Police Violence catalyzes Protests
Patrol Cars, Bus, Shops torched
“At one point rioters were seen beating up a man attempting to take film footage of the scene.” “They’ve beaten up a man for talking to the fire brigade.”
“Many lined up with makeshift weapons including metal bars and baseball bats to confront the line of police…” “At one point, rioters broke through police ranks and attempted to storm Tottenham’s police station, pelting officers with bricks, bottles and eggs. As a police helicopter flew over Tottenham High Road, youths in masks and hoods added combustible material to two burned out police cars, included a bundle of documents and an awning ripped down from one of the shops.”
Shelton Officer Stomps Handcuffed Suspect’s Head, Breaks Jaw
The Mason County Sheriff has a tank…to serve warrants?…so they said. The department along with the Shelton police has a history of abusing citizens with excessive force and the gratuitous use of tasers. When this police misconduct is brought to court, the cover-up continues and the uniformed perpetrators are rarely held accountable by judges who never met a cop they didn’t like. News gatherers and photojournalists seek to shed light on this kind of crime along with those of any violent law breakers. A fully informed electorate is vital to any functioning true democracy. When one member of the community in injured, their rights violated, all members of the community have been injured!
However, how is the public to be informed of these critical events when those attempting to bear the message themselves are threatened, attacked, beaten, reviled, and prevented from exercising…and thereby preserving…some of our most precious inalienable rights?
One might think our most visible community activists would be on board with preserving our liberties along with our environment. But, with apologies to Porgy & Bess, it ain’t necessarily so! Disgustingly un-American behavior emanates from even some of those [Shawnie Vedder/Whelan?] who are among the 1st to insist on the very right they deprecate by attacking livestock, vandalizing mailboxes, engaging in perjury and abuse of process, defrauding the government, etc. Even the Shelton Journal has been seen to be lacking the kind of deference to 1st Amendment principles one would hope for in a news gathering organization. From public meetings, to courthouse hallway/sidewalk encounters, the hypocrisy abounds.
It’s high time the community took stock and engaged in some introspection if we truly value the proud principles and protections we share as Americans. Poorly trained law enforcement officers are among the most disturbing in this loathsome mix of those who would pervert the fundamental principles for which this nation was founded.
Why don’t you get them back?