Ok, so the police are there to protect us, I understand that. But who decides what’s considered an abuse of power. How far can they go to “protect” our society?

Like, is it cool for them to fire 41 shots at an unarmed dude who’s just walking home? Apparently, cause those 4 cops were acquitted of wrongdoing. [related article: transcript of CNN interview w/ Amadou Diallo’s mother].

Have you guys seen this story? A kid at UCLA (who, mind you, was likely a punk, but in my experienced opinion most 15-24 year old guys are punks) was tasered repeatedly by the cops while practicing civil disobedience. He shoulda been arrested; I mean, rules are rules. He was at the library, & he knew that anyone there after 11 pm could at any point be told to show their id, & was required to do so or leave. He wouldn’t, so it was totally right for them to try to haul his punk-ass away. However, it wasn’t ok for them to repeatedly taser him, even after he said he would leave, & that he wasn’t fighting them. Especially not after they already had handcuffs on him.

It also wasn’t ok for them to offer to also shoot their taser guns at others in the crowd who were disturbed by the level of violence inflicted upon him though. According to Peter Eliasberg, an attorney for the ACLU of Southern Cali, “it’s illegal to threaten anyone who asks for a badge … that’s assault”. But that’s exactly what they did. There were bystanders all around who asked for the officers’ names & badge numbers, but the officers threated to taser them too.

Related Videos (via youtube, of course):
UCLA’s Daily Bruin tv newscast (2:17)
camera phone footage of incident (6:53)

That 2nd video is longer, but totally worth watching. The only word I can use to describe it is harrowing. It’s hard to watch, but I’d highly recommend watching it. I don’t mean to put down a “race-card” or whatev on this, but I’d especially recommend sending that 2nd video to anyone you know w/ a lil color to their skin. If ya know what I mean. It’s scary.

Kudos to that guy in the white t-shirt at the end of that footage. I know the cops were this close to arresting him too. Too many times, ppl see wrong happening, but don’t say anything. I applaud him for getting in there, & acknowledging that what was happening wasn’t right. Also, the fact remains that the cops kept telling him to “STAND UP!”, but it’s not that easy to stand up after having been tasered that many times.

I know these cops won’t have anything happen to them. Maybe a slap on the wrist. I know how these things work. It’s nice to dream though. Maybe one day, a police officer will actually be made responsible for something that involves police brutality, & isn’t money-related.