[E][OO]

capitalism-kills:

On January 28th our friend Laura was swept up in the mass arrest of an Occupy Oakland march. Laura was one of the 30-40 out of 400 arrests that night to get charged with a felony charge of Burglary, because she was caught inside the YMCA desperately attempting to escape the outright brutality displayed by OPD that night. Not only did she get bogus felony charges, she was cruelly denied her medication by Santa Rita for over two days.

I was with Laura that night, and was arrested inside the YMCA as well. I witnessed the suffering Laura experienced. She was first told that she would be able to take her medication if she brought it with her to Santa Rita but once she got there it became clear that she would be without medication for at least a week, that is, if she’d get access to it at all. For someone who suffers from anxiety and clinical depression, having her medication withheld from her added layers of emotional suffering and distress to Laura’s stay in jail.

A few days into our arrest, Laura and I were both transferred to general population. Laura found the psychological stress extremely difficult to deal with. She was forced to either face serious withdrawal and panic attacks in jail without her medication, and no real promise that she’d ever get it, or she could put up bond and get out as soon as possible.

Because Laura was charged with a felony, her bail was posted at 50,000 dollars, which meant that Laura had to pay $4,000 dollars of her own money to get out of jail. She decided to practice self care and post bond for herself, which means she will never see that money ever again.

So all in all- Laura was forced to pay $4,000 dollars for bogus charges that would have been dropped had she been able to stay in jail. She was not able to stay in jail because she had special needs for her medication, which she was cruelly denied.

Laura is a tireless organizer and has been for many years. She has spent hours and days and weeks organizing on the Oakland Anti-Repression committee. She has spent so much of her time caring for others who have faced state repression. She has organized support outside of jail, she has helped write letters, figure out people’s bail situation, communicate with the NLG, throw fundraisers, etc. Laura is a feminist who has been an invaluable source of support for me and countless other women. She is the kind of person who is always there for other people, who is a consistent foundation of support in many radical communities.

We cannot let the OPD and the “justice” system get away with this kind of abuse to our sister, comrade and friend Laura. As activists who understand the ways in which this system enacts special punishment by not meeting the needs of people who are differently abled, we have to take a principled stand and not allow Laura to suffer and pay this money back by herself. We should stand in an act of solidarity and distribute this burden equally among ourselves and make sure Laura is not punished by the state for having special emotional and psychological needs.

Laura needs to pay rent, to be able to continue to live and organize under this system, this means we need to raise this money with urgency and purpose. We can’t let the state damage our movement by isolating people to face undue burden. DONATE NOW!

Send this to everyone you know! Donate $5, $10, $15, $20 dollars. Anything you can! Please. This is not right!

1. It’s your constitutional right.

The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures. Unless police have strong evidence (probable cause) to believe you’re involved in criminal activity, they need your permission to perform a search of you or your property.

You have the right to refuse random police searches anywhere and anytime, so long as you aren’t crossing a border checkpoint or entering a secure facility like an airport. Don’t be shy about standing up for your own privacy rights, especially when police are looking for evidence that could put you behind bars.

2. Refusing a search protects you if you end up in court.

It’s always possible that police might search you anyway when you refuse to give consent, but that’s no reason to say “yes” to the search. Basically, if there’s any chance of evidence being found, agreeing to a search is like committing legal suicide, because it kills your case before you even get to court.

If you refuse a search, however, the officer will have to prove in court that there was probable cause to do a warrantless search. This will give your lawyer a good chance to win your case, but this only works if you said “no” to the search.

3. Saying “no” can prevent a search altogether.

Data on police searches are interesting, but they don’t show how many searches didn’t happen because a citizen said no. A non-search is a non-event that goes unrecorded, giving rise to a widespread misconception that police will always search with or without permission.

I know refusing searches works because I’ve been collecting stories from real police encounters. The reality is that police routinely ask for permission to search when they have absolutely no evidence of an actual crime. If you remain calm and say no, there’s a good chance they’ll back down, because it’s a waste of time to do searches that won’t hold up in court anyway.

4. Searches can waste your time and damage your property.

Do you have time to sit around while police rifle through your belongings? Police often spend 30 minutes or more on vehicle searches and even longer searching homes. You certainly can’t count on officers to be careful with valuables or to put everything back where they found it. If you waive your 4th Amendment rights by agreeing to be searched, you will have few legal options if any property is damaged or missing after the search.

5. You never know what they’ll find.

Are you 100 percent certain there’s nothing illegal in your home or vehicle? You can never be too sure. A joint roach could stick to your shoe on the street and wind up on the floorboard. A careless acquaintance could have dropped a baggie behind the seat. Try telling a cop it isn’t yours, and they’ll just laugh and tell you to put your hands behind your back. If you agreed to the search, you can’t challenge the evidence. But if you’re innocent and you refused the search, your lawyer has a winnable case.

Remember that knowing your rights will help you protect yourself, but no amount of preparation can guarantee a good outcome in a bad situation. Your attitude and your choices before, during, and after the encounter will usually matter more than your knowledge of the law. Stay calm no matter what happens, and remember that you can always report misconduct after things settle down.

Finally, please don’t be shy about sharing this information with your friends and family. Understanding and asserting your rights isn’t about getting away with anything, and it isn’t about disrespecting police either. These rights are the foundation of freedom in America, and they get weaker whenever we fail to exercise them.

(Source: anticapitalist)

rooftopsedge:

“A full plastic water bottle lobbed at police in full riot gear, whether it hits one of them or not, is enough to legally warrant the shooting of less lethal, rubber-coated steel bullets at a crowd. Occupiers, of course, threw more than just water bottles on January 28 - glass bottles, bricks,…

(Source: alternet.org, via fifteenminuteslater)

(Source: hurpaderp)