LAPD's Rampart station evacuated following threat connected to officer-involved shooting

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/lapds-rampart-station-evacuated-following-threat-connected-to-officer-involved-shooting.html

LAPD's Rampart station evacuated following threat connected to officer-involved shooting [Updated]

September 28, 2010 | 2:32 pm

The Los Angeles Police Department evacuated its Rampart Area station Tuesday after an envelope containing an unknown powder was found at the station.

The envelope contained a threat directed at one of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan immigrant earlier this month in the Westlake District, according to sources familiar with the incident who asked not to be identified because the investigation is ongoing. The nature of the threat was not specified.

[Updated at 2:34 p.m.: Officials said they determined the white powder was not hazardous.]

Nearly a dozen people may have been exposed to the powder around 1 p.m. at the station at 1401 S. 6th Street, according to police officials.

Manuel Jamines was shot and killed Sept. 5 at the corner of 6th and Union Avenue after police said he advanced on officers with a knife.

The LAPD said that Jamines was threatening people before the fatal confrontation. Residents and the LAPD agree that Jamines was intoxicated at the time of the shooting and witnesses said he had a knife. Another witness has questioned that account and whether the man represented an imminent threat to the officers.

The shooting led to protests, the largest of which took place days after the incident when about 300 protesters gathered at the LAPD's Rampart Station, some hurling eggs at police cars and others throwing objects at station windows.

Los Angeles city prosecutors have said they expect to charge more than a dozen people in the series of street protests in the Westlake district related to the shooting.

-- Andrew Blankstein

We need more John Brown's

We need more John Brown's


Native Youth Movement:

"settlers is not a correct term, it is very passive giving the impression that the occupation of our Indigenous Lands are okay, that the invaders occupation here is settled, done and agreed upon but it is not. Current day civilian invaders could still right the wrongs, support Indigenous Autonomy,

Join the Go Back to Europe Movement.Start a chapter in the area occupy."

LAPD Cop Who Killed Immigrant is Repeat Shooter, Known as Bully

http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/09/lapd_cop_who_killed_manuel_jamines_being_sued_for_excessive_force.html

Who exactly is Los Angeles Police Department Officer Frank Hernandez? Before he killed 37-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Manuel Jamines last Sunday, Hernandez was just another LAPD officer, a 13-year vet, one of the department’s 10,000 police officers. In just over a week, he’s assumed a very public notoriety, and it turns out he’s got quite a history.

In the Guatemalan community of Westlake where Jamines was killed, Hernandez is well-known as a bully. The AP reports:

For many in the poor immigrant community, the shooting of Jaminez was the last straw. Amid the poverty and chronic joblessness here, some residents say, officers mistreated them and were overly harsh in their enforcement of city ordinances.*

“They are messing with people all the time,” said Juan Lorenzo, a day laborer who knew Jaminez.

Lorenzo claimed that Officer Frank Hernandez, who the mayor hailed as a hero for shooting Jaminez, was disliked by many in the community because he would often ticket people for selling food on the street and would sometimes throw the food in the trash.

Hernandez is also being sued by a 19-year-old man named Joseph Wolf. Wolf claims that Hernandez used excessive deadly force when Hernandez shot him in the thigh on Dec. 12, 2008, and then later lied to justify the shooting.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Wolf was roused from bed by the sound of helicopters flying overhead, and went to his front door to investigate. When Wolf went back inside because it was cold out, Hernandez, who was in the area investigating a separate incident, ran after him into his house and shot him because, the LAPD would later say, Wolf had a weapon. Turns out Wolf did have a BB gun in his house, but it didn’t have his DNA on it. Wolf was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Those charges were dropped in 2009.

The Los Angeles Police Commission said Hernandez was out of line that night, even though the shooting was technically “in policy.” Wolf’s lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court.

Hernandez’s past raises the uncomfortable question of how many cops with shootings on their record are sent back onto the streets without reprimand, re-training, or any kind of public notice. It’s likely a higher number than most of us will ever know.

Earlier this year, in an ongoing investigation, ColorLines’ Ali Winston found that in Fresno, Calif., plenty of cops were sent back to work after killing civilians:

A California Public Records Act Request uncovered a previously withheld list of 27 Fresno police officers involved in repeat shootings of civilians from 2002 through 2009, 25 of whom, according to an official with the Fresno Police Department, are still on active duty today. Of these 27 officers, four were involved in at least three separate shooting incidents over the same period. One officer, Michael Palomino, was involved in four shooting incidents. In the context of a statewide investigation focusing in on four major police departments, the Fresno Police Department stands out in scale.

Since last Sunday, hundreds have protested and dozens were arrested.

The LAPD maintains that Jamines was holding a bloody knife and was shot when he lifted it up overhead and lunged at police officers. Hernandez shot Jamines twice in the head, and he died on the scene. Jamines’ family said that even though the day laborer and father of three was a heavy drinker, he was never violent.

At a public meeting LAPD Chief Charlie Beck hosted with the Guatemalan Consul General Pablo Garcia last Wednesday, hundreds streamed into a local middle school for a community forum. The crowd heckled and booed Beck and called Jamines’ killing an assassination. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has promised a thorough and impartial investigation, but hailed Hernandez as a “hero.”

*AP offers this note on the spelling of Jimenes’ name: “Neighbors and friends initially said Jaminez’s last name was spelled Jamines but on Thursday the coroner’s office said he went by the names Manuel Ramirez and Manuel Jaminez.”

Street Sweeper Social Club: "Revolutionary Party Music" from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Boots Riley of the Coup

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/14/street_sweeper_social_club_revolutionary_party

Street Sweeper Social Club: "Revolutionary Party Music" from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Boots Riley of the Coup

As part of our ongoing series on music and resistance, we speak to Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Boots Riley of The Coup. Their band Street Sweeper Social Club has just released a new record, The Ghetto Blaster EP. [includes rush transcript]

JusticeforManuel.org

http://justiceformanuel.org/

JUSTICE FOR MANUEL JAMINES Manuel Jamines was murdered by Rampart police on Sunday, September 5th, 2010. He was a 37 year old indigenous man from Guatemala, who didn't speak English or even Spanish very well. He was a day laborer, and had 3 children in Guatemala. He was standing on the corner of 6th Street and Union in the community of Pico Union or Westlake. The police claim he had a knife and was intending to use it on a pregnant woman. Many eye witnesses say that this was not true, and that Manuel was murdered in cold blood. This is nothing new for LAPD in general and the Rampart Division in particular. We've lost too many innocent people at the hands of law enforcement in Los Angeles. It is time to take serious action NOW.

For Maya community, a paradise lost - latimes.com

This article has some good interviews but leaves out the principal reason why people are being pushed out of their homelands: u.s. imperialism.

For Maya community, a paradise lost - latimes.com

Seattle in turmoil over police-involved shootings The killing of a Native American is the latest to prompt scrutiny of rules on using force.

Reporting from Seattle — John T. Williams was a fixture in downtown Seattle with his carving knife and blocks of wood, which he fashioned into artful totems characteristic of the DididahtFirst Nation, his Canadian native tribe.

---

FOR THE RECORD:
Seattle police shootings: An article in the Sept. 17 Section A about police shootings in the Seattle area made reference to a Baptist pastor being shot to death by a sheriff's deputy. That incident happened in Spokane Valley, in eastern Washington.

---

He drank heavily and was hard of hearing in one ear, to the point that Williams — known for telling elaborate stories about the characters in his totems — was often incoherent and oblivious, said several of his friends and relatives.

He didn't drop his 3-inch knife when a Seattle police officer ordered him three times to do so at a crowded downtown intersection on Aug. 30. Did he hear the order? Was he thinking of turning his knife into a weapon? These are questions for which answers may never be known. A little more than a minute after the officer stepped out of his car, Williams lay dying on the sidewalk with four gunshot wounds to the chest.

The case is one of a wave of shootings and beatings involving the Seattle Police Department, prompting widespread public demand for a rethinking on the use-of-force policies and policing in minority communities, particularly one of its biggest and least understood, Native Americans.

Newly installed Chief John Diaz this week announced a top-end overhaul to ramp up training and reemphasize community relations in a department that recently earned national praise for its neighborhood policing.

"We have lost some of that through the years, that sense of connection, the social fabric that keeps all of us together," Diaz said this week. "We really are talking about building peace in every one of those contacts. We can't get them right 99% of the time. We have to try to get them right 100% of the time."

Lately, the average hasn't been close.

In April, Seattle police made national headlines with a video of a gang detective stomping a Latino man who was prone on a sidewalk and warning that he was going to "beat the … Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?"

In June, another video emerged. This time, an officer was seen punching a 17-year-old African American girl in the face when she intervened in the arrest of her girlfriend for jaywalking.

The worst string of violence began in August, with three officer-involved shootings in three weeks. During the same period, a knife-wielding man was shot to death by police in neighboring Tacoma and a 74-year-old Baptist pastor investigating a noise in the nursery next to his home late at night was shot to death by a sheriff's deputy after he allegedly moved to pull out a gun.

Diaz said he would ask two outside police departments to independently review the Williams inquiry once it was completed.

"This incident raises, as do other incidents in the past, very serious concerns about the preparation of our officers and concerns about racial profiling within the department," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "The can of worms is open."

Williams was shot by Ian Birk, 27, who had been with the department for two years. Williams, 50, was a longtime fixture on the downtown scene, coming from a Canadian First Nation family known for more than five generations for their traditional carvings.

"We've been buying from the Williams family since about 1904," said Alex Castas, general manager of Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, one of the city's best-known waterfront tourist businesses. "John was a fantastic carver, maybe the best that I've seen."

At the Downtown Emergency Service Center, where Williams was in housing for chronic alcoholics, administration director Nicole Macri said Williams often regaled the staff and residents with stories about the creatures in his carvings. Yet he could be aggressive when drunk, as he frequently was, and on at least two occasions he was accused of aggressively touching and exposing himself to staff members.

"John's life experiences were complicated. They cannot be simplified to say he was a harmless individual and therefore he should not have been shot by the police. Maybe he should not have been shot, but it's not because he never hurt anyone in his life," Macri said.

"But saying that, he was very well-loved by many people who worked here, and by many of the clients and residents of the building where he lived."

The center was holding a memorial service for Williams on Thursday. Separately, a street march was held through downtown, beginning at the shooting scene.

Holding one of Williams' totems aloft and beating Native American drums, about 200 protesters marched to City Hall. Some hooted Indian battle cries. "John T. was murdered: Who's next?" shouted one woman.

On Wednesday, a City Council committee took testimony from a crowd of more than 200 who urged the city to adopt better training on policing of the Native American community and on techniques for deescalating conflicts.

"This is plain murder is what it is," Robert Satiacun, a relative of Williams' who hosts a local Native American talk radio program, told the council. "I think we have a last-straw scenario going here. The natives are restless, and we better come up with some answers pretty tout de suite."

kim.murphy@latimes.com

Philly police beating stirs storm of protest

http://sfbayview.com/2010/philly-police-beating-stirs-storm-of-protest/

Philly police beating stirs storm of protest

September 14, 2010

[Translate]

The movement to demand justice for Askia Sabur is holding its third protest on Friday, Sept. 17, 5 p.m., at 55th and Lansdowne in Philadelphia; march to 19th District police headquarters at 61st and Thompson to demand the removal of all officers involved!

by Boyce Watkins, PhD

Askia Sabur had merely been standing outside a take-out restaurant in West Philadelphia waiting for his order when he was attacked by police on Friday, Sept. 10, and viciously beaten Rodney King style. Following the story are three videos, the first taken by an onlooker’s cell phone, the second a TV news story and the third by neighborhood activists. – Video frame: NBC

A video showing Philadelphia police officers beating a man for nearly two minutes has taken the internet by storm. The incident is so shocking that the video has received thousands of views and has also sparked an internal investigation by Philadelphia police.

The incident occurred in West Philadelphia and is two and a half minutes long. The officers are accused of attacking 29-year-old Askia Sabur outside a takeout restaurant in the area on Friday. What is also interesting is that most of the officers appearing in the video are African American, reminding us that the power of the state is not just a white and black thing.

Allegedly, officers asked Sabur and his cousin to clear the corner, but they refused, stating that they were waiting for their food. Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, claims that Sabur knocked one of the officers down; he alleges that this occurred before the YouTube video was recorded.

“It started with a police officer lying on the bottom of the pile,” Vanore said. “The video doesn’t show everything. Stuff happens before, and stuff happens after. Our Internal Affairs is trying to get the whole picture.”

While the police have their version of the facts, the video above shows almost none of that. Instead, it shows Sabur on the ground with officers beating him. Others are heard in the background telling the officers to stop and that they were going to kill him. That’s when the video shows one of the officers pulling his gun out on the crowd, telling them to back up.

Sabur was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. Police also said he would be charged with robbery for trying to take the gun and baton from one of the officers.

“Not every arrest ends with someone saying, ‘Thank you,’” Vanore said. “It’s a shame. This is one case where the male was not compliant.”

Sabur says he felt like the officers were trying to kill him. He also said that he broke his arm during the attack and had to get stitches to close off the back of his head. He also claims that when officers asked him for identification, he reached for his wallet, when they grabbed his arm and started to choke him.

Evan Hughes, the attorney for Sabur, says that the charges are ridiculous:

“If he tried to take an officer’s gun, if he had actually done that, they would have shot him,” Hughes said.

The gash on the back of Askia Sabur’s head was closed with six staples. A crowd of onlookers had pleaded with police to stop beating his head. He is said to have lost a pint of blood from that wound. – Photo courtesy Evan Hughes

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the police are backtracking, trying to justify what happened, and it’s not going to work,” Hughes said. “As this develops, the truth will come out.”

One problem for Sabur is that he has been convicted of a crime in the past. In 2002, he pleaded no contest to attempted burglary and was given five years of probation.

In spite of his record, though, some of the eye witnesses are supporting him. Jamil Stroman, who saw the incident, referred to the event as a “modern-day Rodney King.”

One of the most disturbing things about the video is that while he’s being beaten, Askia continuously says, “I didn’t do nothing wrong.”

As others are pleading for him to cooperate with the officers to avoid yet another whip of the billy club, he appears adamant in his unwillingness to be arrested when he hasn’t broken any law. In fact, all of the charges Askia is facing are a result of the police confrontation. It’s not as if he was breaking the law when the officers arrived, he was simply standing on the corner.

Thus, one of the most fundamental problems with our criminal justice system is that those who are more likely to interact with police are the ones most likely to be arrested by them. Given that African Americans are stopped, searched and confronted by officers more than others, situations like this are more likely to emerge. I am not sure why standing on the corner is a crime or why an otherwise law-abiding citizen may now end up in prison when he was simply waiting for his food.

When it comes to the police beating of Askia Sabur, multiple theories are going to emerge. Of course, the police are going to have their story, which is going to be consistent with their loyalty to the blue line. Even if officers were doing something wrong, many of them will protect one another under the presumption that difficult decisions made in the line of duty are justified by their own need for safety. At the same time, not every YouTube video of an officer making an arrest implies that the officer is doing something wrong.

On the other side of the issue, Sabur’s attorneys are going to concoct their own story. I am sure the story will present Sabur as a model citizen who was simply unfortunate enough to have an officer decide to beat him half to death for no reason. While this kind of thing certainly does happen on occasion, the video does show that Sabur is clearly resisting arrest. All the while, one can argue that any man being arrested unjustly has a moral right to demand his immediate freedom. If the officers had no initial reason for approaching Sabur, they had no right to be taking him to jail.

There is a clear point to be made about the depths and limits of police authority and what constitutes an abuse of power. Putting the case of Askia Sabur to the side, one has to question the idea of the officer waving his gun at onlookers to keep them away. Additionally, one has to wonder just how unruly Sabur – or any of us – has to get before an officer feels that it’s OK to use physical force.

While the video does show that Sabur is resisting arrest, one can argue that any man being arrested unjustly has a moral right to demand his immediate freedom.

I have personally seen cases – for example, the police shooting of Bobby Tolan – where any tiny diversion from police instructions, no matter how confusing or unreasonable, can lead to an arrest, shooting, beating, handcuffs or the inconvenience of appearing before a judge. Askia Sabur’s case shouldn’t be the one that gets us talking about the way police do business. We should have been talking about that long ago.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. This story first appeared on Black Voices.

Nina Simone

Colectivo Autonomo Magonista: INVITACIÓN A OBRA DE TEATRO SÁBADO 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE EN EL CENTRO SOCIAL LIBERTARIO RICARDO FLORES MAGON

INVITACIÓN A OBRA DE TEATRO SÁBADO 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE EN EL CENTRO SOCIAL LIBERTARIO RICARDO FLORES MAGON

Invitarlos para que vean "Cuando la felicidad así lo requiera" una obra de teatro que viene de Mérida para presentarla en diferentes espacios ......... El colectivo se llama "El Teatrito" ellos hacen teatro independiente y la obra que ahora traen para el D.F. fue escrita por ellos. Es un historia para recordar el pensamiento de Ricardo Flores Magón en la Revolución......
la entrada será gratuita........
Centro social libertario Ricardo Flores Magon ubicado en cerrada de londres N. 14 col Juarez saliendo de metro Sevilla por direccion observatorio.

ojalá le caigan !!!!!!! y si pueden difundir!!!!!!!!!

El no tenia nada’ en sus manos dice "Ana" sobre el indígena guatemalteco baleado

El no tenia nada’ en sus manos dice "Ana" sobre el indígena guatemalteco baleado
Jorge Macías
Jlmacias@latinocalifornia.com

“A mí no me gusta nada de lo que hicieron. No sé como el alcalde dice que el ‘poli’ es un héroe’, dijo “Ana”, la testigo presencial de la muerte del indígena guatemalteco, Manuel Jaminez, a manos del oficial Frank Hernández, del LAPD.
“Ana” ha desmentido la versión oficial de las autoridades, en el caso que ha tomado un curso inesperado para las autoridades del orden y políticas de Los Ángeles.
“No lo entiendo. No me gusta nada de eso”, dijo la mujer a LatinoCalifornia. “No está bien, no es correcto lo que dice el alcalde”.
“Ana” ha dicho que Manuel Jaminez “no tenía nada” en sus manos, en referencia a la posible navaja o cuchillo con que presuntamente el ahora occiso amenazaba a una mujer.
Por su parte, Tomas Gómez, concuño del fallecido dijo a LatinoCalifornia que “lamentablemente la familia está ahora muy llorosa…lloran…es muy doloroso. Él era el único sostén de la familia…si, el único…él es huérfano. Toda la familia le está llorando en Guatemala”.
De igual forma, el inmigrante guatemalteco dijo no estar de acuerdo con las declaraciones del alcalde, Antonio Villaraigosa.
“No, porque hay muchas mentiras que la policía está diciendo y eso nos afecta”, dijo. “Estan aquí para matarnos o protegernos?”.
El alcalde, Antonio Villaraigosa defendió el jueves a los oficiales involucrados en el fatal desenlace que cobró la vida de Manuel Jaminez, quien supuestamente amenazaba con una navaja a una mujer embarazada, y dijo que los agentes “actuaron con valentía”.
Las declaraciones de la máxima autoridad de Los Ángeles llegaron después que el jefe del LAPD, Charlie Beck acudió a una reunión comunitaria donde los residentes de Westlake, en el centro de la ciudad, le gritaron “asesinos” a los policías y pidieron “justicia, justicia, justicia”.
“Vamos a ser claros, y yo lo seré, acerca de lo que sucedió en el área de Westlake”, dijo Villaraigosa. “Había un hombre con un cuchillo. El hombre con el cuchillo amenazaba a las personas, gente inocente que estaba en la calle. El hombre estaba a una distancia cercana –de hecho, los hechos demostrarán que en realidad él tenía su mano al menos a una persona en algún momento del altercado”.
Jaminez fue abatido por dos disparos certeros a la cabeza. Los hechos ocurrieron en la esquina de las calles Sexta y la Avenida Union, en la zona de Westlake, en el centro de Los Ángeles.
Tras la muerte del inmigrante se desataron dos días de actos de violencia y de respuesta airada de la comunidad, mayoritariamente centroamericana y de origen mexicano.
La actuación de los tres policías en bicicleta que participaron en la balacera ha sido catalogada como una acción “heroica y valiente”, por parte del alcalde de la ciudad, Antonio Villaraigosa.
Las palabras del alcalde, sin embargo, solamente encendieron más los ánimos ya caldeados, al grado que defensores de los derechos civiles y de los inmigrantes lo catalogaron el jueves como un “político oportunista” que defiende sus intereses y las acciones de la policía, antes y después del tiroteo como “vergonzosas, antidemocráticas y antiestadounidenses”.
“Es un asesinato”, calificó Juan José Gutiérrez, líder de la Coalición Derechos Plenos para los Inmigrantes. “Las acciones de la policía durante y después [de la muerte de Jaminez] fueron antidemocráticas y antiestadounidenses”.
MARCHA EL 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE
Para el próximo 18 de septiembre, los activistas y defensores de los derechos civiles y humanos han llamado a una marcha multitudinaria, “para exigir justicia para Manuel Jaminez y transparencia en las investigaciones”.
La protesta ha sido convocada por la Asociación Nacional de Abogados (National Lawyers Guild, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Coalición Actúa Ahora para Detener la Guerra y el Racismo (ANSWER o Act Now to Stop War, por sus siglas en inglés).
La gente ha sido llamada para congregarse, a partir de las 10:00 de la mañana, en la esquina donde Manuel Jaminez encontró la muerte.
“Como barra de abogados, la Asociación [Nacional de Abogados] está disgustada porque el alcalde [Antonio Villaraigosa] quien también es abogado, antes de que se haya producido alguna investigación y sin haber estado en la escena, y con toda clase de informes contradictorios haya emitido una declaración proclamando por adelantado que cuando la investigación haya finalizado, él está seguro y confía que el señor Frank Hernández [el oficial que disparo a Jaminez] será llamado un héroe”, dijo el abogado James Lafferty.
“Para el alcalde de la ciudad, que es el jefe de la aplicación de leyes en la ciudad, hacer ese tipo de comentarios es prejuicio sobre una audiencia, hasta el punto de que ahora es casi inútil una audiencia”, agregó Lafferty. “Si el oficial Hernández es absuelto como resultado de esa audiencia, nadie en la comunidad va a darle ningún crédito”.
Casi al final de una rueda de prensa, Villaraigosa se presentó cuando bajaba las escalinatas de la alcaldía, y dijo a los reporteros que se mantenía en los comentarios realizados.
“Entiendo que pude haber molestado a algunas personas, pero yo estoy con los oficiales”, dijo. “No, yo no he prejuzgado más de que lo que dije durante el evento de “May Day” que lo que vi no me gustó. Les dije lo que ví”.
Villaraigosa se refería a la forma en que agentes del LAPD atacaron con balas de goma y lesionaron a decenas de personas, incluyendo periodistas durante una marcha por la reforma migratoria, en 2006.
Tras las demandas legales, la ciudad de Los Ángeles tuvo que pagar decenas de millones de dólares a víctimas de la brutalidad policiaca.
Villaraigosa dijo también que, en aquella ocasión sus comentarios fueron ``''irrelevantes” para la investigación.
Mientras caminaba hacia la parte sur de la alcaldía, para conmemorar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, algunos activistas comenzaron a burlarse del alcalde.
“¿A quién viene a representar – a la comunidad o la policía?’, increpó uno de ellos.
Otro más gritó: “Tú eres latino, ¿ahora estás feliz de que está muerto [Jaminez]?”.
Juan José Gutiérrez, presidente de la Coalición Derechos Plenos para los Inmigrantes dijo a LatinoCalifornia que personalmente abordó a Villaraigosa.
“Oiga, todavía sostiene que cuando esta investigación concluya, cree que el público de Los Ángeles va identificar a Frank Hernández, quien le dio dos plomazos [a Manuel Jaminez]?, cuestionó. “¿Usted cree que será proclamado como héroe”.
Gutiérrez dijo que el alcalde solamente le respondió: “Bueno, vamos a esperarnos a que termine la investigación”.
“ ¿Cual investigación, si ya determinaron la respuesta final?”, replicó Gutiérrez.
De la misma forma, Gutiérrez lanzó otra cuestión: “¿Cómo se nos pide que confiemos en ese tipo de investigación si hay una intervención injustificada de las máximas autoridades de la ciudad?, cuando se supone que son las menos indicadas para hablar fuera de contexto”.
Colleen Flynn, una observador legal para el gremio de abogados, dijo que ella estaba presente durante las protestas en la calle y vio a la policía de Los Angeles ``provocando a la multitud, usando armas no letales contra la gente, disparando indiscriminadamente gases lacrimógenos, disparos de balas de goma y acorralando a los miembros de la comunidad que incluso ni estaban involucrados en las manifestaciones”.
La abogada mencionó que la represión policiaca no es algo nuevo en el área de Westlake, sino de todos los días.
“Hay represión contra los vendedores callejeros, contra las personas que buscan trabajo en las esquinas, y ahora, después de la muerte del señor Jaminez, han antagonizado a las multitudes y finalmente arrestaron a varias personas”, dijo a LatinoCalifornia.
DOS DETENIDOS EN PROCESO DE DEPORTACION
Informó que los arrestados el martes 7 de septiembre fueron llevados a la División 77 del LAPD, en el sur-centro de Los Angeles “por faltas menores” como su negativa a dispersarse, cuando la policía declaró ilegal su presencia en las calles.
Algunos de los detenidos, dijo, “estan viviendo una situación horrible”.
De hecho, mencionó que dos personas, de nombre Mario Oliva y Edwin Tomas, quienes supuestamente debieron ser multados y luego liberados, fueron entregados al Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE). Ambos enfrentan procesos de deportación.
Dos personas más, -cuyos nombres no reveló- enfrentan cargos de felonía, en base al código penal 242C, referente al supuesto ataque a un agente del orden.
“Estas dos personas pudieran pasar entre tres y cuatro años en prisión”, asevero Flynn.
Además, Miguel Marroquín, un anciano de 62 años de edad, enfermo de tuberculosis, también fue arrestado cuando pretendía llegar a su casa.
La presión de la abogada Flynn y de activistas comunitarios en Westlake propició que el sexagenario fuese puesto en libertad, apenas el jueves 10 de septiembre.
James Lafferty dijo que la Asociación Nacional de Abogados estaba planeando demandar al LAPD, “porque hemos estado hablando con muchas personas que han sido maltratadas con balas de goma. En general, cuando hemos investigado los hechos en el pasado, las demandas es lo que sigue”.
UNA LECCION NO APRENDIDA: LAFFERTY
“Creíamos que la ciudad había aprendido su lección”, declaró el abogado James Lafferty. “Fue la Asociación Nacional de Abogados la que demandó a la ciudad y ganó millones de dólares, después del fiasco en el parque MacArthur hace algunos años, 13 millones de dólares para ser exacto. Millones más se lograron a través de demandas contra el LAPD durante la Convención Nacional Demócrata [del año 2000], cuando la policía se volvió loca”.
En efecto, en agosto de 2000, violentas protestas ocurrieron en las afueras del Staples Center, la noche del discurso del ex presidente Bill Clinton a los delegados demócratas, y la aceptación de Al Gore como candidato a la Casa Blanca.
“Había una docena de jóvenes lanzando piedras y botellas en dirección del Staples Center”, dijo James Lafferty, director de la Asociación Nacional de Abogados, quien fue lesionado en agosto de 2000, al recibir dos impactos de balas de goma. “Simplemente debieron encargarse de ellos, pero no hicieron ningún esfuerzo. Sin previo aviso, apagaron la electricidad y dijeron que tenían que dispersarse en 15 minutos”.
Poco después de las 8:00 de la noche, cuando tocaba la banda Ozomatli durante un concierto, la policía apagó las luces del escenario y el comandante Gary Brennan declaró ilegal la asamblea de miles de personas congregadas y ordenó a la audiencia que se fuera del lugar.
Al menos 150 personas resultaron lesionadas, al ser heridas por el uso de macanas, balas de goma y la policía montada a caballo. El LAPD dijo que ningún oficial fue herido.

More on the Westlake/Pico Union Rebellion

Victim of LAPD’s fatal shooting in Westlake was unarmed, witness says

September 9, 2010 | 2:03 pm
A Westlake resident who said she witnessed the LAPD's fatal shooting of a Guatemalan day laborer said Thursday she saw no knife in the man's hands, contradicting the Police Department's account.

"He had nothing in his hands," said Ana, who did not give her last name and asked that her face be obscured on photos and on television because she feared being harassed by the police. "At the moment when the police were shooting, he had nothing."

Ana said she was across the street Sunday afternoon when the bicycle officers with LAPD's Rampart Division shot and killed 37-year-old Manuel Jamines, who police said was wielding a knife and threatening people in the crowded shopping district. Jamines' death has sparked protests and violent skirmishes night after night in the area near Sixth Street and Union Avenue, leading to clashes with the police and arrests.

Ana, who said she was interviewed by police on the day of the shooting, gave her account Thursday morning in front of a phalanx of television cameras and reporters during a press conference called by community activists. The activists said she contacted them after seeing a flier they passed out in the area.

She said she had just come out of a travel agency and was walking down the street when she heard the officers yell "drop the weapon" in Spanish. She said the man appeared drunk, and was having trouble keeping his balance. He stepped toward the officers, but it appeared to be an attempt to keep from falling forward, she said. Ana said she gestured to the man from across the street, trying to get him to turn around and let police arrest him.

But less than a minute after she first heard the officers' warning, an officer fired two shots into the man's head, Ana recalled. She said the impact from the shots, which she said were fired from about five to six feet away from Jamines, were such that blood splattered to the other side of the street where she stood.

Ana, who works in a school cafeteria, said she has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and believes that police have been over-aggressively cracking down on street vendors and seizing their products.

After the press conference Thursday, she met with state Assemblyman Kevin De Léon, (D-Los Angeles), who was on his way to a meeting with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

De Léon plans to ask the chief for a thorough and complete investigation into whether the shooting was justified, but believes opportunists are seizing on heightened emotion in the neighborhood to push their anti-police agenda.

"There are individuals exploiting the death and being opportunistic," he said. "They're not helping the situation."

Beck, who was heckled while trying to calm residents at a community meeting Thursday evening, has promised a fair investigation.

-- Victoria Kim

Villaraigosa defends police action in Westlake, says officers 'acted with bravery'

September 9, 2010 | 12:07 pm

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday offered a vigorous defense of the officers who were involved in Sunday’s fatal police shooting of a man holding a knife, saying they were heroes who "acted with bravery."

One day after protesters shouted such words as "killer" and "assassin" at his police chief, Villaraigosa spoke at length about the circumstances surrounding the death of Manuel Jamines, a Guatemalan day laborer who was shot by a police officer on a busy Westlake street.

“Let’s be clear, and I will be, about what happened in the Westlake area,” Villaraigosa told reporters. “There was a man with a knife. That man with a knife was threatening individuals, innocent people who were on the street there. That man was in close proximity – in fact, the facts will show that actually he had his hand on at least one person at some point in that altercation.”

“We’ve got to go through an investigation,” Villaraigosa went on. “But when it’s all said and done, I’ll guarantee you what’s going to come out is that these guys are heroes, and I stand by them.”
Westlake, just west of downtown, has experienced three days of protests following the death of Jamines, 37, with two men arrested on suspicion of setting fires in the neighborhood during protests against the killing. Villaraigosa, who made his comments at an event devoted to a new city business initiative, said the neighborhood has seen homicides drop by 90% over the last several years.

He also voiced anger that protesters had shouted "murderer" at Police Chief Charlie Beck at a community meeting.

“I think those kinds of accusations are not only outrageous, they shouldn’t be repeated. I don’t know anyone in the command staff more committed to community-based policing. I don’t know anybody in the LAPD who has spent as many years as he has at Rampart and in South L.A. and on the Westside, with boots on the ground, actually in a patrol car, working with communities. I don’t know anybody that has more respect for the civil rights and civil liberties of our residents.”

Villaraigosa said the LAPD will follow an extensive process for investigating officer-involved shootings.

“It’s a tragedy that we’ve lost a life here. But under the circumstances, I think the facts will show that our officers acted with bravery in what they did,” he said.

-- David Zahniser at Los Angeles City Hall

Photo: From left, Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Police Commissioner John Mack and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck in a press conference offering a detailed account of a fatal officer-involved shooting near MacArthur Park. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Birthday Message from Leonard Peltier

September 6, 2010


Sisters, brothers, friends and supporters,

I wish I could sit across the table from each of you right now. We’d share a meal and reflect on changes in this world over these 35 or so years. Yes, I pay attention to things on the outside (as much as possible). I know the world is in turmoil and I ache for the Native people who languish in utter poverty on reservations and in inner cities across America.

As a young man, all I wanted to do was make a positive difference in the People’s lives. I’ll turn 66 years old next week and I still want that. It’s difficult to have an impact in my current circumstances, though. That’s a constant source of frustration for me. On the outside, given the chance to roll up my sleeves once again, I suspect I’d still be somewhat frustrated. All that must be done is more than any one person can accomplish. I’d still like the opportunity to do my part.

Thinking back to those days on Pine Ridge, what I remember is the funerals. There were so many funerals... So many families lost loved ones.

There was a powerful force at work on the reservation back then, one with a single purpose—to stamp out the last resistance of the Lakota people.

We (the Oglala traditionals and members of the American Indian Movement) stood up because we were trying to defend our People. It was the right thing to do. We had—have—the right to survive.

The land was being stolen, too… used for mining mostly. No thought was given to the disposal of toxic waste. The rivers were full of poisons. Not much has changed, I hear.

In those days, though, the reservation was torn apart by a tribal dispute and the federal government armed one group against another. The result was a long line of tragedies for the People of Pine Ridge… and for the People who were there that day in June 1975.

I honestly understand the pain and anguish suffered by all concerned and I have been part of that suffering.

I have watched people lie on the witness stand countless times and felt the doors closing on me.

I have heard judges admonish prosecutors for allowing false evidence in and, in some cases, for participating in the falsification itself.

The government hid evidence, too.

Or manufactured it. Literally.

The courts say none of this is even in dispute anymore. So I wonder, if the American standard of justice is still "beyond a reasonable doubt," why am I still here?

Some people have had their convictions overturned because of one constitutional violation. The number of constitutional violations in my case is staggering. Yet, I continue to wait here for the same justice to be applied for me.

I hope that someday someone can put it all on the table and show the enormity of the railroading I have been victimized by.

Last year, as you know, my parole was denied. That was a disappointment, but I am not defeated. My fight for freedom—for my People and myself—is not over. I am a pipe carrier and a Sundancer. Abandoning The Struggle is not—never will be—a consideration.

I am an Indian man and proud of it. I love my People and culture and spiritual beliefs. My enemies like to suggest otherwise and seek to rob me of all dignity. They won’t succeed.

When I look back over all the years, I remember all the good people who have stood up for me, for a day or a decade. Of course, many have stayed with me all along the way. I think of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have signed petitions for me, too... people on the poorest of reservations to the highest of political offices.

As we have learned over these many years, my freedom won’t come quickly or easily. To succeed, the coming battle will have to be hard fought. Please continue to help my Committee and legal team as you have always done. Your support is more important now than ever before. When freedom comes, it will be due in no small part to the actions you take on my behalf.

Again, thank you for remembering me. You can’t know the comfort you bring to an innocent man locked away from the world for so very long.

Doksha,


Leonard Peltier
#89637-132
USP-Lewisburg
US Penitentiary
PO Box 1000
Lewisburg, PA 17837

-----

Launched into cyberspace by the
Leonard Peltier Defence Offense Committee
PO Box 7488, Fargo, ND 58106
Phone: 701/235-2206
Fax: 701/235-5045
E-mail: contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

Visit www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.

Pico Union Resisters turned over to ICE custody. CALL FOR SOLIDARITY!

Just got word from a lawyer supporting people being held for the rebellion, that 2 people have been turned over to ICE custody.

There's another brother who has ICE hold on him for a felony charge for allegedly shooting at police with a sling shot, "assault with a deadly weapon."

There are two more people facing assault on police officer charges.

There are people facing serious charges and possible deportation for resisting police terrorism and defending their community.

We're calling for people to stand with the Pico Union community and support any way you can.  We are calling for court support, and support for the families of those arrested.

We are also building a defense/bail bonds fund.  Those with ICE holds can't be bailed out until bond is requested when they're in ICE custody, if granted by them.

The families of those arrested should contact us to see how we can support them.

People can contact COP WATCH LA at 1-877-4-LA-1992

To donate $ to the bail fund go to www.copwatchla.org and click on the "donate" button on top left to go to our pay pal account

Solidarity!


-- Sent from the Revolution

From: Michael Novick
Date: Sep 9, 2010 12:19 PM
Subject: 2 charged with setting fire in street protest of Westlake killing
To: Joaquin Cienfuegos
CC: dope_x_resistancela@yahoogroups.com

Pico Union/Westlake Rebellion after Rampart Police Muder Manuel Jamines - Indigenous Man from Guatemala

Manuel Jamines was murdered by Rampart police on Sunday, September 5th, 2010. He was a 37 year old indigenous man from Guatemala, who didn't speak English or even Spanish very well. He was a day laborer, and had three children in Guatemala. He was standing on the corner of 6th Street and Union in the community of Pico Union or Westlake. The police claim he had a knife and was intending to use it on a pregnant woman. Many eye witnesses say that this was not true, and that Manuel was murdered in cold blood. This is nothing new for LAPD in general and the Rampart Division in particular. We've lost too many innocent people at the hands of law enforcement in Los Angeles.

In Pico Union or Westlake community, the people who live there, who are friends of Manuel, who are from Guatemala, Central America, Mexico, and elsewhere, people have had enough. They said, "Ya Basta!" They rose up in a rebellion that has lasted two days in the area. The police provoked them by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at people, resulting in the uprising. People hurled eggs, rocks, burning dumpsters, televisions and other debris at the police from the streets and buildings. Yesterday, Tuesday, September 7th, 2010, the community stormed the Rampart police division, to demand justice for Manuel.

Putting this uprising into some historical context, in the Rodney King Rebellion of 1992, the police were quoted saying, "If this was an insurrection, Pico Union would e enemy territory." It's a community that has had experience in struggle, in many ways. In 1992 the police arrested more people in that neighborhood than anywhere else. Pico Union has the largest concentration of people from Central American, than anywhere else, outside of "Central America." People come from a first hand experience of Revolution and Civil War. They were forced to migrate here because of u.s. imperialism, and what it has done to their homelands. So people are still angry at that, then they are made to deal with the Rampart division. The powers that be understand that the Pico-Union neo-colony is a threat to them, and a ticking time-bomb. They unleash the most brutal police division on the community, some of this was brought to light during the "Rampart Scandal," in 1999.

Rampart police try to lie to the people and say that this is the new and improved division, even though not long ago they also murdered Dontaze Story not far from where Manuel Jamines was murdered. The Guatemalan community was angry and wanted the one responsible handed over to them. They wanted to exert their form of justice, and they got it in the streets. In the indigenous community where Manuel Jamines is from, the people go as far as an eye for an eye, they call this Mayan Justice.

Reflecting on the rebellion, as a supporter of the community, I have to say that this was inevitable. This was just the spark that people needed, to say enough! Some opportunist organizations and activists might take credit for this, but even they cannot stop it. The community is really tight knit, and self-organized. In my opinion, those activists, supporters, and people on the sidelines, should try to find ways to be in solidarity with people. They shouldn't try to be "vanguard leadership," or try to stop them. Those people, just need to get out the way of the community. You can stop a tsunami, rebellion is justified!

Come out and support the community of Pico Union today at 6pm on 6th and Union

Jail solidarity is needed for those arrested, most people were released on their own recognizance, some people with warrants are still being held at 77th division.

Community Storms Rampart Police Station 9/7/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-rwwyhodV8


Community Protests Police in Pico Union

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jonrO_tXmXc




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7TYBFjbGe8&feature=related


The Rampart kkkops murder Central American man in historical Pico Union. This's the aftermath, which made Pico Union a police state. Footage of AFTER the communities rebellion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f45LkjS4VR4&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuUZVb_eAe0&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ezhu-aYV1k&feature=related



http://discussions.ktla.com/20/ktla2/ktla-westlake-knife-ois/10?logout=true












































Voces de Libertad - Entrevista desde la rebelion en Pico Union
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/mp3/kpfk_100907_213030vocesdelibertad.MP3

26 people arrested today in the Pico Union/West Lake Rebellion

26 people arrested today in the Pico Union/West Lake Rebellion

Calling for urgent Jail Solidarity, to demand they be released immediately, no detentions or deportations

Go right now to Parker Center/Glass House on Los Angeles and Temple

Bring Candles, signs, banners etc

Meet tomorrow on 6th and Union at 6pm for follow up actions to fight for justice for Manuel Jamines and all other stolen lives

"When life gives you oil spills... Make Molotovs!