williams with the tools in his hands, the police officers fired at Williams, striking him numerous times," Prosecutor John Molinelli said in a statement.

But key details — such as what kind of tools Williams allegedly armed himself with, or the names of the officers involved — remain unknown, and some activists say investigators are being unnecessarily secretive.

S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com Demonstrators gather outside the home on Dahnert Park Lane where Malik Williams was killed in a confrontation with police. Supporters of Malik Williams march through Garfield for second protest gallery (8 photos)

"What we have been seeing around the state and around the nation, as soon as the police officer has been involved, the name has been revealed," Emiliano Lemos, an activist with the Latino Action Network, told NJ.com. "They waited a couple of days, but the public had the knowledge."

Prosecutor Molinelli has not responded to repeated requests for an interview since the incident occurred.

Calling for a grand jury investigation, protesters have marched through the city twice since the shooting, most recently on Jan. 7. Another demonstration is planned for Saturday, Jan. 14.

At the first demonstration on Dec. 23, Garfield Mayor Frank J. Calandriello met protesters at the Garfield police station, and joined by City Councilor Louis G. Aloia, followed them to the home where Williams was killed. He urged them to "let the process work its way through."

"We can not reverse what we have seen and what has happened, but we need as a community to put our efforts together, to try to work so that items like that will never happen again," Calandriello said.

Calandriello said he and other town leaders met with law enforcement, the Williams family and members of the clergy shortly after the shooting. Rev. Arthur Bryant of Friendship Baptist Church of Garfield attended those meetings and described them as "productive" in a recent interview with NJ.com.

Bryant said further meetings are planned, but has echoed statements from the mayor and members of the local NAACP urging protesters not to jump to conclusions before the results of the investigation are made public.

"The city is working along with us and they're trying to do what's best for the community, because at the end of the day, we have to live in the community as a diverse people," Bryant said.

Anaheim police kill man who had BB gun

Anaheim police late Saturday night fatally shot an unidentified man who was carrying what turned out to be a BB gun, a police spokesman said.

Shortly before 11 p.m., several people called police to report seeing a man with a shotgun at an apartment complex on West Ball Road, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn. One of the callers indicated the man was roaming about the carport area of the complex.

Several officers responded and encountered the man in the rear of the complex, Dunn said. Police fired, and the suspect was hit, he said. The suspect, a 36-year-old Anaheim resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured.

Police recovered a gun that they initially believed was a rifle. It later turned out to be a BB gun, Dunn said.

No other information was available. Dunn said the investigation is continuing.

Police Kill 4 in Separate Weekend Shootings

From NBC Los Angeles:

Police killed three people in unrelated shootings in three counties in the last 24 hours.

The latest incident occurred at 11 p.m. Saturday in Anaheim. Police shot and killed a man who they said was carrying a rifle-type BB gun with a wooden stock, said Anaheim Sgt. Bob Dunn, a department spokesman.

Police went to an area on Ball Road after neighbors reported seeing a man carrying a gun, Dunn said. Dunn didn’t reveal any details of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

In Riverside, police shot David Ledezma, 52 on Saturday after 4 p.m. on Cypress Avenue. Police were called out for a domestic dispute. A fight between police and Ledezma escalated and police say they shot Ledezma several times.

In El Sereno, police shot a man identified as Juan Nunez, 34. Police said Nunez was armed with a gun and refused to drop it. The incident happened on Axtell Street in El Sereno at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said they were sent to the area on reports of a man with a gun. The man, reportedly a father of two, may have been in a dispute with his wife or girlfriend, according to news reports.

Police did not say if a gun was recovered from the body or near it or if the man had fired a gun.

In San Bernardino on Saturday morning, police shot and killed a man, identified by police as Lorenzo Baca, after police said he engaged them in a running gun battle in the 800 block of West Fifth Street at the Interstate 215 overpass, police said. Police said they found a loaded gun and a screwdriver. No other details were immediately available.

Police kill Texas student, 15, armed with pellet gun

McALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - Police fatally shot a 15-year-old student armed with a pellet gun at a middle school in Brownsville, Texas, on Wednesday after he pointed it at officers, police said.

Brownsville police received a call of a student with a handgun at Cummings Middle School about 8 a.m. local time Wednesday, department spokesman J.J. Trevino said.

The boy, eighth-grader Jaime Gonzalez, aimed at officers after they confronted him in a hallway, police said.

Police ordered Gonzalez to drop the gun, but instead he pointed it at the officers, who shot the boy twice, police said.

"The subject pointed the weapon at officers, which in turn, the officers had to use deadly force," Trevino said.

The gun, a .177-caliber pellet pistol, resembles a Glock semi-automatic handgun, police said.

The student was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, said Cameron County Justice of the Peace Kip Johnson Hodge.

A preliminary investigation indicated Gonzalez assaulted a student before officers arrived and told witnesses he was going to "engage officers with the weapon," a police news release said.

No other students, school staff or police were injured. Students were evacuated to a nearby high school and classes were dismissed for the day.

The Texas Rangers will assist city and school police in investigating the fatal shooting.

Brownsville is at the southern tip of Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Police kill man whose weapon was BB gun

From the Columbus Dispatch

December 31, 2011

The Cincinnati police chief says an officer fatally shot a man who pulled a gun from his pocket that looked like a semiautomatic weapon but later was determined to be a BB gun.

Chief James Craig said yesterday that someone called police Thursday night to report that Ronnie Pittman, 54, had a gun and was threatening to shoot or to kill someone.

Craig said Pittman came out of his apartment when police arrived and pulled the weapon. The officer fired once when Pittman refused to drop the weapon and again when he advanced toward police.

Craig said Pittman re-entered his apartment, where a SWAT team found him dead about three hours later, shot in the neck and upper chest.