New Mexicans Unite Across the State to Protest Police Brutality & Racism on 12-13-14

December 14, 2014 by 2 Comments

Protest Uptown

***ABQ Uptown Mall***

The Movement has begun. Today, all across the country, tens of thousands of people marched against police brutality and racism. The time to dismantle the unjust system and create something better has arrived.

em121214eProtest Santa Fe

***UNM Medical students hold die-in***People unite in Santa Fe***

In New Mexico, over 60 UNM Medical students held a die-in on UNM North Campus today; 50-100 people gathered in Santa Fe and marched down Cerrillos road; and roughly 30 people “shut down” the ABQ Uptown Mall in Albuquerque.

The numbers of people answering the call for action in New Mexico may not be as overwhelming as some other places, but that does not matter. Any action is better than no action at all.

It is disheartening to hear people say hateful/ignorant comments. It is disheartening to know that the police will mobilize in force to protect consumers and property. It is disheartening to think that people love “flash mobs” in a mall when they sing and dance, but become angry when a group of people attempt to bring awareness of injustice to the public.

At the ABQ Uptown Mall, consumer’s yelled comments like:

“Get a life”

“You are breaking the law…this is private property”

“If Black lives mattered so much, why aren’t there any black people with you?”

“All lives matter…not just black ones”

“All of the shootings were justified”

“Get a job and get out of my way”

“Go protest at the police department, not here”

These comments are typical. They show how little the general public seems to care about racism or injustice. They believe that nothing is wrong with the system. It shows how much they buy into the belief that property rights are more important than human lives. They are more concerned about a few minutes of their commute rather than showing solidarity for a few minutes.

Come on People, get your heads out of your asses. Do I have to be black to believe that black lives matter? Am I only supposed to care about my own race? I know that all lives matter, but the reality is that our system is designed to prey on people of color. It is a fact, not just a fun talking point. Educate yourselves.

protest commute

 “Inconveniencing” consumers by blocking traffic for 5-10 minutes is not done to punish anybody. It is done to force people to take time out of their day to reflect on issues that are important. Does anybody remember the bus boycotts or a woman named Rosa Parks? I will bet people were pissed off at them for “inconveniencing” their commute as well.

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***APD is deployed against peaceful protestors to serve as a private Army for Corporate America***

 The action at the ABQ Uptown Mall was originally supposed to be a die-in at Coronado Mall. Unfortunately the police were tipped off and were surrounding the meeting area. They were ready to arrest anybody who disrupted the capitalistic monster from consuming. Public tax dollars were used to stop people from lying down on the floor for a little while. There were multiple APD officers and cars all around the Mall.

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 The simple fact that the police were there is screwed up and amplifies the distorted truth of our injustice system. The Mall is “private” property; the police are supposed to serve and protect the “public”. They were deployed to the Mall like a private Army for the elite. The “militarization” of the police continues and must be stopped. They should not be at the beckon call of those who have money.

The struggle must continue. The People must have the attention span to keep building this Movement. Although protests are important for creating social awareness, the Movement will be created through organizing, educating the public, and time. People need to know the truth and be educated on why this is important. It has gone on for way too long!

Today was a just the ripple of a social wave that is growing. It doesn’t matter how many People participated today, it matters how many People participate tomorrow and every day after that.

 

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Find out what our Presidents have said about police brutality

December 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

President Quotes

Here is a list of obscure Presidential quotes concerning Police Brutality and the Injustice System (yes, I am a nerd and went through a ton of presidential papers to find these). I know that some of the quotes may be a little out of context and many of the politicians are not worthy of being attached to them, but I thought they were pretty interesting. I hope you enjoy them.

1. “The American people cannot close their eyes to abuses of human rights and injustice, whether they occur among friend or adversary or even on our own shores.” Ronald Reagan

2. “The paramount duty of maintaining public order and defending the interests of our own people may require the adoption of measures of restriction, but they should not tolerate the oppression of individuals of a special race.” Grover Cleveland

3. “It is always possible that occasional individuals may have overstepped the law and humanity in treatment of criminals and those charged with crime, and if so, they should be severely punished.” Herbert Hoover

4. “[W]e must always remember that you are officers of the law in a great democratic nation which owes its birth to the indignation of its citizens against the encroachment of police and governmental powers against their individual freedoms.” Harry S. Truman

5. “[T]he guilty as well as the innocent are entitled to due process of law. They are entitled to a fair trial. They are entitled to counsel. They are entitled to fair treatment from the police. The law enforcement officer has the same duty as the citizen-indeed, he has a higher duty–to abide by the letter and spirit of our Constitution and laws. You yourselves must be careful to obey the letter of the law. You yourselves must be intellectually honest in the enforcement of the law.” Harry S. Truman

6. “The friendless, the weak, the victims of prejudice and public excitement are entitled to the same quality of justice and fair play that the rich, the powerful, the well-connected, and the fellow with pull thinks he can get.” Harry S. Truman

7. “[T]he rule of law does more than ensure freedom from high-handed action by rulers. It ensures justice between man and man however humble the one and however powerful the other. A man with five dollars in the bank can call to account the corporation with five billion dollars in assets–and the two will be heard as equals before the law.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

8. “Every citizen, regardless of his race, creed, or color, is entitled to equal justice.” Lyndon B. Johnson

9. “Effective law enforcement and social justice must be pursued together, as the foundation of our efforts against crime.” Lyndon B. Johnson

10. “It is very seldom that any one is in prison for an ordinary crime unless early in life he entered a path that almost invariably led to the prison gate. Most of the inmates are the children of the poor. In many instances they are either orphans or half-orphans; their homes were the streets and byways of big cities, and their paths naturally and inevitably took them to their final fate.” Lyndon B. Johnson quoting Clarence Darrow

11. “Law enforcement officers should use only the minimum force necessary in dealing with disorders when they arise. A human life–the life of a student, soldier, or police officer–is a precious thing, and the taking of a life can be justified only as a necessary and last resort.” Richard Nixon

12. “[W]e cannot speak of human rights in other countries unless we are going to do our utmost to protect the rights of our own people here at home.” Jimmy Carter

13. “[N]early all inmates are drawn from the ranks of the powerless and the poor. A child of privilege frequently receives the benefit of the doubt; a child of poverty seldom does.” Jimmy Carter

14. “In many courts, plea bargaining serves the convenience of the judge and the lawyers, not the ends of justice, because the courts simply lack the time to give everyone a fair trial.” Jimmy Carter

15. “Powerful white-collar criminals cheat consumers of millions of dollars; public officials who abuse their high rank damage the integrity of our Nation in profound and longlasting ways. But too often, these bigshot crooks escape the full consequences of their acts. Justice must be blind to rank, power, and position.” Jimmy Carter

16. “What our administration and our party seek is the day when the tragic side of the black legacy in America can be laid to rest once and for all, and the long, perilous voyage toward freedom, dignity, and opportunity can be completed—a day when every child born in America will live free not only of political injustice but of fear, ignorance, prejudice, and dependency.” Ronald Reagan

17. “Law enforcement officials cannot place themselves above the law that they are sworn to defend.” George H.W. Bush

18. “What we’re going to do is look into violations of the law and prosecute any of the people that have violated the Federal law and speak out against police brutality — because what I saw made me sick. It was sickening to see the beating that was rendered, and there’s no way, in my view, to explain that away. It was outrageous.” George H.W. Bush

19. “Not all Americans are living the American dream by a long shot. Many can’t even imagine it. There are impoverished Americans, the poor and the homeless, the hungry and the hopeless, many unable to read and write. There are Americans gone astray, the kids dragged down by drugs, the shattered families, the teenage mothers struggling to cope. Then there are Americans uneasy, troubled and bewildered by the dizzying pace of change.” George H.W. Bush

20. “[W]e have a right to expect a police force that protects our citizens and behaves in a responsible manner… in the American conscience there is no room for bigotry and racism.” George H.W. Bush

21. “[W]e also generally agree that it is important for you to focus on the constructive steps the Administration has taken and will take to root out police brutality,and strengthen the bond between police officers and the communities they serve.” Bill Clinton

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Why do elites get away with crime? D.A. Brandenburg is NOT above the law!

December 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

KariBrandenburg

Stop me if you heard this before… the police conduct an investigation that reveals information that they believe is solid enough to press charges. The suspect claims innocence, but the system ignores their pleas and eventually sends them to prison.

Doesn’t that sound like thousands of cases that happen every single day across the United States?

Now let’s throw in a twist. What if the suspect is the District Attorney? What if that D.A. claims innocence despite strong evidence of wrongdoing? Well… you probably know where I am going with this now.

 gotojail

THROW HER ASS IN JAIL

That’s right…I am talking about District Attorney Kari Brandenburg and the recent allegations of witness intimidation and bribery. The D.A. is claiming that she has “never at any time violated the law.” Yet the APD report states that “there was probable cause to believe Brandenburg had violated state laws against witness bribery and intimidation in connection with alleged thefts of thousands of dollars worth of property by her 26 year old son.”

Wait a minute… did they say probable cause? In a record statement from 2012, D.A. Brandenburg states that probable cause is the requirement to present a case to a Grand Jury for indictment. Therefore, according to D.A. Brandenburg, it appears that this case should be presented to a Grand Jury to decide whether or not the D.A. should be indicted.

That being said, the reality is that she will probably never be put into that position. Why? This country and its People are governed by 2 sets of laws. One is for the elite class (politicians, corporations, and other “important” or rich individuals). This set of laws is loose and works in their favor. They are immune from the “regular” set of laws. The “regular” set of laws applies to everybody else and gets worse depending upon economic status or the color of a person’s skin.

This is a major problem in our society. In With Liberty and Justice for Some by Glenn Greenwald, the problem is explained:

“When the law is wielded only against the powerless, it ceases to be a safeguard against injustice and becomes the primary tool of oppression.”

D.A. Brandenburg is in an elected office that is expected to be tough on criminals. She is amongst the elite and expects that the system grant her immunity. She believes that she is above the law. Let any of us have a criminal investigation that yields probable cause. Do you think that she would just take our word that we were innocent? HELL NO! She would throw the book at us.

There is evidence that she intimated witnesses and bribed them. Who fucking cares what her story is. She can claim innocence, but needs to do it in a court of law. Mr. Greenwald also states “Courtrooms, indictments, and prisons are there for ordinary Americans, not for the ruling classes…” I guess that the D.A. believes that she is part of the ruling class.

Judge Diane Wood, of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said “there is no one in society governed by law who is above the law or immune from some form of legal constraint.” Somebody may want to let D.A. Brandenburg in on this tidbit if information.

Lady_Justice_Detail_1

 WHAT IF D.A. BRANDENBURG ACTUALLY GOES BEFORE A GRAND JURY?

So what if she does stand before a Grand Jury? Will the office that she runs indict her? Does anybody think that the Great Oz will pull back the curtains and stand before the citizens of Emerald City? If police officers are immune from the system, why the hell would a D.A. be subject to it?

We must remember that D.A. Brandenburg believes that the Grand Jury is flawless and indicts the correct criminals. She even believes that police officers are indicted at a fair rate. In the recorded statement from 2012, she proudly proclaims that her office has data that over the last 40 years, 1 out of every 500 police officers involved in a shooting have been indicted and NONE of them were acquitted (and she brags that police have a broad range to use deadly force).

I am not quite sure where she gets this data. Most police departments do not release this type of information (and are not required to provide this information to any government agency). A New York Daily News Report used outside agencies to determine that on-duty NYPD officers have killed 179 people since 1999 (27% were unarmed; 86% were Black or Hispanic). Only 3 of these cases led to an indictment of a police officer and only one of those led to a conviction (the officer was sentenced to 5 years of probation and 500 hours of community service).

Considering recent incidents involving the failure of the Grand Jury and over whelming statistical evidence that the elite are immune from the system, maybe D.A. Brandenburg should rethink her faith in the system?

In reality, she knows that the system is corrupt and that she will never be indicted for her crimes. She IS the system. This is an excerpt from an article written by a group of Public Defenders:

“There is no system of checks and balances when a D.A. is tasked with prosecuting a colleague.”

It is just a fact that the D.A.’s Office is not going to indict the D.A. They are colleagues. D.A. Brandenburg knows that and can proudly proclaim her belief in that system. She, and many of her colleagues are immune from the “regular” set of laws that are for ordinary Americans, especially those with darker skin.

CONCLUSION

The Public Defenders go on to explain “Nearly every public defender will tell you that cases with much less evidence are indicted in a matter of minutes. The typical indictment will [only] require the testimony of one or two witnesses…”

D.A. Brandenburg’s case has an investigative report that supports probable cause and there are witnesses available. How can that not be enough?

One of D.A. Brandenburg’s goals is to “increase the [D.A.] office’s effectiveness in prosecuting those who violate our laws…” Maybe she should put an asterisk next to it that says “this only applies to poor people and people of color. The rest of us get to do whatever the fuck we feel like.”

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APD Officer who Killed Mary Hawkes was highest paid officer in 2013 (and 3 other crazy facts about the APD)

November 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

tyranny-montesquieu

Ladies and Gentleman, something is truly screwed up in Albuquerque (and the rest of this country). After reviewing the City of Albuquerque’s top 250 salaries in 2013, I have come to the conclusion that crime really does pay off (if you can hide behind a badge while doing it).

I was stunned to discover that the police officer that murdered 19-year-old Mary Hawkes was the highest paid police officer in the city in 2013. Here are 4 crazy facts about the Albuquerque Police Department that may blow your mind:

 JEREMY DEAR

  1. Officer Jeremy Dear is the highest paid police officer on the force. He earned (stole) $118,641.17 in 2013. (UPDATE, Officer Jeremy Dear was fired from APD on 12/01/14)

This is THE Officer Dear who was on the scene when Officer Sean Wallace shot and killed an    unarmed, 22 year old Alan Gomez. He was caught giving conflicting details of the incident.

Oh yeah… Officer Dear is also the one who shot and killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes. She was shot 3 times in a downward trajectory and had multiple blunt force injuries. (no lapel video available)

Officer Dear has also had several excessive force complaints in which no video is available because his lapel camera malfunctioned

RUSSELL PEREA

  1. Officer Russell S. Perea was the highest paid employee in the entire City of Albuquerque (I did not include him as the highest paid officer because he was not on the force in 2013). He pulled down a total of $154,169.16 in 2013. (Back pay for time missed)

Officer Perea was fired in 2011 because he was deemed to be “untruthful” about his activities and   conversations with Officer Levi Chavez on the night Officer Chavez’s wife was murdered. (A court recently ruled that Officer Perea should be reinstated)

 

  1. Sergeant Daniel Carr made $106,900.59 in 2013.

Sergeant Carr was involved in a case where he followed a stripper’s boyfriend and arrested him for DWI. (According to reports, Sergeant Carr was infatuated with the stripper and wanted to get rid of the boyfriend)

Sergeant Carr has also been reprimanded officially several times, missed court, and been involved in 3 accidents. He has been flagged by APD’s Early Warning System.

MONEY WASTED

  1. 17 members of the APD made more than $100,000 in 2013 (12 of them made more than Mayor Berry’s $103,854.40)

 

These are just a few of the strange facts about the $100,000 Club. One Officer on the list has a current civil rights case against him; 2 Officer’s have been involved in shootings; one Officer was in an accident that cost the City $75,000; and another Officer refused to consider creating stricter policies against officer’s who give false statements (after the Boyd shooting).

It is simply amazing that taxpayer money is wasted like this. How can these people earn 6 figures? Something needs to change!

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The Psychosis* of Black Friday: Why Pay More?

November 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment

*8 minute history of Black Friday*

Is history bound to repeat itself? Should we continue to fight against the powers-that-be? Is society really progressing? Who the hell knows? This Black Friday, millions of people stormed the doors of faceless corporations in hopes that they will save a few dollars on material items that the market convinced them are a “must-have” this holiday season.

They pack the aisles of Walmart, America’s largest corporation, fighting each other to save $10 on a video game or some other pointless item that will not make the world a better place. At the same time, the same corporation exploits their employees and pays them a wage that they cannot live off of.

The workers risked their jobs and walked out of Walmarts all across the country in a mass strike. They asked people to boycott the heartless corporation and refuse to spend money there. They were ignored by the masses. Ultimately, Walmart will make billions on Black Friday, Wall Street will skyrocket, the Wal-Mart worker’s plight will be ignored and low-income individuals will go further into debt.

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Why do we continue to do this to ourselves? This morning I was reading Clarence Darrow, Attorney for the Damned, by John A. Farrell. It was stunning how the people of the late 1890’s and early 1900’s fought against the same type of injustices as we do today. The Populist platform during that time (1894) stated (this is just a restatement of their platform and is not an endorsement of all of their ideals):

“We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the legislatures, the Congress and touches every ermine of the bench.

The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, public opinion silenced, business prostrated, homes cover with mortgages, labor impoverished and the land concentrating in the hands of the capitalists. The urban workmen are denied the right to organize for self-protection; imported pauperized labor beats down their wages, a hireling standing army, unrecognized by our laws, is established to shoot them down.

The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up the colossal fortunes of the few… and the possessors of these, in turn, despise the Republic and endanger liberty.”

Although some of the references may be a little outdated, don’t they sound familiar? Police brutality, the mortgage crisis, wage stagnation, debt, and the wealth gap still exist.

The mindless mob is spoon-fed capitalist ideals and blindly supports the system. The rich sit back and laugh, as they get richer. They do not need to participate in Black Friday. They are sheltered from police brutality and an unjust court system. They love the debt that destroys families across the country and bang the drum of “Right to Work” policies. They own the government and know that they will dictate whatever change occurs in the future.

The Populists of 1894 believed:

“The President and his Wall Street allies are a small band of schemers… who have not a drop of Democratic blood in their veins, whose sympathy are entirely with the great corporations which treat the American republic as a foraging ground.”

walmart

 The players may have changed and certain issues have evolved, but the premise remains the same; Capitalism exploits and subjugates people. Can we ever change that? When will the People finally think for themselves and fight back? Will the revolution ever succeed? Who the hell knows! All that I know is that we cannot believe that it is pointless to fight back or they will definitely win! We Must Keep up the fight!  #WalmartStrikers #Ferguson

Visit www.blackfridayprotests.org to support striking Walmart Workers!

*The definition of psychosis is:”a serious mental disorder characterized by thinking and emotions that are so impaired, that they indicate that the person experiencing them has lost contact with reality.”

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Injustice is Inevitable

November 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

fergusonprotest1

                          *New Mexico State Police wait in riot gear on Central & Girard

It is time for me to admit it; some things in life are just inevitable. This morning I woke and was mesmerized by the golden rays of the sun penetrating the New Mexico horizon. The colors of the New Mexico sky can be one of the most beautiful experiences in the world. It made me think about the natives and how they saw the same colors in the sky since time immemorial. The sun rising and setting has happened since the beginning of the earth and will continue to its end. It is inevitable.

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The fact that Officer Wilson will not be indicted was also inevitable. Really…how many people really believed that he would stand before his peers in a court of law? A grand jury is not a trial; it is a process that determines if there should be a trial. There is no way that the state (who is the prosecution and is the only side that gets to present a case in a grand jury proceeding) will give a 100% effort when presenting its case against a cop. The system is flawed.

I was even more disturbed when I read comments about the marches that occurred around the country in response to the announcement. I read comments like:

 

“Those who think that an injustice was done do not know the facts or evidence of the case”

 

“The liberals had their feel good moment, now they can go back home and sleep safely in their beds knowing that they are protected”

 

There were hundreds of comments similar to these. I could not believe the hatred and anger that these commenters directed at their fellow citizens who were exercising their 1st Amendment rights. I could not understand how they could be so blind as to believe that the system is not broken.

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The protests were not about the Ferguson case alone. They were a response to uncontrolled police brutality across the country, racist sentencing guidelines in our one-sided court system, the militarization of the police force, prison systems that are overcrowded with people of color, and a court system that sends innocent people to jail.

I will agree with the commenter who states that people do not know the facts or evidence in the Mike Brown case. That is why this should have gone to trial. That is where both sides will present the facts and evidence to a jury of Officer Wilson’s peers. Let them decide his guilt or innocence, not the commenters on Facebook who think that they know everything somehow.

No matter what an individual thinks about the Ferguson case, they have to admit that our system is broken and needs to be fixed. The decision not to indict a cop should not be the inevitable outcome every time.

****I would also like to apologize to my readers for the long delay between posts. It will not happen again****

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Why is My Little Girl Afraid of the APD?

August 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

vigil

Dear Readers,

My heart is torn to pieces. Tonight I attended the candlelight vigil held in solidarity for the brave people standing up against police brutality & racism in Ferguson, Missouri. I had planned on writing a post about the event to make sure that it was accurately recorded for the future.

BUT…

I experienced something very painful and heartbreaking. After listening to Jonathan Mitchell’s father discuss the pain of losing his child, I looked at my daughter with wonder. I could not imagine losing her.

cops

After he spoke, my daughter ran down from the steps and sprinted towards me with a look of complete terror in her eyes. My wife and I were stunned and did not know what was happening.

She ran in between my wife and I and looked up at us with tears in her eyes. We asked her what was wrong. She said:

“The police are here and they have ambulances with them! Are they going to hurt us?”

I didn’t know what to say. I attempted to reassure her that we would be fine and that we had a right to be there. I said that she should never be intimidated by the police or anybody else. I told her that I would not take her somewhere dangerous.

She seemed to calm down and went back to playing and participating in some of the chants.

undercover cop

As we left the vigil, we noticed somebody standing outside of a car parked near ours on the corner of Roma & 5th. He was a dark haired gentleman with a goatee. He had a badge on his belt and was taking pictures of the vigil from afar.

My daughter noticed him and asked why the police wanted to take pictures of everybody. What do I say to that? It is just so difficult to give her answers that make sense.

While the police in Ferguson attack innocent people, the APD attempts to intimidate us. How do you tell your little girl that she should feel safe? Isn’t that what a daddy is supposed to say?

candlelight wall

I cannot live in a world where we must fear those who are hired to protect & serve us. My daughter and everybody else deserves to live without fear. I stand in solidarity with Ferguson.

As the speakers at tonights vigil said, we cannot allow the momentum to fizzle away. We need to be loud and strong. Our children need a better future. That is our right! Stand up and fight back!

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