Police pepper spray young children in Pittsburgh today

pgh police fire tasers at recruiting protest
www.pittsburgh.indymedia.org

On Saturday August 20 2005 in Oakland, on Forbes Avenue in broad daylight just before noon, Pittsburgh police used tasers on protestors at a counter-recruting protest.​

imgp2958.jpg, image/jpeg, 2288x1712

if you haven't seen a taser in action before: the yellow weapon is a taser, it makes a loud clicking sound when fired.



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taser fired
by mt Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 2:27 PM





baldhead_taser.jpg, image/jpeg, 2288x1712

the bald-headed cop fired his taser at the crowd



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pittsburgh cops out of control
by kevin Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 5:59 PM




as a participant of todays rally, i witnessed police enter the crowd of unarmed peaceful activists. they drug a girl dressed in black from the sidewalk to the street and tasered her mercilessly as she lay on the street screaming. police also released pepper spray in the vicinity of a six year old girl (one of the dissidents children)
after the childs pain eased, she asked "why are they beating people?" a child asked why she was harmed by the men who are supposed to protect her!
there are also reports (unconfirmed) of a disabled mans wheelchair being overturned by the forceful actions of cops out of control!

clubs and tasers used on unarmed civilians and chemical weapons on children

now we know who the real terrorists are
pittsburgh police

worse than saddam!!!!



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me too
by ** Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 6:33 PM




I was also there and I concur with everything Kevin said. Total overreaction and completely unwarranted brutality on the part of the police. No concern for public safety, the safety of small children, oh, and no concern for the law they're supposed to be enforcing.

Can someone keep us updated on what happened to the arrestees?



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No reason for harm.
by Anon Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 6:34 PM




I also was there and a few of my friends I knew were tasered and one almost was pepper sprayed. The reporters were rude as hell and pretty much shoved us out of the way so they could "get the shot!" and they treated us like puppets that were to get arrested. The cops were brutal to many of the people, and there was no need to once so ever.



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Police brutality.
by ******** Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 6:38 PM




<img src="http://tinypic.com/avka5s.jpg" alt="Image hosted by TinyPic.com">

Was beat brutally to the ground and arrested.



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confirmed
by Stephanie Saturday, Aug. 20, 2005 at 8:50 PM
tondemonaii@yahoo.com



I confirm that I saw the man on the wheelchair knocked over by police in the chaos that went on today and say the two young children coughing and tearing from the pepper spray.

 

I think tasers and such are a horrible idea in the hands of the police, it gives them the idea they can assault freely with no consequence...

 

tasers can kill people but police use them as freely as they may because they hace deniability, people can get tased for disagreeing with a police officer in some places, and with as unhealthy as many americans are it's remarkable more haven't died

they would have been able to bring the crowd under control non violently without tasers before they had access to them, why can't they now?

they just like watchin' the hippies twitch?

thought they were supposed to PROTECT and serve, not injure and humiliate......

 

Their job IS to protect and serve...those in POWER and the status quo. Yes cops will also help (sometimes competently) people without power. Ya know, if someone's breaking into your house, the cops will come pretty fast. But that doesn't change the fact that the police officer's primary job is to protect the corporate CEO and the successful politician from the physical activism of the common man...or in their eyes, the peasants. The police are here to keep some sort of order and balance on the streets (which in many ways is good) but their main and silent priority is to protect the rich from the non-rich. It's a class issue and it's always been.

 

last year when i was in 8th grade, two black girls got in a fight and the white police officer just sprayed theshit out of her in the eyes and the whole school evacuated and now the school board is contemplating giving the officers tazers. i don't think they should let the kids just fight but i mean they shouldn't mace 14 yr olds either or send volts of electricity through them.

 

So, what the hell does race have anything to do with that?

 

Uh well, race has a lot to do with it. Have you heard of a little something called "racial profiling"? But the issue here isn't just about race, it's about the coming police state. It won't just be ethnic minorities who get treated with physical abuse, it'll be all people who are not in the upper decks of financial and political success. Get ready for the police state. It hasn't even begun yet.

 

Behavioral control through physical means is a huge booming industry in the U.S. Just about every gadget to control behavior that you can think of is being invented and marketed.

.

 

obviously what the police did was wrong, but what was the reason for the counter protest? everyone who goes to the recruiting stations go there on their own free will. even if it wasnt at a recruiting office, they wont/cant enlist anybody who doesn't want to enlist.

live and let live, stupid wannabe hippies.

 

Dumb protester.

 

Why the fuck would your bring your kid to a rally where it's a given that cops will use pepper spray?

 

United States of Facism

http://www.bushflash.com/14.html
http://www.bushflash.com/antiwar2.html
http://www.bushflash.com/nazi.html
http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/whatbarrysays
http://www.bushflash.com/pl_lo.html

 

why is it given that police should use pepper spray at a rally


I think that is more the question this thread is trying to address


in this particular variant of fate in which we exist it isn't probably safe to bring small children to a protest, but realistically shouldn't children be able to see the right to peacably assemble first hand?

 

Um...soul rebel, before you judge them, perhaps you should learn something about them first. They are not "stupid wannabe hippies". This a growing movement that has people involved from all walks of life. Your comment was highly ignorant. Please learn before spouting off stupid remarks. Thanks.

 

Just like you Honky...always taking the most convenient side of an argument. You'll never change and that's sad.

 

"Growing movement" ? Ha! Can't you find something better to protest about, such as this quagmire of a war (there is a war going on, you know), the illegal presidency of the Bush administration, FDA non-regulations on bottled-water, etc etc?

Protesting a recruiting office where people go because they want to... that's amazing. Obviously you protesting the recruiters isn't going to change the minds of the people who walk in there to enlist -- they made up their minds far before they got there.

Nice try, but you failed at bringing back the 60s.

 

Exactly. The parent(s) should feel horrible. I feel bad for the kids though.

 

You sad, misguided non-activist. Ok, let's see where to begin. First, I'm gonna go have a cigarette to calm down. I get a bit stressed when I read such sad things.

Ok I'm back and in stable mind

First off, about trying to bring back the 60s, I assure you that's not my (or our) intent.

Anyhow, the counter-recruiter protesters ARE anti-war activists. This is a broad movement that involves taking on the war-machine on many different fronts. Protesting the recruiting stations is just one part. And it's an effective one because not only are they trying to shut down the stations, they are flyering and doing out-reach campaigns to raise awareness to young people, especially in low-income communities (where the recruiters most actively target) about how the military uses deceptive tactics to draw the naive and uneducated in. So this movement is waking up the minds of those who "already made up their minds to enlist". You're suggesting that people can't ever possibly change their minds, and that in itself is sad.

The quagmire of a war you're talking about IS being protested by the same people. In fact there's a growing coalition of different groups coming together to fight what you claim to be against.

Research before talking, as I said earlier.

www.septemberaction.org
www.globalizethis.org for starters

 

"Sad, misguided non-activist" you dont know me.

Protesting recruiters isn't doing a damn thing to stop this war, nor will it in the future. At all. Why protest something that just isn't going to change? People volunteer to enlist, and they're surely not going to change their minds just because a protester says that they are wrong.

People protest the stupidest things nowadays because its the "cool" thing to do. Its because of losers like you that the police state society we're living in is only getting worse.

 

Relax, I just get flustered at times. Ask anyone here who's been around longer than a few months lol.

really? how do you know? do you know the minds of every living American? How many activists have you talked to personally? How many demonstrations have you been to? I bet the answer to both is a big fat echoing zero. And according to many sources, they HAVE been working. People HAVE been rethinking their views on the military and the military's enlistment numbers HAVE dropped...in fact, lower than in a VERY long time. Look it up, don't take my word for it.

Oh boy, and before reading this one Archie Bunker-like little statement of yours, I actually thought there was hope for you. There's not really much I can say about this except that I truly do feel sorry for you, and I hope you change your mind about that. You honestly do sound like a hard-right republican with that attitude. Please talk to activists...because apparently I was absolutely right when I called you a non-activist, and I don't need to know you to be able to assess that. Again, check out the links I provided.

Oh and um...by the way. The original topic of this thread was the POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST THEM AND WHY THAT'S WRONG, not the issues that were being protested by the protesters you silly, know-nothing-but-what-my-mommy/teacher-told-me little kid.

Grow up.