CopWatch groups have become a phenomenon in America, out of dire necessity. I interview the creators of the new Portland's Worst Cops Card Deck, and take a look at police accountability tactics and organizations in this article...as well as review how to start a CopWatch group/action yourself...

It is now a phenomenon. CopWatch organizations are being set up all over America, by ordinary citizens, driven to police the police, in grassroots community efforts. Portland (Portland Copwatch and Rose City Copwatch), Austin, NYC, Santa Cruz, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Berkeley, Tucson, Denver, and more, have CopWatch organizations in their cities. And CopWatch groups are networking and training each other. Berkeley CopWatch came down to Santa Cruz to help start Santa Cruz Copwatch.

Texas Copwatch describes Copwatch as "a group of ordinary people who observe and record police activity on the streets. We do this because we believe that police brutality is widespread in our communities and that the only way to stop it is to challenge it directly."

Berkeley’s CopWatch describes itself as a community based volunteer organization that “monitors police activity in the Southside neighborhood, and elsewhere, in an effort to defend the rights of all citizens, especially those who live on the street, who are people of color, or are otherwise disenfranchised. Everyone has a right to fair treatment under the law. Copwatch also carries out campaigns and distributes educational material geared at ending institutionalized injustice and police misconduct in our communities.�

Copwatch 101 booklet

Copwatch, a group to observe and monitor police activities, is being formed by Santa Cruz citizens concerned about police misconduct and abuse of power in the Santa Cruz community. Following examples set by other Copwatch groups across the nation, members of Santa Cruz Copwatch concerned with the lack of police accountability will launch observation patrols and “Know-Your-Rights� trainings in order to increase the community’s oversight of police activities.

Copwatch chapters exist in at least 6 other cities, including the 10 year old Berkeley Copwatch, and the newly formed Copwatch in East Palo Alto. Copwatch patrollers take down badge numbers, provide written testimony, and in some cases videotape the interactions between police and citizens. The objective of Copwatch is to train the public in non-confrontational techniques with which they can increase their ability to observe police actions, and thus reduce police brutality and other civil rights violations. Santa Cruz Copwatch will be networking with other community groups and work towards amassing incident reports which will be presented to City Council encouraging increased regulation of the Police Department.

Citizen's Police Review Board Gets Dismantled from January, 2003

Santa Cruz Copwatch currently meets on Tuesdays, 7:00 PM, at the Infoshop (509A Broadway).

[ Santa Cruz Copwatch I Know Your Rights card in Spanish and English ]

Copwatch, a group to observe and monitor police activities, is being formed by Santa Cruz citizens concerned about police misconduct and abuse of power in the Santa Cruz community. Following examples set by other Copwatch groups across the nation, members of Santa Cruz Copwatch concerned with the lack of police accountability will launch observation patrols and “Know-Your-Rights� trainings in order to increase the community’s oversight of police activities.

Copwatch chapters exist in at least 6 other cities, including the 10 year old Berkeley Copwatch, and the newly formed Copwatch in East Palo Alto. Copwatch patrollers take down badge numbers, provide written testimony, and in some cases videotape the interactions between police and citizens. The objective of Copwatch is to train the public in non-confrontational techniques with which they can increase their ability to observe police actions, and thus reduce police brutality and other civil rights violations. Santa Cruz Copwatch will be networking with other community groups and work towards amassing incident reports which will be presented to City Council encouraging increased regulation of the Police Department.

Citizen's Police Review Board Gets Dismantled from January, 2003

Santa Cruz Copwatch currently meets on Tuesdays, 7:00 PM, at the Infoshop (509A Broadway).

[ Santa Cruz Copwatch I Know Your Rights card in Spanish and English ]

The DA had been prosecuting 25 victims of the police assault which took place on April 7, 2003 in the Port of Oakland. A year later, the ordeal of these people finally ended in a strange twist.

A year ago on April 7th, police assaulted protesters, legal observers, longshoremen and newspeople with "less-lethal" munitions, injuring several dozen people, some permanently. The attack was the most violent police assault on the antiwar movement during the spring of 2003, and it was later mentioned in a report by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. So our city of Oakland is now on the same list as Indonesia, Guatemala and other human rights abusers.

The plan for our port protest on April 7, 2003 had been to peacefully picket the Oakland shipping terminals of two war profiteers, APL and SSA Marine. The goal was to shut them down for a shift by asking dockworkers not to cross our community picket line.

Traditionally, picketing a business is considered a socially acceptable and legal exercise of First Amendment rights. That's because the labor and civil rights movements have spent over a century winning and defending those rights. Now those rights are being called into question once more; had the case been successfully prosecuted, it would have set a precedent that might be used against unionized workers during strikes. After all, striking workers do "disrupt" businesses, and from the viewpoint of corporations, picket lines are a "nuisance."

Indybay coverage: [ Oakland 4/7/03 Compiled Stories I 5/12/03 Return to the Docks Protest I 4/26/03 Rally Against Police Brutality I 4/7/04 Remember the Shots! Return to the Docks! ]

Wednesday, April 28, will be the 100th day since the tragic deaths of Durrell Feaster, 18, and Deon Whitfield, 17. On January 19, authorities found Durrell and Deon hanged in the cell they shared in the California Youth Authority's Stockton facility.

To commemorate this solemn day, Books Not Bars is organizing "Stop the Tragedies, Stop the Abuse," a statewide candlelight vigil in honor of Durrell, Deon and every young person whose life has been stolen or broken by CYA.

Join in downtown Santa Cruz or Watsonville to remember all of our youth lost in a scary system. Let's pray and work for change.

Wednesday April 28
7:00 - 8:00 PM

In SANTA CRUZ: Clock Tower @ Pacific and Front Street

In WATSONVILLE: Main Plaza @ Main Street

Audio: Rockin' the Boat: Books Not Bars
Audio: Abolish the CYA Mix

Indybay's coverage of Human Rights Violations In California's Youth Prisons

Project for a New American Century (P.N.A.C.)

by Bradley & V-Man

The Indynewswire Show airs every Monday from 1-3pm on Free Radio Santa Cruz, 101.1 FM. On this edition we speak with a volunter from Radio Algiers in New Orleans. The unlicensed station was recently visited by the FCC. Also, we talk with folks at a counter-recruitment protest at Foothill College, discuss the Paris/France uprising, provide coverage of a rally at KFC, and hear about the California special election, Plus some great music from Mule Train (Santa Cruz musicians), Ryan Harvey, Defiance, Ohio, K-Otix, Mos Def, King Missile, The Coup, and more. (2 hours and 10 minutes / 44.6 MB)

Audio: Download the mp3 or (download torrent)

BBC PHOTO: Families of the Magdalena prison victims were held back by police.

A one line comment in Argentina Indymedia says Fernando Catz and Roger Sampedro have been sent to Batan: a place with a reputation as bad as any prison in Argentina. All the prisons are crowded, and the media, even the BBC has speculated the reason is a "crime wave" precipated by economic collapse.

This is false. The facts indicate otherwise.
It is for this reason former president Menen is hiding in Chile right now.

A CHILEAN judge yesterday threw out Argentine judges’ second request to extradite former president Carlos Menem for questioning about allegations that $60 million was embezzled from funds to be used to build two prisons.

The Scotsman: June 9, 2003

In case you, your friends, or your family need another reason to vote "NO" on Propositions 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, and 78, consider these quotes from power-hungry Governor Arnold:

Activists taking part in the Victoria's Dirty Little Secret campaign were denied entrance to the Capitola Mall on Saturday. The U.S. Supreme Court's Pruneyard Decision in 1980 guarantees the right to free speech in privately-owned public areas such as shopping malls.