When the BART cell phone shut down happened

[EFerrari]

and BART floated the story that their spokesman had made the call, I said I didn't believe their story. They had a slick video ready to go less than 24 hours later and their whole response seemed uncharacteristic.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=1751555

There was another protest today, and this time, the police went after the responding media first, just like in Minneapolis. They grabbed reporters' credentials and arrested them.

And someone took this snapshot of at least one guy in a DHS shirt:

&xsize=640&ysize=640

More than ever, I think this is a joint op between BART and DHS "Secure Communities" @ssholes. BART police have killed people but they've never mistreated the public and the press with this kind of methodical impunity.

:shrug:

[KamaAina]

1. What a nice end run that would be for DHS

around SF's stubborn resistance to Secure* Communities, by going over their heads to BART. :tinfoilhat:

[EFerrari]

2. I know.

I feel a little :tinfoilhat: but, there is the dude in the damn shirt. He doesn't look like a tourist, does he?

Everybody thinks "Secure Communities" is only for undocumented workers but it isn't written that way. And the fusion of Fed and local law enforcement / surveillance / crowd control / counter insurgency has no brakes that I can see, anyway.

[suffragette]

14. This fusion is becoming ever more frequent and as you note

there are no brakes.

Also, agencies "assisting" other agencies often are operating under a different set of regulations since the regs were put in place to provide limits or constrain the original agencies intended to perform specific duties. And the federal agencies (even as we are all being asked to pull tight the Austerity belt) have money to burn.

Seattle Weekly has a good series about how this is occurring with the Border Patrol and police up here. It's gone so far that the Border Patrol is now handling 911 dispatch for a county:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-07-27/news/nowhere-near-the-border-patrol-in-forks/
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/08/border_patrol_whistleblower_ch.php



I think you're correct in noting we need to be looking at this more closely.

[EFerrari]

15. Thanks, I'd like to read that. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

3. Post 9/11, the Feds don't look kindly on civil disobedience actions around infrastructure.

I don't think DHS would want this to happen on a bridge or a commuter train or at an airport, either.

In Union Square it probably wouldn't be a problem.

Not justifying it for them, just giving what I think is part of their perspective.

:shrug:

[EFerrari]

5. This isn't a federal matter. It's peaceful protesters

demonstrating against municipal policy. :shrug:

[NYC_SKP]

9. Infrastructure is infrastructure. Who runs Newark international and the PATH trains...

...that used to terminate in the World Trade Center?

The NJ Port Authority-- also not a federal entity.

I didn't say it was all logical or reasonable, just that they have their POV.

[EFerrari]

13. Sure, they do. But this is an effect of September 11 and a dangerous one.

I used to go in and out of the Federal Building all the time to translate in court. After September 11, I went there to a meeting with Nancy Pelosi's spokesman for the first time in a long time. The place was crawling with muscle. It was sort of shocking. Now, they're just a feature of the place.

But it doesn't end there. Those federal agents have no allegiance to the community whatsoever, so their behavior towards our residents is very impersonal. Their presence has militarized a public space. So, their presence at the BART protests is an escalation even if it is only meant to be defensive or preemptive.

That's no way to run a city. And of course these agents don't care if it's no way to run a city because they're feds.

[NYC_SKP]

16. Agree. n/t

[midnight]

4. This is concerning....

[EFerrari]

6. We heard a lot about "fusion centers" in tthe run up to the Olympics

and the conventions. But that collaboration is being pushed by DHS who this year for the first time said outright that localities do NOT have the choice to opt out of Secure Communities. :shrug:

[saras]

7. Not surprising in the slightest, and hinted at from the very beginning...

... the very fact that BART chose a response that would be financially troublesome to non-protesters, as well as personally inconvenient, made me suspect that BART, or whoever else was running them, was deliberately trying to provoke the public into an anti-protest reaction. This sort of politics isn't usually the province of municipal transit.

[EFerrari]

8. Exactly. Their behavior is completely out of character, imo. n/t

[EFerrari]

10. BART Police Arrest Journalists, Cite KGO, KTVU at BART Protest. Homeland Security Present

Thursday’s No Justice No BART protest–which shut down Powell Street Station in San Francisco–turned into an ugly attack on free speech and freedom of the press when BART police arrested between 25 and 30 people, a third of whom are reported to be journalists, including seven student journalists from San Francisco State University and the Chronicle’s Vivian Ho. Ho, the s and others were cited for interfering with transit; the student journalists were not cited. Also arrested: No Justice No BART organizer Krystoff.

During the event protesters and the press stayed outside the platform areas of the station. No Justice No BART had called for the demonstration to take place in front of the fare gates in an effort to force BART to open the emergency exits, allowing passengers walk out for free. The portion of BART stations before the turnstiles is considered to be, has been stated by BART to be, a free speech area.

Also on hand, the Department of Homeland Security.



BART police cited the local ABC and CBS news crews reporting on the protests, and some journalists had their San Francisco Police Department-issued credentials confiscated by the SFPD, who aided the BART cops.

http://lafiga.firedoglake.com/2011/09/08/bart-police-arrest-journalists-cite-kgo-ktvu-at-bart-protest-homeland-security-present/

[bullwinkle428]

11. Kick, following my rec from last night.

Good to see this start to climb out of the "unrec basement", where it appeared to be lingering last evening!

[EFerrari]

12. Thank you, bullwinkle428.

[KamaAina]

17. Looks like you nailed it.

http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2011/news20110908a.aspx

Although there is no specific threat, BART customers are likely to see law enforcement officers from other agencies patrolling BART parking lots and stations as the nation’s transit agencies continue their vigilance in recognition of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The surge in law enforcement officers’ presence is likely to occur between Thursday, Sept. 8, and Monday Sept, 12, 2011.

BART Police Chief Kenton W. Rainey, at the request of Transit Security Administration, has asked law enforcement agencies surrounding BART property to join the BART Police in Operation RAILSAFE. Types of assistance BART customers may notice are extra vehicle patrols through bus zones and parking structures and uniformed officers from other agencies patrolling BART stations and platforms.

The first Operation RAILSAFE was held on May 27, 2010. Twenty-two agencies, in eight states, from Boston to Washington D.C., participated in the deployment. More recent RAILSAFE operations have included participants from over 140 agencies in 32 states, Washington, D.C., and several cities in Canada and involved over 1,300 law enforcement officers.

The primary objective of Operation RAILSAFE is to coordinate deployments of personnel, not just among agencies that police the rail systems, but with those agencies that could be called upon to help secure the rail system during an emergency or heightened alert. RAILSAFE also provides a venue to share intelligence and best practices related to security of the rail system. There are no legal contracts, or Memoranda of Understanding required. Other benefits include improved relationships among partners, improved coordination of resources and help in providing a random visible presence. Formalizing a way to channel and quickly mobilize this resource is critical to improving overall security of rail transportation.