Friday, September 26, 2008
Elliot Hughes, torture victim at RNC, testifies
Arrested during Day 1 of the RNC, Elliot Hughes, while under the care of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, was starved, beaten unconscious, hooded and gagged, and ultimately denied medical treatment.
In this video from The Uptake -- found at http://theuptake.org -- hear Elliot's full testimony before a special meeting of St. Paul's council members, on Wednesday September 24th, 2008.
Be warned. What Elliot has to report happened to him tells a disturbing story of unwarranted and unjustifiable police violence. By the end of his testimony, you'll see how St. Paul provided us with echoes of Abu Ghraib during the RNC.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, headed by Bob Fletcher, felt it necessary to hold a press conference today before the public meeting to trash Council Member David Thune who had arranged the "Community Conversation".
Bob Fletcher is responsible for far more than Elliot Hughes' torture. He undertook many out-of-jurisdiction actions before, during, and after the RNC--including harassment of videographers who have remained in town to finish a documentary on the RNC protests.
Fletcher unreasonably attacked David Thune--the City Council member responsible for Ward 2 (Downtown & Lowertown St. Paul where the RNC and protests took place)--simply for holding a public meeting so that the very freaked out and disturbed locals can finally vent at the city.
A city that allowed itself to become Federal Occupied Territory ruled by thuggish police who made even home-owning, lifelong citizens of St. Paul be made to feel like the enemy by the police in their own neighborhoods.
Previously the mayors of both cities had been wishy washy about navel gazing, and had tried to pass off an appointed couple of federal lackeys with a mandate not to investigate police behavior, as an "investigation".
Elliot Hughes' testimony was the final straw that broke the camel's back. The deputy mayor of St. Paul rang Thune after the meeting to promise they would consider (an important word) expanding the investigation team from two members to a larger commission and having them and the Mayor attend the second meeting Council Member Dave Thune is calling.
re posted from my buddy NigelParry
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
skinnychef on KPFA, Berkely... the people's radio
On the first day that we got raided by the cops, I ran into the cafe to charge my gear and was interviewed by Safi from KPFA in Berkely, CA. check it out!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
cops raid MBN bus
By Dave Orrick
dorrick@pioneerpress.com
photo by Larry Hildes
It's unclear why, but police put the heat on a weathered school bus Tuesday used by an independent media organization.
The group says the cops said they were looking for "dead bodies."
Police refused to provide any information on their actions, but a spokesman said the corpse thing was absurd.
"Does that sound logical?" police spokesman Tom Walsh asked. "We do things logically."
Larry Hildes, a California attorney and a legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild, said he saw a St. Paul police officer trying to pry the bus' side door open around 4:45 p.m. in a parking lot in Lowertown, where the bus was parked. "She informed me she was looking for dead bodies," said Hildes. "I informed here there were none." Hildes asked for a warrant; he said the police said they had none and left.
Hildes said bands of officers returned several times, at one point driving by slowly while one officer shined a light at the blocked-out windows and videotaped the bus.
"We're completely above-board," said Mary-Kate Stoever, a.k.a. Skinny Chef. "We just live in the bus."
Hours later, a Pioneer Press reporter observed a police car parked near the bus; the officer appeared to be watching. When asked what the cops were up to, Walsh responded, "I don't know anything about it. ... Nope, I'm not going to look into it either."
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