February 15, 2018
California police worked with neo-Nazis to pursue ‘anti-racist’ activists, documents show
Officers expressed sympathy with white supremacists and sought their help to target counter-protesters after a violent 2016 rally, according to court documents
California police worked with neo-Nazis to pursue ‘anti-racist’ activists, documents show
Officers expressed sympathy with white supremacists and sought their help to target counter-protesters after a violent 2016 rally, according to court documents
California police investigating a violent white nationalist event worked with white supremacists in an effort to identify counter-protesters and sought the prosecution of activists with anti-racist beliefs, court documents show.
The records, which also showed officers expressing sympathy with white supremacists and trying to protect a neo-Nazi organizers identity, were included in a court briefing from three anti-fascist activists who were charged with felonies after protesting at a Sacramento rally. The defendants were urging a judge to dismiss their case and accused California police and prosecutors of a cover-up and collusion with the fascists.
Defense lawyers said the case at the state capital offers the latest example of US law enforcement appearing to align with neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups while targeting anti-fascist activists and Donald Trump protesters after violent clashes.
It is shocking and really angering to see the level of collusion and the amount to which the police covered up for the Nazis, said Yvette Felarca, a Berkeley teacher and anti-fascist organizer charged with assault and rioting after participating in the June 2016 Sacramento rally, where she said she was stabbed and bludgeoned in the head. The people who were victimized by the Nazis were then victimized by the police and the district attorneys.
Steve Grippi, chief deputy district attorney prosecuting the case in Sacramento, vehemently denied the claims of bias in an email to the Guardian, alleging that anti-fascist stabbing victims have been uncooperative and noting that his office has filed charges against one member of the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP), the neo-Nazi group that organized the rally.
Some California highway patrol (CHP) investigation records, however, raise questions about the polices investigative tactics and communication with the TWP.
Felarcas attorneys obtained numerous examples of CHP officers working directly with the TWP, often treating the white nationalist group as victims and the anti-fascists as suspects.
The TWP is intimately allied with neo-Nazi and other hardline racist organizations and advocates for racially pure nations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its leaders have praised Trump, and the group claimed to bring more than 100 people to the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, where a counter-protester was killed.
In one phone call with Doug McCormack, identified by police as the TWP affiliate who acquired the permit for the Sacramento rally, CHP investigator Donovan Ayres warned him that police might have to release his name in response to a public records requests. The officer said he would try to protect McCormack.
Im gonna suggest that we hold that or redact your name or something until this gets resolved, Ayres told McCormack, adding that he didnt know who had requested records of the permit and noting, If I did, I would tell you.
Ayress reports noted that McCormack was armed at the rally with a knife.
The officers write-up about an African American anti-fascist activist included a photo of him at the hospital after the rally and noted that he had been stabbed in the abdomen, chest and hand.
Ayres, however, treated the protester like a suspect in the investigation. The police investigator recommended the man be charged with 11 offenses, including disturbing the peace, conspiracy, assault, unlawful assembly and wearing a mask to evade police.
As evidence, Ayres provided Facebook photos of the man holding up his fist. The officer wrote that the mans Black Power salute and his support for anti-racist activism demonstrated his intent and motivation to violate the civil rights of the neo-Nazi group. He was ultimately not charged.
Ayress report also noted Felarcas political activism in great detail, referencing her activism on behalf of students of color and womens rights protests.
This is a textbook case of a political witch-hunt and selective prosecution, Shanta Driver, one of Felarcas attorneys, said in an interview.
Officers also worked with TWP member Derik Punneo to try to identify anti-fascist activists, recordings revealed. Officers interviewed Punneo in jail after he was arrested for an unrelated domestic violence charge. Audio recordings captured investigators saying they brought photos to show him, hoping he could help them identify anti-fascist activists.
The officers said, Were pretty much going after them, and assured him: Were looking at you as a victim.
Ayress report noted that Punneo was armed with a knife at the neo-Nazi rally and that one stabbing victim told officers he believed Punneo was responsible. Using video footage, Ayres also noted that Punneo was in the vicinity of another victim at the time he was injured, but the officer said the evidence ultimately wasnt clear.
Punneo and McCormack, who could not be reached for comment, were not charged. Ayress report included images and names of three other TWP-affiliated men who he said were armed with knives, but who also have faced no charges.
The CHP declined to comment.
In a response filed on Thursday, prosecutors said every assertion in the motion to dismiss is inaccurate or fabricated and accused Felarcas lawyers of using the filing to make a political statement. The response also repeatedly blamed the stabbing victims for ignoring the district attorneys inquiries: Despite the fact that we have not gained the cooperation of these victims, the investigation to hold their attackers responsible continues forward.
Prosecutors also said the charges were based on video evidence and argued that no one is beneath the protection of the law, no matter how repugnant his or her rhetoric or misguided his or her ideals.
Allegations of police bias and collusion with neo-Nazis have emerged in similar cases across the US. Last year, US prosecutors targeting anti-Trump protesters in Washington DC relied on video evidence from a far-right group with a record of deceptive tactics.
At an Oregon alt-right event, police allowed a member of a rightwing militia-style group to help officers arrest an anti-fascist activist.
Police in Charlottesville were widely accused of standing by as Nazis attacked protesters, and a black man who was badly beaten by white supremacists was later charged with a felony.
Sam Menefee-Libey, an activist who advocated for protesters charged for Inauguration Day rallies last year, said the government has repeatedly gone to great lengths to target anti-fascists: We have patterns of acknowledged and unacknowledged overlaps between the interest of ultra-right nationalist organizations and the police and prosecutors offices.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/california-police-white-supremacists-counter-protest
March 27, 2018
Justine Damond shooting: police officer Mohamed Noor charged with murder 0
by MeDaryl • Cars • Tags: Justine Damond shooting, Minnesota, US crime, US news, US policing, World news
Australian woman was killed in July 2017 after calling police to report a possible sexual assault
A Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman in July has been booked on charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Officer Mohamed Noor turned himself in on Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Damond was shot on 15 July, minutes after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home.
The shooting led to international condemnation, widespread street protests and the firing of the police chief.
The local prosecutor, the Hennepin county attorney Mike Freeman, laid out the case against the officer in a criminal complaint and a Tuesday afternoon media conference.
To lose a family member to violence is always wrenching and painful. But to lose it when she was acting as a concerned and caring citizen, and at the hands of the person she called for help, is inexplicable, Freeman said.
He began by laying out the facts of the acts already confirmed by authorities, but then, with charges already filed, he proceeded to go into much greater detail about what investigators believe happen on the night Damond died.
According to investigators, after calling authorities to report what she thought was a sexual assault happening outside her home, Damond approached the back of the Ford Explorer in which Noor was the passenger and his partner, officer Matthew Harrity, was the driver.
While Noor has invoked his constitutional right to not speak with investigators, Harrity did talk to them and appeared before the grand jury assembled to consider the case.
Freeman said that according to Harrity, Noor had radioed to dispatch a signal meaning that their investigation was complete when Harrity described hearing a a voice, and a thump somewhere behind him on the squad car and caught a glimpse of a persons head and shoulders outside his driver-side window an account that supports previous reports indicating that investigators believe Damond tapped or hit the back of the police SUV to get the officers attention before approaching the drivers window.
Then, according to Freeman, Harrity said he heard a sound he described like a light bulb dropping on the floor and saw a flash and Noors right arm extended across him towards the open window.
Harrity then looked out the window and saw Damond with her hands over a wound on her left side, Freeman said. Before getting out of the car, Harrity reporting hearing what would appear to be Damonds last words: Im dying, or Im dead.
Freeman explained that his task at trial would be to prove that, even if Noor did claim to have feared for his life, that fear was not objectively reasonable and therefore the use of deadly force was not justified.
In the short time between when Ms Damond Ruszczyk approached the squad car and the time that Noor fired the fatal shot, there is no evidence that officer Noor encountered a threat, appreciated a threat, investigated a threat or confirmed a threat that justified his decision to use deadly force, Freeman said in prepared remarks. Instead, officer Noor recklessly and intentionally fired his handgun from the passenger seat, in disregard for human life.
The officers did not turn on their body cameras until after the shooting and there was no squad camera video.
The lack of video was widely criticized, and Damonds family members were among the many people who called for changes in procedure, including how often officers are required to turn on their cameras.
Damonds family in the US and Australia released a statement through their lawyer, Robert Bennett, saying that they were pleased with Freemans decision to bring charges against Noor.
No charges can bring our Justine back, they said. However, justice demands accountability for those responsible for recklessly killing the fellow citizens they are sworn to protect, and todays actions reflect that.
Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on Islamic Relations, said the Somali and Muslim communities in Minnesota stand with Justine and were asking for justice, while at the same time questioning why police leaders and the police union had opted to not defend Noor in the same way they had officers involved in past police shootings.
Hussein said while Noor is Somali American his actions did not reflect on his community. We need to recognize him for who he is, he said. He was trained by the police department. He acted as a police officer. Mr Noor is responsible for his actions.
A group of Damonds neighbors who have helped to form an advocacy group, Justice for Justine, attended the press confernce and were planning a rally on Tuesday evening.
Sarah Kuhnen, who lived a block away from where Damond died, said she was glad to see charges finally announced in the case.
I also have a very heavy heart for all those impacted by police violence who have never seen charges, she said. My hope is that this will be the first of many charges for police who have disproportionately impacted communities of color. This is a very emotional day.
If convicted of third-degree murder, Noor could face a maximum of 25 years in prison, though the presumptive sentence is 12 years. A judge could issue a sentence ranging from about 10 to 15 years.
The second-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison but the presumptive sentence is four years. Bail has been set at $500,000, according to jail records.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/20/justine-damond-shooting-police-officer-mohamed-noor-charged