Last night, a group went out in a couple different vehicles to patrol Keene and keep tabs on the public officials who claim jurisdiction over it. On the police scanner, there was a report that the owner of a local establishment had called 911 after two customers left the property as they believed the driver may have been intoxicated. A description of the vehicle the customers were driving was reported, and officers were encouraged to track this vehicle down.
We were close by, and spotted the vehicle that was identified. The driver of the car I was in pulled up next to the vehicle at a stoplight and motioned for them to roll down the window. It was conveyed to them that police were on the lookout for them and that it may be an intelligent idea to pull into a parking lot and get out of the vehicle. The driver took the suggestion, and we stopped to see if we could be of assistance. At this time, we heard dispatch tell all units to be on the lookout. One of the passengers in the truck I was in, Clyde, offered to drive the vehicle home for the two in the car.
As there were four of us in the CopBlock truck, we split up. Ademo accompanied the driver of the other vehicle while I stayed with Pete. The passenger of the vehicle rode with Pete and I, while the previous driver stayed with their vehicle. They, and their vehicle, were safely delivered home, very appreciative and they gave a donation to cover gas. In addition to helping a couple individuals in need of a hand to guarantee a safe arrival home, we prevented the Keene Police from forcefully taking an individual to a cage where he would be held at taxpayers’ expense although nobody had been harmed, stealing the vehicle, and demanding ransom for the individual’s freedom and/or vehicle.
Please tell me again, naysayers, about how CopBlocking is not helpful or how CopBlockers’ goal is simply to instigate?
Friday August 31, 2012, I went out to a Keene CopBlock event with about 12 other individuals. The purpose of the event was to patrol the streets of Keene and hold accountable public officials in the course of their duties by way of documentation. As the vehicle I was in drove down Winchester Street, I noticed approximately seven or eight Keene Police cruisers and three or four bike cops along Winchester CT, a short side street. We notified other activists via two-way radio, turned around, and found a place to park. Winchester CT mainly houses Keene State College students, it appears. The multiple officers were in various different locations; some were on the street, some in the backyards of homes looking around, and some standing on front lawns talking to people.
Activists recorded as well as talked to students about what was happening. Cecelia and I got a chance to interview a student after he very politely asked that Cecelia avoid filming the house behind us. To learn what was so urgent that a single police officer could not go across town to respond to a call about an extremely unsafe driver, continue to LadiesinKeene.com.
Not too long ago a friend mentioned to me that man in Keene had gotten away with murder. From the conversation it was eluded to that the man had not been held accountable because he wore on his costume a “Keene Police Department” badge and a nameplate that said “chief.”
I sought to determine the accuracy of the claim because 1) if someone had in fact gotten away with murder I’d want to do what I could to help set the record straight and 2) if true, it’d only underscore the perverse incentives inherent in the way “law enforcement” is supplied (and thus encourage those faced with the information to consider alternatives, especially considering that the person who presently has Qualters old gig requested an armored vehicle from the Department of Homeland Security).
My investigation didn’t turn-up anything that substantiated or refuted the claim. If you have information that could help put this question to rest please let me know.
Still, I thought it wise to share an overview of the steps I took and the information gathered to make the process transparent and to perhaps acquire additional related information from someone with more knowledge.
[The content below was originally posted to CopBlock.org]
Derrick J Freeman was assaulted by Fintan Moore.
The video below shows background, the incident and the follow-up, of the exchange. It was completed thanks to the collaboration of many of Derrick’s friends and the editing talents of Beau Davis.
