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mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 11:22 AM Apr 2021

Judge grants restraining order - AGAINST POLICE!

Gov. Tim Walz calls assault, detention of journalists covering protests 'unacceptable'

Journalists covering protests in Brooklyn Center last week following the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright say they have been assaulted, pepper-sprayed and detained by law enforcement officers despite showing their credentials and a Friday court order barring officers from arresting or using force against members of the media.

In an interview Saturday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said these incidents are "unacceptable in every circumstance." He said law enforcement leaders will communicate to officers guarding the Brooklyn Center police headquarters that they must follow the court order and let journalists do their jobs.
[SNIP]
On Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring officers from arresting or using force — such as less-lethal projectiles, pepper spray and batons — against journalists.

Freelance photographer Tim Evans said he was pepper-sprayed, tackled and hit in the face Friday night by officers who ignored his assertions that he was a credentialed journalist. Evans got caught in the middle of the officers' late-night rush to make arrests.


https://www.startribune.com/gov-tim-walz-calls-assault-detention-of-journalists-covering-protests-unacceptable/600047293/

It is worth reading the article for more first hand reports by journalists being abused by "law enforcement".

My thoughts on this: Law enforcement all over the state of Minnesota came to "assist" with the protests with a new plan called "Operation Safety Net". That means, rural Minnesota, Trump country. That would be people that believe media are the 'enemy of the people'. They bring their racism with them, for their communities are mostly white, unlike the bigger cities.








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Judge grants restraining order - AGAINST POLICE! (Original Post) mysteryowl Apr 2021 OP
A dangerous situation there in Minnesota. Cracklin Charlie Apr 2021 #1
Cops *broke* the restraining order. WhiskeyGrinder Apr 2021 #14
I guess they really are a modern-day metastasizing of "slave patrols" PSPS Apr 2021 #2
Nevermind That There Are Ordinances Against Such Actions Me. Apr 2021 #3
Good point! mysteryowl Apr 2021 #4
The MPD leadership all needs to be fired quick fast down to field leaders. They are illegally ... uponit7771 Apr 2021 #5
This situation is a small police department of 47 officers. It is a suburb of Minneapolis. mysteryowl Apr 2021 #11
Minnesota Nice NQAS Apr 2021 #6
Indeed it has. calimary Apr 2021 #8
HaHa! Dreampuff Apr 2021 #16
Get their BADGE NUMBERS bluestarone Apr 2021 #7
1968 deja vu. wnylib Apr 2021 #9
Full Article - Just for you. (smile) mysteryowl Apr 2021 #10
Thanks. Appreciate that. wnylib Apr 2021 #23
You'd think the police wouldn't need to be told to leave the press alone MissMillie Apr 2021 #12
This message was self-deleted by its author WhiskeyGrinder Apr 2021 #18
In the unfuckingbelievable category that it ever came to this! ananda Apr 2021 #13
It is a multiple agency group and they are from all over the state. mysteryowl Apr 2021 #15
This is crazy and unconscionable. Period! ananda Apr 2021 #24
The injuries to protesters has been much worse! mysteryowl Apr 2021 #19
. WhiskeyGrinder Apr 2021 #17
Best to just get it over with bottomofthehill Apr 2021 #20
That ruling isn't going to make those aggro cops angrier, is it? BobTheSubgenius Apr 2021 #21
I said this about Caron Nazario, he should get a restraining order... CaptainTruth Apr 2021 #22

Me.

(35,454 posts)
3. Nevermind That There Are Ordinances Against Such Actions
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 11:45 AM
Apr 2021

In general..."such as less-lethal projectiles, pepper spray and batons"

mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
4. Good point!
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 12:07 PM
Apr 2021

Plus, they ignored the restraining order, nonetheless an ordinance.
So, the cops should be charged with contempt of court. We know they get away with murder, so they will get away with this too.

uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
5. The MPD leadership all needs to be fired quick fast down to field leaders. They are illegally ...
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 12:50 PM
Apr 2021

... confining the press but they also illegally set up a barricade around that church.

This is the reason its OK to shoot black people in that PD

mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
11. This situation is a small police department of 47 officers. It is a suburb of Minneapolis.
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:34 PM
Apr 2021

Yet numerous law enforcement are working together, or I could say against, the protesters.
I don't know how many, but it is over 100.

NQAS

(10,749 posts)
6. Minnesota Nice
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 12:56 PM
Apr 2021

Was that a cover for Minnesota not really all that nice?

Look, I know the old saying, don’t judge a state by its record of police brutality. But this is getting out of hand.

Dreampuff

(778 posts)
16. HaHa!
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:45 PM
Apr 2021

That same phrase popped into my mind. The Twin Cities area has had a horrible record for many years already and I was actually surprised when the sergeant, lieutenant, and chief of police did the right thing on the witness stand during the current trial.

There are some young men from our local BLM group who flew up there to be supportive. They have a few videos posted and I was going to watch them this afternoon because the headlines seem to indicate the same thing this article says. So glad this was posted.

wnylib

(21,146 posts)
9. 1968 deja vu.
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:17 PM
Apr 2021

BTW, I can't read beyond what the OP already has posted. The link shows me that much and then requires a subscription.

mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
10. Full Article - Just for you. (smile)
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:27 PM
Apr 2021
If this is breaking DU rules, someone let me know and I will take it down.
So, for those that want to read all of it, copy it quick.


Journalists covering protests in Brooklyn Center last week following the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright say they have been assaulted, pepper-sprayed and detained by law enforcement officers despite showing their credentials and a Friday court order barring officers from arresting or using force against members of the media.

In an interview Saturday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said these incidents are "unacceptable in every circumstance." He said law enforcement leaders will communicate to officers guarding the Brooklyn Center police headquarters that they must follow the court order and let journalists do their jobs.

"Democracy cannot thrive without a free and fair and safe press," Walz said. "These individual incidents will be looked into. They just need to make sure they don't happen in the first place."

On Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring officers from arresting or using force — such as less-lethal projectiles, pepper spray and batons — against journalists.

Freelance photographer Tim Evans said he was pepper-sprayed, tackled and hit in the face Friday night by officers who ignored his assertions that he was a credentialed journalist. Evans got caught in the middle of the officers' late-night rush to make arrests.

"I'm yelling that I'm press the whole time," Evans said. "[One officer] is telling me to shut ... up, he doesn't care." Evans said officers released him on the condition that he leave the area.

Joshua Rashaad McFadden, a freelance photographer working for the New York Times, said he was covering protests outside the police station Tuesday night when officers moved in to arrest protesters. McFadden, who is Black, said he and another journalist were in a vehicle about to leave the area when officers surrounded them and beat on the windows with wooden batons, yelling for them to get out.

The officers pulled the other journalist, who was white, from the car and then beat McFadden with their sticks as they tried to get him out, he said.

"They're hitting me, they're hitting my camera as if they're trying to break my camera lens, over and over again, telling me to get out, but I clearly couldn't get out because now they're blocking the doors," said McFadden, who added that he told officers he was a journalist but that they did not believe him. When the other journalist said McFadden was press, the officers let them go.

"I am assuming because I am a Black photographer that they would not believe me or look at my press credential until who I was with said, 'Oh, he's with the Times,'?" McFadden said. He said he was detained a second time while covering protests Friday, and once again, it took another photojournalist backing him up for officers to believe he was a journalist.

Freelance journalist J.D. Duggan said he was with a group of journalists Friday night who were surrounded by law enforcement and forced to the ground. When Duggan got down to his knees, an officer pushed him onto his stomach, he said. "We weren't supposed to be detained," he said.

Four Star Tribune journalists were among dozens ushered to a checkpoint for detailed ID checks late Friday, where officers took pictures of their faces and credentials.

Walz said law enforcement officers will no longer photograph journalists' faces and credentials, acknowledging it "created a pretty Orwellian picture."

Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said law enforcement thought photographing journalists' faces and IDs would lead to speedier processing. "It was a misstep on our part," he said.

In a statement Saturday, the State Patrol noted that while journalists have been temporarily detained, none have been arrested.

In a letter sent Saturday night to Walz and law enforcement leaders, attorney Leita Walker, representing a media coalition that includes the Star Tribune, thanked the officials for hearing out their complaints and reiterated "the gravity of the misconduct" on the part of some officers.

The letter cited Judge Wilhelmina Wright's temporary restraining order banning certain actions against journalists and laid out examples in which those actions continued.

"We want to assure you that the media takes its role in the events unfolding very seriously," Walker wrote. "They understand the challenges you face in keeping the peace and they do not want to make your job harder. They are reasonable people who have no interest in 'being a part of the story' themselves. All we ask is that law enforcement also act reasonably and in a manner consistent with the U.S. Constitution and judicial orders."

TheACLU of Minnesota, which filed the temporary restraining order, wrote late Saturday to Wright to express concern that law enforcement failed to abide by her order on Friday.









MissMillie

(38,452 posts)
12. You'd think the police wouldn't need to be told to leave the press alone
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:39 PM
Apr 2021

In fact, the police, who in theory are there to be a presence to keep people SAFE, would be there to protect the press.

Response to MissMillie (Reply #12)

ananda

(28,782 posts)
13. In the unfuckingbelievable category that it ever came to this!
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:41 PM
Apr 2021

Words fail.

That whole department needs to be shut down and
rebuilt with decent people.

mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
15. It is a multiple agency group and they are from all over the state.
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:45 PM
Apr 2021
My thoughts on this: Law enforcement all over the state of Minnesota came to "assist" with the protests with a new plan called "Operation Safety Net". That means, rural Minnesota, Trump country. That would be people that believe media are the 'enemy of the people'. They bring their racism with them, for their communities are mostly white, unlike the bigger cities.

It is state patrol, sheriff's offices, various other city police departments... They all came together for the Chauven trial and are putting their plan to use in Brooklyn Center.




mysteryowl

(7,323 posts)
19. The injuries to protesters has been much worse!
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:55 PM
Apr 2021

The street medics have been busy. People went to emergency rooms.
The projectiles, rubber bullets causing deep bruising, splitting flesh open and even fractures.
People had seizures from the chemical agents.

When they went into action it was a blur of chaos. Tires were slashed. Car windows smashed and people pulled out and arrested.
Some of the residents living in the apartments came out to watch and they too were arrested. One woman was tackled to the ground and she was in her robe and slippers!

I watched all this on Unicorn Riot's live footage.

WhiskeyGrinder

(22,145 posts)
17. .
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 01:48 PM
Apr 2021
My thoughts on this: Law enforcement all over the state of Minnesota came to "assist" with the protests with a new plan called "Operation Safety Net". That means, rural Minnesota, Trump country. That would be people that believe media are the 'enemy of the people'. They bring their racism with them, for their communities are mostly white, unlike the bigger cities.


It's the system itself, not the people within it.

bottomofthehill

(8,261 posts)
20. Best to just get it over with
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 02:05 PM
Apr 2021

Let the protestors burn down the police station, fire the cops and save the taxpayers some money.

CaptainTruth

(6,546 posts)
22. I said this about Caron Nazario, he should get a restraining order...
Sun Apr 18, 2021, 02:22 PM
Apr 2021

...against Joe Gutierrez, the officer who was so violent & threatening to him.

More people need to seek restraining orders against abusive cops. They may not be granted but the attempt will be on record. It's more documentation that can be used if there are more problems in the future.

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