Forum Post: Positive tips from a cop
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 2:23 a.m. EST by MemphisCop
(0)
from Memphis, TN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
An introduction: 1: I am a Police Officer with the city of Memphis, TN. 2: I am 100% backing the 99% and I totally agree with this movement. 3: I wish to help the cause get the message across and try and keep as many people out of jail as possible. Tips are as follows...
I am sure many youtube vids have been watched and the local news has told you what is going on in whatever city you are in. Both of which are a waste of time in my opinion. If you watch the news and you think "Gee that sure is one sided and I can't believe what is going on" then you are correct. The same can be said about the stacks of youtube videos that are bashing the police and what they are doing.
Main point #1: Being a police officer is a job. Thus we have bosses as well as anyone else. If boss man tells us to do something we have to else face punishment or the loss of our job. With the way the economy is currently it is hard to walk away from a job and even harder if you have a family to back.
Main point #2: Not all actions taken by police are of their individual choice. Meaning if boss man says "Block the bridge and arrest anyone that comes near so that we can taint the media's perception of the events" that doesn't mean that all the officers involved agree with the command...but we still have to do it. Unfortunately just like the military we have to obey or face charges against ourselves that could include termination. See family to take care of and feed...
Main point #2a: Boss man is not always another Police Officer but is more often than not a Mayor or other government official for the city with their own agenda.
Main point #2b: That means that the police are being bossed around by the same few that are making the rules and breaking them at the same time for profit.
Main point #3: I can say from my experience that here in Memphis officers are dreading the day we have to put on our riot gear and deal with the Occupy protests. We "for the most part" agree with the movement and don't want to have to stand in the way of change. What sucks is if we are ordered to, then we must act for the sake of our jobs and our loved ones and for public safety. Keep in mind that even if the public citizens in your area don't agree with the movement, they can still want protection from it. Silly yet true. That means that your local police officers might be forced to protect part of the population from the other part of the population of a city and not have any problem with either side. Officers are meant to be peace keepers and can't always act on their own personal opinions.
That being said...
Tips and Tricks for the would be protester:
1: You have the right to protest. (period) However you do not have the right to do lots of other things.
eg. 1a: In some states you may protest so long as it is a peaceful demonstration. eg 1b: Using an amplification device such as a mega-phone or PA system is illegal by certain state laws. eg 1c: If you are in a city park after hours then you may be fined or jailed to discontinue the occurrence. eg 1d: A gathering of more that 5 people in any area with a common idea to action is a gang or even a riot. eg 1e: Any individual that is seen trying to antagonist 2 or more people is trying to start a riot.
These are just examples from the common law in my area.
These are just points to show that each state is different in it's laws and that you could legally be arrested or fined for very minor infractions.
My tips to the 99% are to read up on your local laws. Have a few people from you local group to really know what you can and can't be arrest/fined for. Once you know those things then you have a "loop hole". =) If you do not do the things that you know you cannot and only take actions that are in the "grey area" or within that loop hole then you stand a much better chance of escaping arrest while still having a peaceful movement.
The other issue is that if you are looking for a job in the future and you have an arrest on record then you could be passed up for the job due to said record. My desire is that people that read this will learn from it and be able to protest the crap that is going in in this country without permently damaging the future of themselves and their familes.
I wish yall the best but please to try an keep your nose clean as best you can. If not for you then for the children you might have down the road.
I've always felt anti-gang laws is a violation of the freedom to assemble
This is very helpful information for us, Officer.
Your honesty is refreshing, and not just because your a police officer. We should all be honest and respectful of each other. When we live by these principles we can diffuse needless conflicts. I completely understand and agree with you that we are all on the same side. I'm glad we are. I've been advocating this from the beginning. I believe this movement has to remain largely anti-violent or it will surely lose it's soul.
There's always bad actors from all sides, they are as diverse as we are. They operate on the fringes. I respect what you do as your job because we need you out there making sure we have some justice in this world. Unfortunately, the world is far from Utopian and there those amongst us that can and will do us harm. Also we need you with us peacefully protesting this entrenched system that has spawned this income inequality that sinking all our futures.
I agree with your wise advice to all the protestors to pay attention to the local laws. Understand them. Those are the ones that could be enforced. If we don't like these laws then we take action with the politicians. The police do not make the laws, they enforce them. If arrests occur we go peacefully and gracefully and let the police do their job. They should not be hassled for doing this. This is an non-violent movement in the memory of MLK and Gandhi.
http://www.occupypolice.org/
BUT, what I don't understand is how the law makers can say "THIS" piece of land is a city park you cant be in here after such an hour because, that may lead to suspicion you may be doing something illegal. When was it OK to stop humans from being human and making damn sure they're scared to live life. God forbid you step out of "normal" and want to change anything for that would be deemed irrational! I agree whole heart-idly with the first poster saying "just following orders" is crock! WHEN can you make a stand, when can you say its not OK! this is why the government is so successful because everyone is so afraid at what might happen if they go against the grain. Oh yeah I sure support those guys but, I support them as far as I'm aloud but if told I must be against them because its my "duty" I'll have to.
Dear anonymous officer: your statements excusing your actions as "just following orders" just don't "wash". I quit a high level federal job in protest of the massive waste and corruption at the top levels of the DoD, and now, I earn a whole lot less, but I can look myself in the mirror and be OK with what I see there. So, officer, why don't you quit? Many others before you have refused to sell out our Nation so that we may stay comfortably well-off. Suffering is part of retaking a corrupt system, and so is sacrifice. Many low and mid-level members of the Nazi government system justified their continued participation in an evil regime in the same ways that you just did. Do you think that the suffering of the citizens who are protesting should be mocked by your blind obedience to corrupt masters, and your belief that you and yours shouldn't have to suffer the way that the citizens who pay your salaries are made to suffer?
This is an excellent piece. Remember we are in our infancy and many do not yet understand the message. If we break all bridges with police officers now, we could set ourselves a harder mission. If we get their unions if we bring them to understand, we would have a very very easy piece of cake walk in doing what we want to do. Until the REST of the 99% understands and gets behind us, they are fearful of losing their jobs, upsetting the boat (for example only 5% of workers stayed home in Oakland for the strike) and will take time to understand, then join. It should not be 'either you are for us or against us!' but 'If you listen to what I have to say and see what is happening, I know you will be for us." Give ALL the people some time, for crying out loud, to hear, to hear again, to understand. The day we make friends with the cops and work with understanding, is the day they come on our side of the barricade.
for the most part in nyc we are friendly with the officers that are on the perimeters of the park. something i thought worth mentioning is that they do not come inside the park (unless undercover, of course), and if we have any "issues' that need to be de-escalated, we are left to our own devices. so i'm a bit confused. when marches happen they follow us, but they don't pull us from the park because we are allowed there 24/7 and they just don't come inside...i would also like to say that today i counted 23 officers standing behind the barricades of the sidewalk of one small block of the park . they were clearly bored and just getting paid for doing nothing: checking their cell phones, texting and shooting the shit w/ each other. there is no reason for them to be there because anything "criminal" that would go down, would go down in that small park, which is where they do not go. why are there so many cops surrounding our park, just standing there doing nothing? they are just watching a show and getting paid over time. they don't make me feel "safe". they stare at little old ladies knitting mittens for the occupiers. is this how they "protect" us??
I appreciate the advice but, you guys have a union why isn't the FOP fighting with the 99%.
Excellent advice. We thank you for posting it. Although there's always going to be some troublemakers in any large crowds, I believe most OWS'ers understand the difficult position law enforcement is in with regards to any protest movements. Thanks again.
Thank you for that post. I will also point out that once a police officer looses their job it is VERY, VERY difficult for them to get another. It is very different than with private employers. Maybe, as officers, you could speak to your unions about their official position on the Occupy movements?
Thanks for this and telling us of your situation.
so at what point does the moral justification of assaulting your own brothers and sisters cross the line for being a suitable means of getting paid slightly more paper money than your average joe?
[Deleted]
2 questions...should be fairly simple:
Do you believe a permit requirement to assemble is Unconstitutional?
Do you believe a permit requirement to own a gun is Unconstitutional?
And if you were told to fire off a plastic bullet or a teargas cannister at any one of us for any reason or no reason you would do it. thanks, buddy.