Intermission
In the aftermath of the Oscar Grant rebellions in 2009 we saw a new trend: small and medium sized rebellions against the police state began exploding across the western part of the country with increasing frequency. Below is a brief overview of various anti-police uprisings in cities in the US over the past few years. Police violence is never an accident and unfortunately for the pigs, neither is the blossoming movement against them.
Portland: Jan. 29, 2010: Aaron M. Campbell, 25, is gunned down by a Portland pig while surrendering, attracting national attention and spawning local outrage. April 10, 2010: Twenty-five miles from Portland, Daniel Barga, 24, is tased to death by a Cornelius police officer who is a taser instructor for the department. Numerous anti-police demos and marches and clandestine acts of sabotage follow in subsequent weeks.
Seattle: August 30, 2010: John T Williams, 50, is killed by an SPD officer. Audio of the incident was captured which documents the mere seconds that passed between the time the cop orders Williams to drop his knife and when he opens fire. Williams, a Native American wood-carver who was deaf in his left ear, was killed with four shots. The officer resigned shortly after. Numerous marches, street take-overs, rallies, and a noise demo outside the city jail follow. Banks are at- tacked as symbols of the capital that police protect. Police stations are also vandalized in Seattle, Portland and Tacoma.
Denver: July 9, 2010: While trying to retrieve his shoes at a police station, Marvin Booker gets into an argument with a booking deputy. Deputies shock him with a taser, put him in a “sleeper hold” and maim him until he stops breathing. The coroner’s office rules that his death was a homicide.
The incident is caught on the security tape and released soon after. A series of black blocs and anti-police street protests decry the killing and disrupt the downtown commercial district in the year that follows.
San Francisco: July 3, 2011: Charles Hill, 45, is shot dead by BART cops after drunkenly shouting and throwing a small object toward them. Weekly protests follow called by ‘Anonymous,’ a hacker activist network, targets various SF BART stations. Anonymous also posts the names, home addresses, emails and passwords of BART PD officers on the internet.
July 16, 2011: Police attempt to stop Kenneth Harding Jr., 19, for fare evasion on the MUNI. He immediately flees, and while running away is gunned down by officers. Various anti-police marches, solidarity actions, and clandestine attacks of state property take place the year following, including an attack on the Mission district SFPD station, the MUNI Castro station, and the Glen Park BART station.
Anaheim: July 21-22, 2012: Maniel Diaz, 25, and Joel Acevedo, 21, are executed by Anaheim police, sparking days of protests and clashes with police. A few hours after Diaz is shot dead, witnesses of the murder and nearby residents take to the streets to confront police. A police dog is released and attacks a woman and her baby as cops in riot gear fire bean bags and pepper balls injuring several people. In the week that follows, the shootings are decried by over 600 people as they storm Anaheim police headquarters lobby and city hall and then take to the streets. Tensions with police mount as protesters kick passing police cars and vandalize dozens of businesses. National media attention results in solidarity demonstrations and attacks on police property in Oakland, SF, Seattle, Portland, Denver, and elsewhere.