Sunday, July 10, 2016

"Out-of-town people"




One wonders if the police ever actually bore themselves with the "outside agitators" narrative
Baton Rouge police confiscated eight firearms at an Alton Sterling protest outside police headquarters Saturday, the agency said.

Police confiscated three rifles, three shotguns and two pistols Saturday, BRPD said in a news release Sunday afternoon.

A Baton Rouge police officer had several teeth knocked out “as a projectile was thrown from the protest,” BRPD said.

More than 100 people were arrested in connection with the protest. No arrests were made at another protest from City Hall to the State Capitol Saturday, BRPD said.

"It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent as out of town protesters are arriving," BRPD said in the release.
Everything used to be so pleasant in Baton Rouge. At least if your day to day routine keeps you mostly clear of the racist, violent police, that is. 
Many law enforcement officials came to Louisiana immediately after Hurricane Katrina to provide reinforcements, and one state trooper from Michigan said Baton Rouge police attempted to thank him for his help by letting him "beat down" a prisoner.  A trooper from New Mexico wrote a letter to the Baton Rouge police expressing the concerns of seven New Mexico troopers and five Michigan troopers that Baton Rouge police  were engaging in racially motivated enforcement, that they were physically abusing prisoners and the public and that they were stopping, questioning and searching people without any legal justification.

In case you weren't paying attention, I'll repeat it:  The people accusing Baton Rouge police of brutality and racism were other law enforcement officials.  And, yet, the general response from Baton Rouge was that those outside officers didn't know what they were talking about. An attorney for the Baton Rouge police union said all the stops the outside troopers criticized were legal.  Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, a black man, said that he had heard of looting in New Orleans and was determined not to have any such thing in Baton Rouge.
Kip Holden, as noted earlier, has been conspicuously absent from public view throughout the protests. If you happen to find him, be sure and take a picture. He is the by far the most elusive Pokemon in Baton Rouge right now.

The Governor is around, of course. Not that that does much good. The scion of a rural Louisiana law enforcement dynasty, fresh off having signed the bizarre "Blue Lives Matter" bill this spring, was there today to back up police in their bullshit pretext for arresting over a hundred people Saturday night.
Edwards said that while people from outside Louisiana that are coming for protests are "welcome here," he said that "they're not going to be allowed... nor will our own citizens, be allowed to incite hate and violence and engage in unlawful activities.

"We don't operate like that in Louisiana," Edwards said. "I'm certainly proud of the people from this community and the vast majority of them have rejected the folks trying to incite them."

The governor was also stern in his warnings to protesters. He said that "If orders are made not to obstruct a roadway and you step out into the road, that is cause for arrest. Period."
Let's agree to disagree for the moment that merely standing on a road is "cause for arrest" and observe, instead, that this standard is in fact quite moveable. Witnesses and video feeds from Saturday night reported several arrests, including Deray's, where standing in the street didn't seem to be the determining factor.
Blurry video of the moments before McKesson was taken into custody provided to The Washington Post captures his verbal exchange with the officers.

"The police continue to just provoke people," McKesson said after an officer yells to a group of people that if they step on the roadway they will be arrested.

Then an officer says the man in the "loud shoes" has been "flagged": "You in them loud shoes, if I see you in the road, if I get close to you, you're going to jail," an officer can be heard saying on the video.

In response, Packnett says, "We're on the shoulder. There is no sidewalk, sir."

McKesson is known for wearing a pair of red Nike sneakers and a blue vest to all protests he attends.

The group was walking away from a protest and rally that had been dispersed, traveling alongside road traffic on a street that they said does not have a sidewalk.

Activists continued to talk as they walked up the side of the street. Moments later, an officer's voice is heard.

"City police, you're under arrest."

"What?!" McKesson exclaims. "I'm under arrest y'all."Then an officer says the man in the "loud shoes" has been "flagged": "You in them loud shoes, if I see you in the road, if I get close to you, you're going to jail," an officer can be heard saying on the video.

In response, Packnett says, "We're on the shoulder. There is no sidewalk, sir."

McKesson is known for wearing a pair of red Nike sneakers and a blue vest to all protests he attends.

The group was walking away from a protest and rally that had been dispersed, traveling alongside road traffic on a street that they said does not have a sidewalk.

Activists continued to talk as they walked up the side of the street. Moments later, an officer's voice is heard.

"City police, you're under arrest." "What?!" McKesson exclaims. "I'm under arrest y'all."

Then the video and audio feed cuts out.
On Sunday afternoon, matters became even more confused as protesters were ordered off of the "sidewalk" (or shoulder.. there are so few actual sidewalks in Baton Rouge, after all) or, in some cases, pulled out into the street and arrested there.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Hundreds of people peacefully protesting on private property Sunday evening were thrown into the street by police, and then several were then arrested for being on the street.

Approximately 500 people had gathered at France and East in downtown Baton Rouge after first coming together at a nearby Methodist church to protest the police killing of Alton Sterling. Meeting the protesters were about 100 officers in riot gear. A homeowner gave the protesters safe refuge on her front lawn so they would not be arrested for being in the street.

“No justice, no peace!” they yelled.

After 90 minutes of peaceful assembly, police charged the crowd for no clear reason. Protesters scattered, many running down a side street. Those protesters were then arrested for obstruction of a highway.
Of course none of this would be happening if it weren't for all those darn "outside agitators" standing around out there... in the street or otherwise. Someone should tell them, though, what happens if they try to sell each other CDs. 

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