San Francisco police arrested an activist engaged in non-violent protest of a city ordinance, then conducted an unconsented, warrantless search of his cell phone.  When asked what he was doing, the arresting officer told the activist that he was “Looking for text messages—how do you feel about that?”  The ACLU of Northern California filed a lawsuit citing violations of privacy and free speech under the U.S. and California constitutions.

Are police officers necessarily more trustworthy than alleged criminals? I think not. Not just because the police have a special inclination toward confabulation, but because, disturbingly, they have an incentive to lie. In this era of mass incarceration, the police shouldnt be trusted any more than any other witness, perhaps less so. That may sound harsh, but numerous law enforcement officials have put the matter more bluntly. Peter Keane, a former San Francisco Police commissioner, wrote [that] Police officer perjury in court to justify illegal dope searches is commonplace. One of the dirty little not-so-secret secrets of the criminal justice system is undercover narcotics officers intentionally lying under oath. It is a perversion of the American justice system that strikes directly at the rule of law. Yet it is the routine way of doing business in courtrooms everywhere in America. The New York City Police Department is not exempt from this critique. New York City officers have been found to engage in patterns of deceit in cases involving charges as minor as trespass. Jeannette Rucker, the chief of arraignments for the Bronx district attorney, explained in a letter that it had become apparent that the police were arresting people even when there was convincing evidence that they were innocent. To justify the arrests, Ms. Rucker claimed, police officers provided false written statements, and in depositions, the arresting officers gave false testimony. Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on police and prisons corruption, click here .

COME SUPPORT ADAM WEATHERS  tomorrow at 9am Dept 11 at Rene C. Davidson courthouse (by the lake). This will be a bail reduction hearing and community support  can play an important factor in the judges decision.   Adam was arrested on J28 in front of the YMCA  with hundreds of other comrades while serving as a medic. He was brutalized by police, including being kicked in the head by his arresting officer. It has long been a practice of OPD to stick those they brutalize most with the most severe … Continued

Take a few minutes to let Alice police employees know that filming is not a crime. Alice (TX) Police Department  (361) 664-0186 Only bullies want to censor the free flow of information. Nick Juarez was in the wrong and the inaction of his colleagues to speak out only makes more blatant their claimed double-standards. Yet such authority is gotten only when granted. Do you view aggressors as “authorities”? Yesterday Oklahoma Cop Block founder, D.J. McCaskill put on my radar a video [below] captured and uploaded to YouTube.com/Gloc361 that shows, after almost 12-minutes into a relatively uneventful vehicle stop on an Alice, Texas road, Nick Juarez walk onto private property, demand identification from the person recording, and when the response given was not in the form of identification but in stating rights, Juarez put into handcuffs (and, when the camera was turned-off, bring that person to a cage). I called the Alice Police Department on Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 to inquire about the policies supposedly upheld by employees of Alice police department. Specifically, whether it was standard operating procedure to kidnap and cage anyone documenting the actions of employees. I was told to call back. I did, but again, was told on on present could talk to me about their policies or the incident. Maybe you’ll have better luck? Alice Texas Police Department website: http://www.ci.alice.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=142 phone: (361) 664-0186 re: Nick Juarez It’s clear Gloc361 was not in any way interfering with the stop*, so why did Nick Juarez feel compelled to not just walk on property he was told was private? Is that the kind of behavior you desire from someone who “protects” you? Raw Video from YouTube.com/Gloc361 [iframe width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oYrqmXl5qEY"] Video Description: I was wrongfully arrested while I was at work. I was taking a break and decided to record a traffic stop that was off the highway a good 60 ft away and was then approached by an Alice Police officer who I advised that he was trespassing onto Private Property he then demanded to see my ID and that’s when things took a turn for the worst..!!! Related KRIS-TV video at the Alice PD Wiki’s page on wiretapping “laws” , which shows that Texas, where the video was captured, does not require consent or notification of both parties Texas Cop Block on Facebook & via emai: texascopblock@gmail.com *though we don’t know in this case for sure, most stops – the restriction in freedom of movement, or else – are done despite the absence of harm to person or property. To be clear, their primary purpose is revenue generation. It’s not too surprising then, that one activist has likened police employes to road pirates .   UPDATE: Wed., Jan. 2nd, 2013 10pm EST Video from YouTube.com/MikeHansonArchives [iframe width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TlWvQTedFcA"] Video Description: Alice Texas Police Department Phone: (361) 664-0186 Website: http://www.ci.alice.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=142 Nick Juarez is the arresting Officer Nick Juarez, Alice (TX) PD Employee, Cages Man for Filming is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights

The Ridley Report has recently been publishing continued analysis of the court victory for the independent journalist following his arrest in May of 2011. Three months later, Ridley was acquitted at a bench trial of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing, and a detailed summary of the trial was posted to Free Concord the following day. A playlist on the Ridley Report youtube channel documents all of his own coverage beginning with the arrest and protests shortly thereafter, and continuing with analyzed video from the trial of key moments. On December 1 of this year, a video published which described a possible continuation of the case into legal land, this time in the form of a civil lawsuit against the Nashua police. Illustrated with claymation produced by another youtube content creator , the video entitled, Nashua police reject demand for groper’s dismissal linked to this information posted to a public forum by Ridley. As you may recall, Nashua police arrested me while I was trying to film their actions outside a hotel in which Joe Biden was speaking. In the process of searching me, the arresting officer Denis Linehan touched my genitals. After our defeat of trespassing charges in court, my lawyer Stephen Martin has helped me issue a pair of demands. If met, we would drop suit. The initial demand called for monetary damages in the $15,000 range. When the city rejected that we represented that firing Linehan would be enough to prevent the suit. As expected, city attorney Brian Cullen has rejected that offer too. The city has however indicated a willingness to accept some other non-monetary settlement. Throughout this month, four additional videos of highlights from the criminal trial have been uploaded. You can see even more edited portions of the trial created in 2011 on the playlist . Published December 10: Hipple checkmates cop in court Published December 16: Prosecutor to Judge: Ridley’s not ‘reasonable’ Published December 18: Walking backward while obeying cops – prosecutor admits it’s why I was arrested near Biden event Published December 21: Judge spanks cops over false arrest (very gently)

Tammy Cooper was sitting on her lawn chair, enjoying a nice day in the sun, watching her kids play on motorized scooters in the cul de sac right outside her home in La Porte, Texas. Her family’s activity wasn’t any different than any other family across the country. But that’s when things drastically changed. A LEO pulled up and told her that a neighbor had complained that her children were unsupervised. He then arrested her for child endangerment . Her children, ages 6 and 9, threw themselves around the officer’s legs and begged him not to arrest her, telling him she had done nothing wrong. And indeed, she hadn’t. Her charge was dropped, but only after she spent time in jail… an experience she described as “humiliating.” Fortunately, Tammy Cooper is suing the La Porte PD, her arresting officer and her neighbor. We wish her the best in seeking justice. Mom Arrested for Letting Kids Play Outside is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Submitted by Devan Lauzon, via CopBlock’s ‘ Submit A Post ‘ It has actually come to point where you can’t walk down the sidewalk without fear of the police stalking and harassing you. Here in socialism-land, Ontario specifically,all our bars close at 2AM every night. I live about 2 blocks from a local bar and was walking home one night. I had only had a few drinks and wasn’t really feeling to0 drunk, after all the night was still early. On my walk home I was playing some tunes on my iPod when out of nowhere, a cop car started slowly following me. They did not stop, or ask me anything, they just followed me. When I turned around and stopped to see what was going on, they mentioned that they saw me leave the bar (I left a little early), and they did not want me to get hurt. I told them I could walk home myself, and that should have been the end of that. They kept trailing me, slowly. In hindsight, I should have just detoured around a side street, but instead I stopped again. “Is there something I can help you with?” I ask, “otherwise I’ll be ignoring this.” This time, the cops said nothing until I put my headphones back in and kept walking, at which point they tried to get my information. I told them where I lived and that if they wanted to see my home I was fine with that. “But,” I said, “If you’re checking to see if I’m TOO drunk, then move along because you’re making me nervous.” Unfortunately for me, this cop had a fucking complex, and decided to get out of the car and try to hold me down to get my information. Being 20 years old, naive, and generally disrespectful towards a brute authoritarian presence, I did what any sensible free citizen would do: I fought back. I didn’t use punches, but I tried getting away from the officer. At this point, without even telling me why he’s detaining me, or reading me my rights, this dickhead starts punching me in the stomach, throws me to the ground and gives me two punches to the face. He and his partner, who was just watching the whole time, then kidnapped me into the back of their car, where they took me across town to the jail overnight. On the ride over though, I did give them a good mouthful about the NDAA, Obama’s record, the Fed, and the non-aggression principle. Like most cops, I think they were actively trying to ignore a citizen. The worst was when we got to the station, because at that point I was held down by four officers who went through my pockets, even though I explicitly told them not to, then they ripped off my pants (seriously), and tossed me in a cell where three of them held me down, kneeing me in the chest while they ripped my shirt. After keeping me there for 6 hours, they dropped me off on the front steps of the police station, and said, “Find your own way home.” They also gave me a 65 dollar “intoxicated in public” ticket. I WAS WALKING HOME, PEACEFULLY, DOWN THE SIDEWALK! Do you think there’s any accountability? I went back to the police station asking for the officers badge number and most officers told me they were closed and couldn’t help me. This corruption and un-accountability is absurd, as is having a system that allows for this! I ended up fighting the ticket in court, where you can choose to have the arresting officer present. The officer showed up to court, and then skipped out before the trial starts. The ticket was wiped by default because they had ZERO proof, but that cop never had to face up to anything. He just skipped out on court, a public official for heavens sake! I don’t think I’ll ever look at cops the same again, yet they think we should all respect them. Being an asshole doesn’t earn you respect. Submitted by Devan Lauzon Corruption in Canada is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

WeAreChange released on their youtube channel yesterday a video update of events around the nation which begins with an overview of the military police occupation in Anaheim, California. After a series of shootings of unarmed suspects , protests have swelled in the streets of the Los Angeles suburb whose local government is dominated by Disney’s commercial interests. This unidentified man was surrounded and arrested seconds after this photograph was taken. July 29, 2012. Anaheim, CA The video then highlights happenings here in New Hampshire, featuring video from Ademo’s wiretapping pretrial hearing , and footage from the recently released Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree , a documentary composed of content created by many Shire activists. See the well-produced three minute video “Disney Wiretapping Crime Spree” attached below. http://youtube.com/watch?v=QiPaxdK1iYE Meanwhile, in Vermont… Roger Pion got some very expensive revenge against the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department in response to their arresting him for cannabis possession last month. Using a farm tractor, Pion flattened five marked cruisers, one unmarked vehicle, and a transport van. He faces a laundry list of charges. There is coverage from both CBS and Vermont’s WCAX . Virginia’s Chalking Child Criminals In an update from a story run on Free Concord in March, a mother in Virginia was recently convicted of vandalism for allowing her daughter to draw on rocks near a river in Richmond, VA. The arresting officer likened the chalk to damage done with paint, and considered the four year old’s drawings to be the equivalent of pornography. Susan Mortensen was sentenced to complete fifty hours of coerced community service, with the potential for a deferred verdict upon completion. Read more on the ludicrous finding here .

Trial Continues in OWS Trinity Church Trespass Case (Photo: Ozier Muhammad / The New York Times) The second day of what is commonly known as either the “D17″ or the “Forgive us our trespasses” trial concluded on Tuesday, June 12, around 4:30 PM. The case revolves around events that happened on and around December 17 of 2011, when members of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) entered a fenced-off lot known as  Duarte Square . Of the many who were arrested that day, eight remain on trial, as the others have either had their cases dismissed or accepted some sort of plea deal. The trial is proceeding despite the fact that a subpoena issued by the defense team hasn’t been complied and even though Judge Sciarrino deemed the information contained in the subpoena request relevant. The trial represents the district attorney’s most involved case yet, as they have already called nine witnesses to the stand and plan on calling several more. Previous cases have generally included only one witness – the arresting officer – and many have been dismissed . The district attorney (DA) is focusing so much attention on this case, in fact, some speculate they might not be ready in time for the upcoming Brooklyn Bridge proceedings. [Continues at website...] Submitted by Ray Duray, June 13, 2012 tags:ows,trinity church

There’s no getting around it – Occupy Wall Street is a thought revolution for the United States. It’s our Mental Spring. The flood gates are open and they’re not closing. ALSO on this episode of the MOC podcast – author CHRIS HEDGES live speech at Occcupy DC/ October 2011.