Keene police officers Kyle Macie and new guy Kevin Baca were on the streets last night protecting the town from the scourge of two young men, a bong, and some cannabis in jars. I happened across the scene last night while out biking, pulled out my phone, started up Bambuser, and recorded/streamed the scene:
Local jail superintendent Rick Van Wickler deserves a lot of credit. His jail, which many activists refer to as the Keene Spiritual Retreat, is far more humane than the atrocious Manchester “Valley St.” jail. Van Wickler himself is a public opponent of drug prohibition and a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. There have been many positive posts about Rick here at the Free Keene blog over the years.
So why, when a local judge has approved Rich Paul for work release or home confinement, is Van Wickler stonewalling the decision? It seems hypocritical. Dave Ridley of RidleyReport.com investigates by interviewing Rich’s close friend and Free Keene blogger Wendy:
Hundreds of these awesome new know-your-rights WARNING fliers have already been distributed to local college students during Pumpkin Fest and on other occasions. Most of those who have received the flyer thus far had been elated to receive useful information about their rights and those few who already knew their rights were appreciative that Keene Cop Block is actively distributing them.
You can download your own copy and print them out for use in your area, should you wish. Here it is in uncompressed .jpg:
Major thanks to Meg McLain for the killer design work. You can hire her for your graphics project.
In my last speeding trial update, I posted that I’d filed motions to place on file, vacate the sentence, and conduct sentencing by mail. All three motions were denied. I reported, under duress, to the Hillsborough district court again on October 17th, and again conducted more successful “Don’t Take A Plea” outreach to the court’s victims.
I was surprisingly not called last, and was able to deliver a speech in front of many in the audience. I later received a compliment on my views from one of the other court victims. The robed man ultimately sentenced me to 11 hours community service. My next hearing is December 19th at 9:30a for a “Community Service Review”.
The Police Accountability Tour had the opportunity to meet with the creative individuals behind CopWatch of East Atlanta. Having been active in their area since the late aughts, the project established itself as a resource for the community, providing a phone number for people in need of a few individuals armed with cameras to reach out through. Following an experience-based set of collectively understood policies, CopWatch participants are also involved in other actions in the area, including Food Not Bombs.
A pixelated still image from footage damaged in police custody
Stemming from an incident in 2010, and complimented by a similar situation which occurred later, the Atlanta police department has now been specifically trained to permit videography and photography of themselves and their suspects and detainees from a reasonable distance. During the 2010 camera seizure, which helped shape CopWatch of East Atlanta’s policies as well as the police’s, a camera phone was taken from an activist by the police after multiple unlawful requests to terminate the recording. Eventually, the camera was wrestled away, and a revealing phone conversation with the property-seizing officer was documented and disseminated. The officer revealed that the person potentially videotaped being arrested may act as a confidential informant on an investigation. The camera phone would be returned on the condition that the police employee could be granted access to the footage and ensure its deletion. An audio recording of the telephone conversation would secure a $40,000 settlement for the group. Upon retrieving the footage, it was posted publicly in very damaged condition, possibly as a result of its poor handling in police custody, or through intentional sabotage. Since that time, CopWatch of East Atlanta has adopted policies to prevent the loss of objective documentation of a scene by working in groups, wearing uniforms, keeping distances between videographers, and observing numerous other safety precautions. Recently at the DeKalb County public library, the group offered to the public a know-your-rights training session. (more…)
Fifty years ago, the population of Gary, Indiana reached its peak with nearly 180,000 residents. Infrastructure was being built on estimates that the area may soon be home to nearly a quarter million people. Founded around the turn of the century and designated as 
the home of the Gary Works steel plant, soon automation replaced human labor and demand for domestically produced steel decreased. As the number of employees of Gary Works declined, so did the economy and tax base of the city, as well as its population, which now hosts less than 80,000 residents. During that time, another legal phenomenon swept the nation, which only contributed to Gary’s woes. The United States experienced the proliferation of the war on drugs. These two factors led to Gary experiencing high crime and poverty rates, which continue to affect the city that resembles a ghost town more each year.
The failure of central planning has also negatively impacted the city. City hall grossly overestimates property values in an attempt to recoup the tax base lost to other towns and cities as residents fled. While houses and businesses sit abandoned and in shambles, back 
taxes are claimed owed on them despite their negative value. Travelling through the city full of crumbling structures, it would seem the obvious solution would be to allow the impoverished residents to homestead and reclaim the land and property which is underutilized. Yet police in Gary still work to combat squatting in structures deemed to have potential future value, if only someone would purchase and refurbish them. (more…)
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