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Video Raises Questions About Police FTAA Actions in Miami |
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Written by Crystal
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Wednesday, 09 August 2006 |
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This comes from http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_220221644.html , where there is a video feed of some terrible things from that protest. Here is the article: Deputies Seen Joking About Shooting One Protester
One Officer Refers to Protesters as 'Cockroaches'
(CBS4 News) MIAMI A newly released video, which appears to show Broward Sherriff’s Office deputies joking over the use of force against anti-FTAA protesters in Miami during a November 20, 2003 protest, is raising questions about the possibility officers were encouraged to use force against protesters, and praised for that use of force.
A front page story appearing in the Wednesday editions of The Miami Herald, a CBS4 news partner, details how BSO deputies are seen on their own training video, talking about the protesters’ confrontation with police. One of those protesters was attorney Elizabeth Ritter, who says was standing with protesters when she was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet, apparently fired by BSO deputies.
Wearing a red suit and heels, Ritter took a scrawled sign protesting
totalitarianism and marched in front of officers, complaining that they
had shot her.
Her actions were caught by a videographer documenting the protesters.
When
the deputies opened fire again on the protesters, causing many to run
for cover, the video captured Ritter ducking in the street, shielding
herself with her sign.
That’s when she was struck by a second bullet, which went through the sign and appeared to hit her in the face.
As
a protester, she stood out in her red suit, and apparently, the
deputies noticed as well. In the BSO video tape, recorded at a briefing
the following day, a BSO commander was heard praising the actions of
the officers, and mentioned Ritter not by name, but by a clear
description.
“The good news about being able to watch you guys
live on TV,” said BSO Sgt. Michael Kallman, captured on the tape, “was
the lady with the red dress.”
The officers broke into cheers and
applause, and Kallman continued, “I don’t know who got her, but when it
went through the sign and smack dab into the middle of the head…” and
again, the officers broke into catcalls and applause.
Another
officer was captured on camera referring to the protesters as
‘scurrying cockroaches’, and handed what appeared to be an article of
intimate female clothing to another officer, saying it had been
collected from a protester and warning him “It probably needs to be
washed first.”
Ritter never saw that video until last month, and
even though she decided not to take action against her treatment in the
days following the protest, she was so infuriated with the comments
that she has no decided to sue.
Her complaints will join those
of a long list of people, including a labor leader, a journalist, and a
filmmaker who have either filed complaints or lawsuits over the actions
of police. Six lawsuits have been backed by the American Civil
Liberties Union.
Ritter says she protested because she was angry
about what she saw as police overkill, telling The Herald that “"My
city, my hometown, was becoming a police state.” For her protests,
Ritter claims she was shot 5 times with rubber bullets.
"I
turned around and said, 'Why did you hit me?' Is a woman in a business
suit a threat?" Ritter said. "But then I thought, 'That must have been
a mistake.' A police officer isn't going to shoot me on purpose."
Ritter
said the left the protest and went home, not knowing about the
post-protest police comments until a month ago, when the existence of
the tape, obtained as part of the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel
investigation into the FTAA protests, was reported on by the Daily
Business Review.
The CIP Report criticized the fact that
officers could not be individually identified during the protests,
making actions against individuals difficult. It stated police
generally acted professionally, with some exceptions.
The Herald
article reported that experts believe officers faced threats during the
protests which were not readily visible or reported, and claimed the
reaction captured in the videotape was simply cops in coming off a
tense day letting off steam.
"I'm not excusing what they said,
and it probably doesn't sit well with the public," Eugene O'Donnell,
Professor of police science at New York's John Jay College of Criminal
Justice, told The Herald. "But it's not unheard of for cops to talk in
a kind of locker room way."
Ritter, interviewed by The Herald,
disagrees. "I was not a threat to them," she said. "Referring to people
as cockroaches is wrong…the law, I know, will agree with me."
No disciplinary action has been taken against any officers on the video, according to a BSO spokesman.Only registered users can write comments.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 August 2006 )
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