"Comply or Die"

11 seconds before the shooting, Mr. Pretti is restrained by multiple agents. Still from video by Philophon via Reddit.
The New York Times.

Greg Bovino, head of ICE, says the agents who killed a man on a public street in front of witnesses are the "real victims" and the dead man is to blame for his own murder as a peaceful citizen behaving legally. If Bovino had been around in the seventies, he'd probably have announced that poor Ted Bundy was just a hapless victim of all those nasty girls.

Even though the agents' faces were covered to conceal them from witnesses and cameras, a genuine, standard investigation into the murder would be able to determine the identity of the shooter(s). They would preserve the scene, collect evidence following strict procedures, identify whose gun fired the fatal bullets, who had GSR on their clothes, etc. But the perpetrator is unlikely to be named, because they didn't start a proper investigation at the crime scene, the evidence will have been mishandled, and all the agents will lie despite being caught on video from multiple angles; besides, DHS wants more of this.

They want you to be paralyzed with fear. They want a populace too terrified to complain. They want the perfect police state.

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• Minneapolis Residents Resolve to Fight On
• CNN Video Analysis
• Judge Grants Restraining Order Against DHS
• Anti-ICE Protests Intensify
• How Many People Have Been Shot By ICE?
• Remembering Renee Good

 

They May Be Aiming at You

Photo by ev on Unsplash

So-called "non-lethal" weapons are really just "less lethal", and law enforcement terminology now acknowledges that.

Rubber bullets aren't bouncy rubber. They are metal with a rubber coating, intended to be very painful and knock someone down. They can blind you permanently, give you a concussion, damage major organs, cause limb injury requiring amputation, and may cause death.

"Bean bag" bullets do not use the bean bags you're familiar with. Instead of beans or plastic, the bags are filled with metal balls! They are supposed to be aimed low, to hit the legs or feet, but cops usually aim for the torso or head. These will always knock you down, and can cause very severe injuries, leading to permanent disability or death.

Tear gas is deployed in grenades or cannisters that emit the gas as a spray or mist. If you are hit by the cannister, it can cause serious injury or death. The gas itself is extremely irritating to mucous membranes. It causes coughing, difficulty breathing, throat pain, eye pain, and temporary blindness. It may trigger asthma attacks. In some cases, it can cause permanent damage, including death. Tear gas is considered a chemical weapon and is outlawed in international warfare, yet police in the U.S. are allowed to use it on civilians.

All of these weapons are used to injure, maim, and "accidentally" kill unarmed citizens. If you are struck by any of these projectiles, get medical help as soon as possible, even if you think your injury isn't serious. You can have a concussion or internal injuries that aren't immediately obvious.

We need laws that restrict the use of these weapons against unarmed persons, and we need the ability to hold police accountable when these weapons are abused -- such as deliberately aiming for the head, shooting people in the back, firing on children or disabled persons, attacking pregnant women and elderly folks, etc.