A friend emailed me this horrifying video today and it's the first time I've seen it. I don't think this has been posted here before.
This is actual police surveillance footage at an anti war protest in Portland, Oregon. The video has audio so you can hear what the police are saying.
The media reported that someone in the crowd threw a bottle, which caused the police to retaliate with pepper spray. I didn't see anyone throw a bottle but I did see and hear police profiling members in the group, trying to determine the leaders of the group, then arresting those people who were doing
nothing wrong.
This is a report from KATU news about another pepper spray incident later that night.
At Least 135 Arrested in Portland War Protest
PORTLAND - Police used pepper spray and non-lethal explosives to break up a late-night sit-in of about 100 people who congregated at the foot of the Burnside Bridge in Portland to protest the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
The confrontation capped a day of protests, when anti-war demonstrators blocked access to Interstates 5 and 84, shut down some of Portland's busiest bridges and intersections and broke windows at a fast-food restaurant.
The report does mention some violence from earlier that day.
Thousands participated in the day's demonstrations. Schmautz said one policeman received 10 stitches after being hit by a flying object during a confrontation with protesters at the Steel Bridge on the edge of downtown.
[snip]
Demonstrators, accompanied by medical teams wearing black crosses and equipped with basic remedies for tear gas, said they were prepared for clashes with the police.
The vast majority of protesters sought peace, not trouble.
The mood on the streets was generally festive, with people dancing and chanting anti-war slogans. Before the police moved in, the demonstrators said they were prepared to spend the night in the cold drizzle, discussing their disdain for President Bush and Dick Cheney's ties with the oil industry.
Watch the video. It shows a very different view of the protest.
I sent a FOIR to the FBI but they replied that their initial search turned up nothing on me. I find that hard to believe considering...
UPDATE : Thank you to MediaRevolution for posting a
link to another example of abusive pepper spray use
Some people are offended by or disagree with the use of Nazi images in the video. I can’t do anything about HOW the video was made. I think the more important and productive discussion is:
1. What do we do about incidents such as those shown in the videos and described in the comments?
2. How can we have peaceful, controlled and organized demonstrations