THE FIRST PART OF MAKING IT RIGHT HAS HAPPENED.
NOW, WE need to make sure they have an independent investigation into the abuses that went on during the RNC by the Police or by those other agencies that assisted the Police.
I have a personal suspicion that may be totally unfounded, but I think that those who acted out were not from Minnesota. I have protested here in my home state and some of those nuns that get arrested all the time are people I know and this has NOT been how Minnesota treats it's people when they express their rights to free speech.
My greatest fear would be if they used some of those "Minute Men" who patrol the borders or people like that who have no real training in crowd control for peaceful demonstrations.
SECOND --- There is a supposed "Independent Investigation" going to happen about the safety plan for the City during the RNC but it isn't going to address the arrests of reporters or abuse of people who were peaceful and ready to comply who got maced and hand police - or whichever designation of riot control party they were - put their boots on people's heads to keep them down while cuffing them. Something you could really only justify if the police/riot squad was surrounded or the person seemed violent.
You can see my journal for the Independent Investigation information I have found and if you know anything encouraging or have any real evidence of definite wrongdoing on the part of Tom Heffinger or Andy .... , please post it here. I would like to put together a letter for Mayor Chris Coleman and I may approach his brother Nick who is a progressive columnist for the STRIB to see if there is any way to approach Chris that will solve the problem without just making it DEM on DEM fodder for the news.
THIRD --- If anyone wants to contact Mayor Chris Coleman and demand/inquire about an independent investigation that addresses the wrongful arrest of journalist and abuse of peaceful protesters by riot squads, please do so.
http://www.stpaul.gov/index.asp?NID=309I would ask that you don't mention the OTHER investigation and see if he puts that out there as a solution. I would like to know if he will be disingenuous enough to do so.
September 19, 2008
Charges Dropped Against DN! Journalists–Investigation Needed
<snip>
The St. Paul City Attorney’s office announced Friday it will not prosecute Democracy Now! journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman also issued a statement Friday that “the city will decline to prosecute misdemeanor charges for presence at an unlawful assembly for journalists arrested during the Republican National Convention.”
Both announcements come two weeks after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention where over 40 journalists were arrested while reporting on protests taking place outside the convention center.
Upon learning of the news, Democracy Now! Host, Amy Goodman said, “It’s good that these false charges have finally been dropped, but we never should have been arrested to begin with. These violent and unlawful arrests disrupted our work and had a chilling effect on the reporting of dissent. Freedom of the press is also about the public’s right to know what is happening on their streets. There needs to be a full investigation of law enforcement activities during the convention.”
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