Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
At 10:25 AM 9/30/03 -0700, JKurtis Ballantine wrote: The police were told that he started a fight at the meeting. All witnesses to the incident said there was no such activity. The attack was provoked by the security guard and "other" unsavory characters. Kurt Ballantine South Mpls This points out one of the problems with the way MPD and other police departments do their work--they rarely actually investigate anything. They take the word of whoever calls them and arrests the other person. So, if two people are in a dispute, whoever gets to the phone first wins. One of the cases CUAPB worked on was of a woman who was assaulted by her former boss when she arrived to pick up her final pay check. The former boss underpaid her and when she asked about the missing hours of pay, the boss became unhinged and threw a heavy metal adding machine at the woman and gashed her arm. The boss then called the police, who came and arrested the woman who had been assaulted, despite her obvious injuries. I should explain that the woman who was assaulted is Mebrat Yeazizw, an Ethiopian immigrant. The boss? Geralyn Mornson, who a few weeks later led police on a high-speed chase in Richfield and killed a jogger. By the way, there were plenty of witnesses at the scene who saw Mornson assault Yeazizw. Problem was, police never questioned them or even took witness statements for later. They took the word of the (white) business owner without question. Michelle Gross Bryn Mawr REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
As I sit in my home office working, there are currently 25+ police squads from at least 6 different agencies (for sure county/state/MPD/Minnetonka/Richfield/Brooklyn Park), along with the assorted ambulances/fire trucks, at the edge of my property. The offender's in custody. It'll be interesting to find-out what this is about. Dennis Plante Jordan _ Instant message in style with MSN Messenger 6.0. Download it now FREE! http://msnmessenger-download.com REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
This was an orchestrated police call. Kurt Ballantine South MinneapolisChris Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: N.I.Krasnov wrote:>> On Sunday, September 28, 2003, at 03:11 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:>>> The police used unnecessary force resulting in serious harm to Mr. >> Flowers.>> According to witnesses, Flowers offered no resistance to the arrest. >> The fact>> that this police action was initiated by a complainant does not >> justify police>> brutality.>>> You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were > apparently acting upon a complaint.> That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It was a police action, > and if you have a question> whether any excessive force was used, that will, no doubt, be the > subject of investigation.Krasnov apparently speaks a different, unintelligible dialect of English than the rest of us. Police officers arrest people daily, with no violence, no injuries and no attack involved. Flowers offered no resistance. The police beat him. That is by definition in OUR language an unprovoked attack.Chris JohnsonFultonREMINDERS:1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-DemocracyPost messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
The police were told that he started a fight at the meeting. All witnesses to the incident said there was no such activity. The attack was provoked by the security guard and "other" unsavory characters. Kurt BallantineSouth MplsAndy Driscoll <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: And the "good" cops protect the thumpers: The Blue Code persists.Andy DriscollSaint Paul> From: Michelle Gross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 06:04:17 -0500> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request> > OR they could have come and calmly arrested him without jumping out of> their cars commando style, grabbing and cuffing him, and beating him and> abusing the crowd of witnesses. Numerous witnesses have stated that he was> not resisting arrest and that the beating took place AFTER he was> handcuffed. And what was Mr. Flowers doing prior to this overly-violent> arrest? Standing on the sidewalk talking on a cell phone--not exactly a> dangerous activity and certainly no justification for the manner in which> the cops handled this situation.> > The lot of good cops is probably far more difficult than it needs to be> because the thumpers act with impunity.> > Michelle Gross> Bryn Mawr> > At 06:18 PM 9/29/03 -0500, N.I.Krasnov wrote:>> You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were apparently>> acting upon a complaint. That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It>> was a police action, and if you have a question whether any excessive>> force was used, that will, no doubt, be the subject of investigation.>> >> The cops could have done nothing. That would have also been the subject of>> an investigation for a charge of "Failure to serve the community".>> >> A Constable's lot is not a happy one.>> >> N.I. Krasnov>> Loring Park>> REMINDERS:>> 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the>> troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.>> >> >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy>> Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls> > REMINDERS:> 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at> [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.> 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.> > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy> Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls> REMINDERS:1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-DemocracyPost messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
And the "good" cops protect the thumpers: The Blue Code persists. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul > From: Michelle Gross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 06:04:17 -0500 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request > > OR they could have come and calmly arrested him without jumping out of > their cars commando style, grabbing and cuffing him, and beating him and > abusing the crowd of witnesses. Numerous witnesses have stated that he was > not resisting arrest and that the beating took place AFTER he was > handcuffed. And what was Mr. Flowers doing prior to this overly-violent > arrest? Standing on the sidewalk talking on a cell phone--not exactly a > dangerous activity and certainly no justification for the manner in which > the cops handled this situation. > > The lot of good cops is probably far more difficult than it needs to be > because the thumpers act with impunity. > > Michelle Gross > Bryn Mawr > > At 06:18 PM 9/29/03 -0500, N.I.Krasnov wrote: >> You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were apparently >> acting upon a complaint. That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It >> was a police action, and if you have a question whether any excessive >> force was used, that will, no doubt, be the subject of investigation. >> >> The cops could have done nothing. That would have also been the subject of >> an investigation for a charge of "Failure to serve the community". >> >> A Constable's lot is not a happy one. >> >> N.I. Krasnov >> Loring Park >> REMINDERS: >> 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the >> troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. >> >> >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >> Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
OR they could have come and calmly arrested him without jumping out of their cars commando style, grabbing and cuffing him, and beating him and abusing the crowd of witnesses. Numerous witnesses have stated that he was not resisting arrest and that the beating took place AFTER he was handcuffed. And what was Mr. Flowers doing prior to this overly-violent arrest? Standing on the sidewalk talking on a cell phone--not exactly a dangerous activity and certainly no justification for the manner in which the cops handled this situation. The lot of good cops is probably far more difficult than it needs to be because the thumpers act with impunity. Michelle Gross Bryn Mawr At 06:18 PM 9/29/03 -0500, N.I.Krasnov wrote: You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were apparently acting upon a complaint. That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It was a police action, and if you have a question whether any excessive force was used, that will, no doubt, be the subject of investigation. The cops could have done nothing. That would have also been the subject of an investigation for a charge of "Failure to serve the community". A Constable's lot is not a happy one. N.I. Krasnov Loring Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
N.I.Krasnov wrote: On Sunday, September 28, 2003, at 03:11 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The police used unnecessary force resulting in serious harm to Mr. Flowers. According to witnesses, Flowers offered no resistance to the arrest. The fact that this police action was initiated by a complainant does not justify police brutality. You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were apparently acting upon a complaint. That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It was a police action, and if you have a question whether any excessive force was used, that will, no doubt, be the subject of investigation. Krasnov apparently speaks a different, unintelligible dialect of English than the rest of us. Police officers arrest people daily, with no violence, no injuries and no attack involved. Flowers offered no resistance. The police beat him. That is by definition in OUR language an unprovoked attack. Chris Johnson Fulton REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
On Sunday, September 28, 2003, at 03:11 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Correction: In my initial post under this thread I reported that I left the scene at 11:45. That was an inadvertent error. I left the scene at 10:45 AM. In a message dated 9/27/2003 10:14:52 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: This does not appear to be an "unprovoked attack." It was a police action initiated by a complainant. The police used unnecessary force resulting in serious harm to Mr. Flowers. According to witnesses, Flowers offered no resistance to the arrest. The fact that this police action was initiated by a complainant does not justify police brutality. You stated that it was an "unprovoked attack". The police were apparently acting upon a complaint. That does not make it an "unprovoked attack". It was a police action, and if you have a question whether any excessive force was used, that will, no doubt, be the subject of investigation. The cops could have done nothing. That would have also been the subject of an investigation for a charge of "Failure to serve the community". A Constable's lot is not a happy one. N.I. Krasnov Loring Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
Correction: In my initial post under this thread I reported that I left the scene at 11:45. That was an inadvertent error. I left the scene at 10:45 AM. In a message dated 9/27/2003 10:14:52 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > This does not appear to be an "unprovoked attack." > It was a police action initiated by a complainant. > The police used unnecessary force resulting in serious harm to Mr. Flowers. According to witnesses, Flowers offered no resistance to the arrest. The fact that this police action was initiated by a complainant does not justify police brutality. Incidentally Flowers is black and a member of the federal mediation panel that's trying to get the City to take some steps to get its cops under control (too many thumpers, too much racial bias). I cannot image Al Flowers saying or doing anything to a cop, especially under the given circumstances, that would give a cop a good reason to rough him up. Witnesses to the events I described include 5th ward council member Natalie Johnson Lee, State representative Neva Walker and at least two members of the press, including a spokesman-recorder reporter, in addition to me (an occasional freelance writer for the Pulse and other publications). The spokesman-recorder reporter, Isaac Peterson also interviewed witnesses who saw one part or another of the Saga, so you can expect a blow by blow report of the whole thing in the Spokesman-Recorder next week. I think that Mr. Flowers is in an excellent position to sue the City, the NAACP, Reverend Gallmon, and the Urban League and / or the property manager who was allegedly unwilling to hear and obey the orders of his boss, Clarence Hightower (to allow Flowers to attend the NAACP branch meeting). How much longer is the national office and state conference of the NAACP going to let the local branch leadership run amok: operating outside of NAACP by-laws, illegally operating "NAACP" Parent Information Centers, suppressing its own investigation of the City's implementation of the Hollman Decree, and using the police to intimidate NAACP members, to break up general membership meetings, and to suppress criticism of actions by the school board? -Doug Mann, King Field - REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
On Saturday, September 27, 2003, at 09:21 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The unprovoked attack on Mr. Flowers by Minneapolis Police resulting from Rev. Gallmon's unnecessary and inappropriate request for police intervention This does not appear to be an "unprovoked attack". It was a police action initiated by a complainant. N.I. Krasnov Loring Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Cops arrest NAACP meeting-goer at Gallmon's request
At 10:05 there was one Minneapolis police car parked in front of the Urban League offices at Plymouth and Penn. There were 8 squad cars when I left the scene about 11:45 AM. According to witnesses there were 11 squad cars at one point. Why all the cops? The NAACP had a branch executive committee meeting followed by a branch membership meeting at the Urban League building this morning (Saturday, September 27, 2003). A member of the NAACP, Alfred Flowers went to the meeting of the branch executive meeting, was told to leave because it was a closed meeting, and left the building. Then the NAACP branch president, the Reverend Albert Gallmon reportedly asked the Urban League's property manager to have the cops arrest Flowers if he reentered the Urban League building in order to attend the branch membership meeting. Flowers reentered the building at about 10:10 AM or so to attend the branch membership meeting (which was scheduled for 10:00 AM). The Urban League property manager reportedly confronted Flowers as he entered the building. Witnesses say that Flowers had called Urban League president Clarence Hightower on his cell phone prior to entering the premises and asked the property manager to talk to Hightower, who was still on the line, and on route to the building. The property manager ordered Flowers to leave. Flowers left. All of this should be recorded by surveillance cameras (Hightower reportedly put the videotapes of the incident under lock and key). The cops called for back-up, then followed Flowers down the street and arrested him for trespassing on Urban League property. Witnesses reported that Flowers did not offer any physical resistance, but was roughed up by the police anyway. And the cops also got physical with (e.g., pushed / shoved) some of the bystanders. Flowers was subsequently hospitalized. The unprovoked attack on Mr. Flowers by Minneapolis Police resulting from Rev. Gallmon's unnecessary and inappropriate request for police intervention inspired a couple of outbursts directed at Gallmon by distraught relatives of Flowers, which gave the Urban League property manager a pretext to shut down the meeting. NAACP members were threatened with arrest if they didn't immediately leave the premises. This is not the first time that Gallmon has called the police to affect the arrest of an NAACP member for attending a branch membership meeting. Gallmon called the police to Zion Baptist church to affect the arrest of Evelyn Eubanks for attending the NAACP branch membership meeting in May 2003, even though Eubanks was a member in good standing of the NAACP. The branch leadership was attempting to illegally exclude several members from that particular meeting, including Eubanks, Flowers, and Ron Edwards. Since the black churches where the NAACP traditionally held its membership meetings were not a good venue for inviting large numbers of cops to intimidate and beat up NAACP members, the branch executive committee evidently decided to hold the general membership meetings at the Urban League headquarters. The executive committee operates in complete secrecy, its meeting minutes have not been available to the general membership since Gallmon became the branch president, so its hard to say what gets decided at those meetings. And nothing has been decided at the membership meetings since Gallmon took office. As NAACP meeting-goers were being chased out of the Urban League building this morning, several suggested convening the branch membership meeting at Zion Baptist church, where it was supposed to be held anyway. About a dozen members assembled at Zion Baptist church by 11:00 AM. However the branch meeting was not convened because Gallmon and other executive committee members didn't show. The NAACP members who assembled at Zion Baptist church informally discussed the recent appointment of David Jennings as Minneapolis School Superintendent and other topics. 10 members signed a petition that calls for a special NAACP branch membership meeting to discuss the appointment of David Jennings as MPS school superintendent. (Any 10 member of the branch may call a special membership meeting, per the constitution and bylaws for NAACP branches.) Community members were not disinvited and will not be beaten up and arrested for coming to this meeting. Date, Time and place: Thursday, October 2, 2003, 6:30 PM at Zion Baptist Church. -Doug Mann, King Field NAACP member since Dec. 1997 - REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
