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Minnesota Anarchists Info Service Local news, events, and information to join or post write to mnanarchists at yahoo.com
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Here's 2 posts from indymedia talking about the police shooting last night, and the inevitable reaction. If anyone has energy to participate in organizing actions please send info to this list- mnanarchists
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MPD Bullet Hits Black Flesh Again in North Minneapolis by Christopher Loch contempla at riseup.net
Minneapolis Police staged an apparent drug raid executing a "high risk warrant" in North Minneapolis Thursday night. Allegedly a pitbull attacked a police officer after they initiated the raid. The officer then fired at the dog killing it. A richochet off the ground from the police fire wounded an 11 year old boy. Then a large number of neighborhood residents angered that yet another African American had been shot by the MPD in a short period of time hit the streets. They confronted the police and the mainstream media present.
The police pulled out of the neighborhood after a large number of people hit the streets, allegedly throwing bottles and chunks of concrete. Channel 29 Fox News reported that a few reporters were sent to the hospital after being beaten by a crowd, and that damage had been done to media vehicles, including one vehicle that was burned.
As to why the mainstream media would have been targeted, one might speculate that their often blatantly biased reporting in favor of the police--frequently omitting information that would lead the public to question the police's actions--has led to frustration. Apparently such frustration blew up tonight.
The mainstream media coverage also included an interview with one of the white reporters who was apparently trapped in his vehicle by a crowd, but was not injured. The reporter described fearing for his life. The anchor went on to repeat that the reporter feared for his life several times during the coverage. The coverage did not venture to say if the people inside the house that the police raided (no doubt with guns drawn and with masks on) feared for their lives, or if the boy who was shot feared for his life.
Indeed, coverage of the situation on Fox News went out of its way to be the PR arm of the MPD, assuming that the police were justified in all of their actions. Police spokespeople were interviewed. The coverage also showed men and women from the community in the streets shouting, but it did not offer them the opportunity to be heard. Nor did it interview any community spokespeople who might have expressed the feelings of the community. Instead it preferred to juxtapose "reasonable white folks" (this phrase was not stated, but it was definitely implied) with "rioting" African Americans.
On Fox News and on CBS affiliate WCCO's website channel4000 the wound inflicted on the 11 year old boy was referred to as "not life threatening". They also mentioned that the boy was expected to make a "good recovery". At the same time, they acted very differently expressing great concern when describing the reporters' injuries--which were also not life threatening.
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Michelle Gross account
I was on the scene last night/this morning until about 1:00 a.m. and wrote the report below as soon as I got home. This is the third shooting of a Black person in Minneapolis in as many weeks (Martha Donald, Terrell Oliver, and now this youth).
We talked to many folks last night, including a number of witnesses to the incident. People were/are righteously angry. Some folks were throwing chunks of concrete at passing cars (I've got three new dings on my car as souveniers) to prove it. People are just worn out of the endless daily harassment by police, who drive by and shout racist comments at them, flip them off, etc. as well as the cop's blatant disregard of the lives of Black folks. One woman told us that her 14-year-old son had just got beaten up yesterday by police for no real reason and when she called to complain to the precinct captain, he hung up on her. Last night, she was in her yard, not far from the shooting, when cops taunted her from the street. She started telling them off when one of them told her she can't talk to them that way. She cited her First Amendment rights and they told her that people like her don't have First Amendment rights. There were many other examples of cops messing with people, as they always do in one of these incidents. Clearly, they were trying to provoke a certain response from the community.
One last thought before posting my report. Some folks were attacking passersby indiscriminantly. This is always a possibility in a situation like this. However, they also landed some of their best licks on folks who well deserve it, like the mainstream media. No doubt, the media is already poor-mouthing about how could people be angry at us, we just want to report the truth, etc. According to what I've read, the media is already portraying the community members as out of control, animals, etc. My feeling is that while the people didn't always pick the right targets, they certainly had the right sentiment. We need to be ready to stand with the people because there will be a backlash. I would encourage folks who want to be involved to get to our meeting on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at 2104 Stevens Ave in Minneapolis.
Now, my report from last night:
Communities United Against Police Brutality URGENT UPDATE August 22/23, 2002
********************************************** Some of us returned just a little while ago from the scene of yet another police shooting in North Minneapolis. This time, police shot a 10-year-old boy. They claimed that the dog whose leash the young man was holding came at them and when they shot the dog, a bullet ricocheted off the sidewalk and hit the boy. Luckily, the young man is still alive.
We talked to a number of witnesses and their version is somewhat different from the cop's version. First of all, it was acknowledged by a number of people including the man who owned the dog, that the dog was obedience trained and a friendly dog who had never bitten anyone. Second, several people stated that the dog had been shot at least three times--once in the shoulder, once in the abdomen and once in a forepaw. Third, police claimed on the news that they came to the house to serve a warrant but folks who saw the incident said they came out of a police van with guns drawn and that as soon as the door was opened, the cops opened fire on the dog. Some folks indicated that police actually dragged the 10-year-old out of his house after the shooting (possibly to make it seem as if he was outside at the time of the shooting).
After the shooting, the situation in the neighborhood became quite intense. We saw a media van that was wrecked and burned out. Cars were being pelted with rocks as they drove through the streets. Police cars were swarming the neighborhood and helicopters circled overhead. Some people felt that police had put some ringers into the crowd to provoke a fight between members of the community and the cops.
We talked to many people who were sick and tired of the seemingly endless police brutality they endure on a regular basis. A number of folks were very pleased to hear about the lawsuit against police and other actions we are taking.
Spike Moss arrived on the scene and told us he is meeting witnesses at a convenience store on 26th Ave N between James and Knox Aves at 11:00 a.m. to take them down to meet with the mayor. From talk among various people, this may turn into a community rally, though exact plans are unclear at this time.
Our meeting Saturday is likely to be a good bit larger than usual, with many folks talking about the lawsuit. We will soon need folks to get into neighborhoods to talk about the lawsuit and find folks who want to be part of it. Stay tuned for further actions regarding this shooting tonight and the ongoing problem of police brutality. ____________________________________
Communities United Against Police Brutality 2104 Stevens Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404 Hotline 612-874-STOP (7867)