Welcome, Nato, to Chicago's police state

[limpyhobbler]

The Nato summit will come and go, but Mayor Emanuel has authorised a 'new normal' of militarised social control in Chicago

With Nato delegates arriving Saturday night, the City of Chicago has been turned into a police state. Courtesy of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who several months ago began implementing new draconian anti-protest measures, Chicago has gone on security lockdown. Starting early Friday night, 18 May 2012, the Chicago Police Department began shutting down – prohibiting cars, bikes, and pedestrians – miles and miles of highways and roads in the heart of Chicago to create a security perimeter around downtown and McCormick Place (where the Nato summit is being held).

Eight-foot tall, anti-scale security fencing went up all over that perimeter and downtown, including Grant Park; and the Chicago police – as well as myriad other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and the US secret service – were out in force on riot-geared horses, bikes, and patrols – batons at the ready. Philadelphia Police Department is sending over reinforcements to help out; Chicago has also asked for recruits from police departments in Milwaukee and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC. Meanwhile, F-16 warplanes "screamed through the skies as part of a pre-summit defense exercise" and helicopters hovered incessantly.

The Chicago Police Department has spent $1m in "riot-control equipment" in anticipation of the Nato summit. According to the Guardian, "The city of Chicago's procurement services website shows that in March [2012] $757,657 was spent on 8,513 'retro-fit kits' to be fitted to police helmets. In February [2012] 673 of the same kits, which include a face shield and ear and neck protectors, were purchased for $56,632." Plus, the Chicago Police Department will be deploying its two, new, expensive long-range acoustic device (LRAD) sound cannons – which it bought at $20,000 a pop. These are the type of devices that were used by the Pittsburgh police to deliver high-pitched alarm tones during the G20 summit meeting there in 2009.

Then, there is the "secret suburban Chicago" police control center where "officials from more than 40 different agencies sit side by side with a giant central screen before them," as reported by the Chicago Sun Times. From the multi-agency command center, all different types of federal, state and local law enforcement can "view live video feeds from security cameras that are already up and running throughout the city".
...

complete piece:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/20/welcome-nato-chicago-police-state?CMP=twt_fd

[Art_from_Ark]

1. What a colossal waste of money

among other things

[Catherina]

2. What a waste, militarism being protected at all costs

I wish I were in Chicago right now Do you have any livestream links other than this fabulous one which is offline right now?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jessehadden

[limpyhobbler]

3. I was watching a couple off and on over the weekend.

But I think they all called it quits by now.

I was watching http://www.livestream.com/chicagoindymedia
and http://www.ustream.tv/user/Timcast

[Catherina]

4. Thanks, I'm bookmarking them to keep an eye on tomorrow, just in case n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. OccupyFreedomLA on ustream was in the middle of the crowd the cops shoved around

in the pics of cops six+ deep, pushing against protesters.

http://www.ustream.tv/occupyfreedomla

Here is the recorded stream with the riot cops shoving everyone around. At 50:25 you can see a CNN reporter in the crowd reporting live. At 51:07 riot cops begin advancing and shoving everyone. At 52:01 you can hear that some are being knocked to the ground and are in danger of being trampled. At about 56:15 on the left, I believe that's the short-haired photographer seen in my "Show me what a police state looks like!" thread, with a bleeding head wound; Freedom comments "you're bleeding brother..."...so that's where he got it, for being peaceful. Cops even shoved the shit out of the pistashio-capped NLG Observers.


You can set the timer/marker where you want, you don't have to play it and wait for it to get there!

Remember that this was a peaceful assembly, a 1st Amendment rights assembly, and cops declared it illegal and threatened arrests and weaponry, and bloodied protesters.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/22742223

[Catherina]

6. That's shameful

Thanks for the link, and your helpful notes. That's the first time I saw the film.

Freedom? Freedom!

[rational_democrat]

7. ....

Oh Rahm...... unbelievable

[Earth_First]

8. "But, but, but there were only 45 arrests made all week..." n/t

[Egalitarian Thug]

9. Thank God they fired all those teachers. Now their thugs have better armor

to protect them from all those gangsters and dropouts.