Good Lord! Check out these photos of the Pittsburgh Peace Parade

[Penndems]

Posted at Daily Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/18/223848/425

This is just unbelievable. What in the world is going on in The Steel City?

On edit: Here are more photos from the Pittsburgh Indy Media website:

http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/23205.php

[varkam]

1. Those peace activists can be pretty vicious.

I mean...words can really hurt!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That is just bizarre!

WTF is wrong with Pittsburgh? At the march in Minneapolis today, there were hardly any police at all -- a few cars at the beginning and end of the march and one at each of the main intersections. We hardly noticed them at all. But those Pittsburgh pictures looked absolutely frightening.

[Penndems]

8. Looking at these photos literally took my breath away

I mean, were the police expecting a violent confrontation between supporters of the war and the peace protesters? This just seems rather, well, excessive to me.

There probably weren't this many officers out in force when the Steelers won the Super Bowl, for heaven's sake!

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. In San Diego

the police have a strong persence, and it is not because of the peace maerches, but the heavy presence of White Supremacy Groups. I've talked to the officers and they have.. shall we say, expected and had some troubles with them boys before.

So you seee a march with 2000 demostrators, and 200 cops to literally keep them safe. So I would not be too surprised if that was the case too

[azndndude]

3. Why do they hate Americans?

[Ksec]

4. Pittsburgh cops have always been thuggish

Ive never been down there without intimidating cops everywhere. I do lots of concerts there, and I pray I never have run ins with them

[Blue_In_AK]

5. Unbelievable...

At our protest today, the cops who drove by honked at our "honk for peace" signs. These guys in Pittsburgh look scary.

[yourout]

6. Reminds me of the Blues Brothers were everyone was...

chasing them.

[I Have A Dream]

7. I was there, and this is exactly how it was from inside the crowd.

Actually, at one point, it felt as though we were being corraled. I left soon after getting that feeling.

The Pittsburgh police tasered peace activists earlier this year, and I just wasn't up for any type of confrontation.

The sad thing about this is that the city of Pittsburgh is very blue.

[AX10]

24. You just convinced me the Pittsburgh Police are the Gestapo.

[Penndems]

27. I am just absolutely SHOCKED by these photos

The crowd doesn't seem to be agitated. Was there any trouble during the march?

Fifteen hundred to two thousand people is considered a small to medium-sized march in D.C. The D.C. police have contingents of riot control officers out in force, unless it's something like a massive demonstration where the possibility for property damage or confrontation exists, or at a Presidential inaugural. Every available officer, the SWAT Team, the K-9 Team, Federal police agencies - you name it - is out in force during events like the ones I've mentioned.

Oh yeah, there WAS one other time when D.C. was in lockdown status before 9/11: The 1968 riots after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. Half the city was on fire, and there was rioting and looting seemingly everywhere. The then-Mayor of Washington, D.C., Walter Washington, imposed a curfew -no one on the streets from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for almost three days. What a horrible time that was. I was twelve years old, and I'll NEVER forget it. :scared:

But this is Pittsburgh, for heaven's sake, and Pittsburgh ain't D.C. Good ole blue-collar, college-town, heavily Democratic Pittsburgh. Why in the world would they have this overwhelming show of law enforcement for such a relatively peaceful demonstration?

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the "Letters to the Editor" in the Pittsburgh papers! (the Pittsburgh Trib will probably sanitize 'em though, LOL. :( )












(on edit: additional text)

[I Have A Dream]

33. I really think that there were less than 1000 people at the rally.

The crowd was totally peaceful. I think that there was one arrest along the way; however, I wasn't aware of it until after the fact.

The crowd wasn't agitated. However, I left soon after the police appeared in full force.

I look at the letters to the editor this morning, and, surprisingly, there weren't any about the rally.

[globalvillage]

28. Do you know what happened to the woman

who was videotaped being tasered by the Pittsburgh police last August? I wrote to Chief McNeilly to complain about the abuse, and his letter back to me claimed she had not yet been detained when she was tasered, and that she assulted the police.
That's not what I saw on the video.
There was supposed to be an independent investigation, although I have not heard any more about the incident.

[Penndems]

29. I haven't heard anything, nor have I see any follow-up pieces in

the Pittsburgh papers. Would LOVE to know what the outcome of that situation was.

If you do hear or read something, please post it.

[globalvillage]

31. There were some updates

But nothing about the outcome of the legal matter involving the tasered woman.
Here's a link to one of the DU posts from when it happened. The video and some updates can be accessed from here.
I had forgotten about the older woman who was bit by the police dog.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4433462

[Penndems]

32. Thanks for the info and the memory jag

Where any lawsuits filed regarding these incidents?

Wow, these sure aren't the same pleasant, helpful Pittsburgh police officers that we interacted with when Hubby and I visited there!

[I Have A Dream]

34. No, I haven't heard anything more. n/t

[vanboggie]

9. Amazing stupidity

Just sent this link to KO and TDS. The irony is delicious.

[motocicleta]

10. Great story on Kos

I just emailed it, with a nice note, to Chief Foxworth in Portland. Hopefully he and others in charge will take heed of these disgusting displays.

[Warpy]

11. The police have been militarized for 40 years

to make up for that annoying posse comitatus thing that prevented civilized presidents from using the military against college kids in the 60s. Well mostly, there was that thing at Kent State.

They glamorized it with shows like S.W.A.T. so the gullible idiots in suburbia would roll over for it and it worked.

Now we have an internal military as well as an external military to keep us all in line.

They're tipping their hand, now, putting on an overkill show of force for the suburbanites who rolled over 30 years ago and are waking up to what the government's become now.

[zulchzulu]

12. Hey, at least the cops didn't just kill all the protestors, yunno...

...they could have really, really, really kicked their asses...yunno...

[Breeze54]

13. What the F***??

Talk about OVER KILL!!! Gheesh!!
What? Did they think it was a G-8 Conference??
Pittsburgh and those in charge need to get a grip!
Even DC wasn't that freaked out last fall, at least not what I saw!
I found this pic incredible!!


:wtf:

[Vickers]

14. Crazy. If any DUers still feel that the 2nd Amendment is not important,

please reconsider.

If your state has a Concealed Weapon Permit program, look in to it.

Have a nice day!

[MrBenchley]

22. WTF? You mean you think the rally would have been helped

by some armed loony pegging off a few shots at those cops?

That's fucking bizarre.

Why am I reminded of Tommy the Traveler?

P.S.: All the second amendment covers is the right of states to have a well regulated militia. Don't fall for NRA lies.

[Vickers]

25. Whoever replied to me, I have you ignored, so it didn't make it.

:eyes:

I'm sure you were simply agreeing with me. :rofl:

[MrBenchley]

35. The downside for me is nil

I can point out what a load your post was in tranquility.

P.S.: Have someone explain to you how a public forum works...

[Vickers]

37. Oops! Looks like you did it again, or maybe someone else on my IGNORE

list?

:rofl:

If you're skeered of exercising all of your Constitutional rights, and I'm almost sure that's what this is about, that's fine.

If you are actually agreeing with me but I have you on Ignore anyway, you must have been a real peckerhead at some point. :thumbsup:

[AnnieBW]

15. That's More Cops

For the protest than for when the Steelers won the Super Bowl! WTF were they expecting?

[TheBaldyMan]

16. Did you check out the straw poll at the bottom of the Kos article ?

Even given it's rather leading wording there were still a few people that voted Yes.

Police presence always tends to be high visibility, if anything being in costume tends to bring ot the macjhismo in law enforcement and can lead to bad feeling. The police probably could have kept a very low profile and left the march to the stewards and it still would have passed off peacably.

[eppur_se_muova]

17. FUHREAKY. Really looks out of place near Pitt campus, Carnegie music hall-

FWIW, those cops look bored. Like they're wondering why they called it an early night on St. Paddy's to report for THIS.

[radio4progressives]

18. This is just like the r2k in 2000, isn't it?

In 2000 Tom Ridge was Governor back then wasn't he? The Gestapo Police State in PA is notorious - at least since the days of Move - and let's not forget where Mumia was framed, and maybe du'rs aren't aware of what horrendous fascist gestapo tactics taken against anti-globalization and peace activists during the 2000 RNC on r2k.

[Kare]

19. They didn't have sheilds in Chicago

But the presence was just as much

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x698373

Those are the pictures that the hubby took

We didn't have dogs that I could see but the mounted and bike police were there
the riot police were there big time
They had police from county, state, and chicago there.

Because you know peace marches get way out of hand.. those poeple want blood! :sarcasm:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

20. Peace marchers are always violent.

Always.

Everybody knows that.

[katinmn]

21. What a shame. We had two police cars leading our march

Other than that they were not visible.
I think this guy is smiling at the camera.

[AX10]

23. Well, you are in Minnesota.

[napi21]

26. I wasn't always like this! I grew up in Pgh. and I was in the

middle of the celebration when the Pirates won their first Championship & when the Steelers won their fourth ring!

I don't even remember seeing any cops!

I have no idea what has happened there since I moved in 1987.

[appleannie1]

30. Actually they blocked off the streets

so people could celebrate this year. My daughter was down there and she said they were very helpful. I guess they figure the drunks celebrating a Super Bowl win are less trouble than sober peace marchers.

[LeaveIraqNow]

36. To be fair.

They really did not know how many would show up to begin with, maybe they were expecting a much larger crowd.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. Does Pittsburg have a problem with White Supremacy

groups? I am not kidding... they re the reason for heavier than expected police presence by San Diego PD...

[mopinko]

40. chicago, too.

way more cops than marchers in most of the feeder march sites. solid line of cops lining the whole route through downtown. probably more cops than marchers there, if the official count is even close to true.

[Lars39]

41. Officer has his badge information taped over in the 3rd pic.

He did not have good intentions.