I’m finally back from taking care of my parents in the Dakotas, having my time there increased by my sister and brother being exposed to COVID+ individuals and having to quarantine (both tested negative in the end). I got back just in time for Rochester to be the center of yet another police homicide of an unarmed black man.
For those of you who’ve missed this one, the short recap is that Daniel Prude was killed in custody on March 23 (he died a week later but he essentially choked to death that night). Here’s a tick-tock from CNN that covers the details of his death, which has been ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner.
His death wasn’t an issue until the family obtained bodycam footage through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and held a press conference on Wednesday to release it. There have been demonstrations ever since. Last night, a group of protesters with three elected officials at the head was met with pepper balls from the police — one of the elected officials was shot in the head with a pepper ball. This occurred immediately after the police declared that the protest was an unlawful assembly – which, at that point, it clearly wasn’t. After that declaration, the crowd pitched water bottles and other debris at the cops, and the cops shot a number of reporters in the head with pepper balls.
Here’s a shot of another city council member confronting police:
NE District City Councilman Micheal Patterson – photo credit unknown pic.twitter.com/sQ5FPdMOxV
— Brian Sharp (@SharpRoc) September 6, 2020
Throughout this crisis, Mayor Lovely Warren has been, as usual, awful. Her transparently false excuse that she couldn’t make any announcements about Prude’s death because it was being investigated by New York Attorney General Tish James was rebutted by James’ office. The day after a shambolic news conference where she made that claim, Warren suspended all officers involved in Prude’s death.
This afternoon, at another weak news conference, (video link) Warren and Police Chief LaRon Singletary outdid each other in the quest to form words into sentences without conveying meaning. The main announcement at the press conference was that a local pastor was going to form a group of “elders” who would create a buffer between protesters and police. Reverend Myra Brown will lead this group, and volunteered to do it, after protesters sheltered in her church to avoid pepper balls — in other words, she’s pushing Warren to agree to have a set of pastors and community leaders act as human shields.
So, this is where we are right now. The police are so out of control, and Warren is such a weak leader, that someone from the community has to step up to serve as a human shield. I predict injuries, because our cops are as bad as all the rest, which is to say, pretty bad.
germy
germy
Baud
@germy: Not to criticize the victim, but why isn’t he naming the official?
germy
@Baud:
He’s being diplomatic.
Baud
@germy:
Not sure diplomacy is called for in that situation.
germy
@Baud:
Some are guessing Barr or Meadows.
Baud
@germy: There’s no shortage of suspects.
Redshift
Good thing conservatives are so passionate about the First Amendment, right?
Lapassionara
@germy: the serious subversion is being undertaken by Trump, with the help of Barr.
germy
@Lapassionara:
Barr might see it the other way around.
He’s been in government longer than Trump. He probably sees #45 as the helper.
James E Powell
@Baud:
Agreed. I’m not saying that we need to end all anonymous sources, but the NYT and Village Courtiers have definitely overdone it.
And I’m not entirely putting on the reporters. If there are witnesses to criminal activity who do not come forward, it’s on them. The witnesses to Trump’s remarks about soldiers should go on the record. But the reporters and news organizations could reduce the practice by refusing to publish anonymous insider stuff.
Central Planning
You can follow the protestors in Rochester on twitter – @ftp_roc. The news says that is For The People, but I suspect it is really Fuck The Popo
Mary G
It’s so frikking hot and my car is coated in ashes even though the fires are far away.
Baud
@James E Powell:
The one I hate most is the senior Democratic insider who they always quote to criticize Democrats.
Mike in NC
So in a couple of days we can probably expect to hear that Fat Bastard is going to Rochester to
assess the situationthrow gasoline on a raging fire.germy
@James E Powell: He’s not really a source, though. He’s a top ranking official who threatened a former diplomat.
I hope we learn his identity, but it could be anyone.
BCHS Class of 1980
@Baud: Ah you mean Ed Rendell? Or maybe the last Daley?
BCHS Class of 1980
To mistermix: my wife went to RIT (or as they called it, South Henrietta Institute of Technology). What sort of bad is this mayor? Terrified of the cops bad, or actively on their side bad?
As for McFaul, an active threat to my mind disqualifies one from any expectation of anonymity.
debbie
@germy:
The wording sounds more like Barr than Meadows. Are we sure Meadows even knows big words like that?
piratedan
@debbie: agree, Barr appears to enjoy the “power of the office” and I have no illusions that he’ll use it to its fullest extent.
Central Planning
@Mike in NC: If that fucker comes to Rochester I’m taking a day off and going to protest at the airport and then wherever he goes.
Calouste
@germy: First lie there of course is that the shitgibbon is a “democratically elected official”. He neither democratically elected nor does he behave like an official.
James E Powell
@germy:
You’re right. So why is he granted anonymity?
Another Scott
@James E Powell: Maybe to get the official to back off? The implicit threat to name him if he does it again, or something. Or to keep it in the news longer.
Dunno.
Cheers,
Scott.
divF
@Mary G: It’s 104 here (official NWS reading about 1/2 mile from my house).
Another Scott
Agreed that too many police departments are literally out of control. The local(ish) example – https://bluevirginia.us/2020/09/weeks-after-announcing-felony-charges-against-sen-louise-lucas-and-others-in-confederate-monument-case-portsmouth-police-chief-removed-from-her-position
tl;dr – a Black woman state senator attended and spoke at a protest against Confederate monuments and some police guy decided to charge her with a felony.
There’s an awful lot of rot that needs to be cleaned out.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jay
Jay
dr. bloor
I’m old enough to remember my parents quietly murmuring about “a long, hot summer” in ’67, although I didn’t really understand any of it at the time. RPD hasn’t changed a fucking bit.
Denali
I am in the Rochester area and I support the protest. I have attended protests. I do think protests should happen in the day time; after dark there is a different feeling. I am so sad that this death happened in Rochester. Will we ever learn?
scott (the other one)
I know nothing about Rochester, having not been there in decades, nor Mayor Lovely Warren. But whenever I hear about mayor being so reprehensibly weak in the face of such blatant police misconduct, I’m at the point where I assume the mayor’s physical safety has been openly threatened by the cops.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@divF: 117 here in Beautiful Downtown Glendale(actually West Glendale).
J R in WV
104??????
There’s some global climate change for you~!!~ It was 53 last night here, and maybe 75 this afternoon.
opiejeanne
@Jay: That was last night. 17 hours ago. Portland, OR is a fucking mess. The cops are out of control, and the mayor is useless and needs to resign.
divF
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Now up to 107.
Remember, this is Berkeley, where we never get into 3 digits.
ETA: This is not to minimize 117 degrees – you may as well be in the Mohave.
Jay
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The secret list of convicted cops<a href=”https://t.co/TxF2DvmWtE”>https://t.co/TxF2DvmWtE</a></p>— Firestorm on Fascism ?? #AntifascistaSiempre (@AntifascistF12) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AntifascistF12/status/1288345311426097157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Dear Lord!
It’s 111 where my sister lives, and she doesn’t want to move up here when she sold her house because she’s afraid she’ll be cold. We all told her we’d make sure she is warm enough but she doesn’t believe us.
It’s 79 right now at my house and it’s been nice all summer. The highest temp this week will be 90, on Wednesday. Good for ripening corn and other things.
opiejeanne
@Jay: Say what?
Ruckus
@divF:
NWS says it’s 115 in the east San Gabriel Valley. It also looks like 1965 outside, IOW visibility is crappy.
Another Scott
@Ruckus: Obligatory – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyGM13yYc3Q (4:13).
Stay safe, and breathe easy.
Cheers,
Scott.
(“Who seriously loves that song.”)
Jay
@opiejeanne:
https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/the-secret-list-of-convicted-cops/
It’s a podcast episode that covers the many ways and tricks that Cops, their Unions and Police Forces, use to stay one step ahead of being held accountability.
Jay
phdesmond
@opiejeanne:
the correct URL is https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/the-secret-list-of-convicted-cops
two minutes later: ah! Jay’s on top of it!
dopey-o
Any chance of you providing a link or an explanation of what McFaul is referring to? Who is he ‘subverting’? Who has threatened him with what?