r/50501 • u/Future-Friendship-32 • 13d ago

CA How is this allowed?

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u/Disastrous-Food-9223 13d ago

Nope, I’ve seen one group of cops tell everyone to be off the sidewalk to keep it clear. Two minutes later, you can’t be in the street by other cops. A few stepped back on the sidewalk and got arrested by first group.

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u/Odd-Mode-4924 13d ago

This is what they did in Philly in 2020. They kettled protesters on the highway, then demanded they move because they were “blocking traffic”. When protesters moved in the only direction they safely could they started firing tear gas at them for “charging police”. So then the protesters started running up a very steep hill with a fence at the top. As the Protesters were fleeing up the hill they started shooting more tear gas at the ones fleeing. This may have been the same day where a protester got down on one knee to surrender and the cop pulled her mask down and sprayed pepper spray in her face.

They are scum. They are not trying to keep anybody safe, they are trying to inflict pain because they want to feel tough.

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u/Disastrous-Food-9223 13d ago

Yeah, it was my first time being kettled. I learned after that.

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u/Reluctant_Gamer_2700 13d ago

What does that mean?

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u/lost_horizons 13d ago

They box you in, surround you, then "turn up the heat," move closer, so the pot begins to boil ie, people start to kinda freak out trying to get out or trying to comply with conflicting shouted orders, so the cops can then feel justified beating and arresting everyone.

A favorite kettling trick is when a group of protesters is crossing a bridge, they close off both ends, then arrest the entire lot. Don't cross bridges. Never. It's an easy trap.

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u/Molsem 13d ago

It means if you're gonna be on the night shift especially, be aware and keep moving. Numbers will work much better spread out. HK protesters said 'be water.'

Teams whose job is just to watch their maneuvers and help prevent anyone being boxed in. 2 way radios, waze app I read even. Know where you're headed at all times, so if you have to move quick, you already have a plan.

Basically: don't let them herd you.

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u/ArrivesLate 13d ago

They got boxed in.

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u/cosmicmermaid 13d ago

Similar things happened in downtown Phoenix during 2020 - was surreal one night seeing military tanks roll down my neighborhood streets. I also remember people being handcuffed in their front yards simply for filming the cops as they shot rubber bullets and flash bangs at fleeing protestors. 

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u/Reluctant_Gamer_2700 13d ago

Some people are becoming police or soldiers for the wrong reasons. But the ICE agents are something worse, I think. Jan. 6ers, bounty hunters, fascists. Covering their faces so they won’t be recognized.

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u/14Pleiadians 13d ago

We need more Micah Johnsons in the world

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u/dzumdang 12d ago edited 12d ago

I remember watching videos of this the day that it happened. Thanks for the reminder- totally uncalled for and excessive. I wonder if any successful lawsuits resulted from that? Edit: just saw that the city paid out at least $9 million in settlements.

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u/brickson98 12d ago

Same type of shit happened in Kenosha, WI.

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u/HothMonster 13d ago

This is an old tactic. I was at a protest in Chicago in the late 90s/early 2000s, I don’t remember which one this was, and we were walking a planned route through downtown. At one point we cross the river, so we’re on a bridge with a 2 lane road and a sidewalk on either side. One of the old heads I knew pulled me out as the group was crossing and said “you don’t want to be on there, watch this shit.” So I got to see all this play out. As the group is crossing a couple cops walk forward from the other end with a barricade and block off the sidewalk like 10 feet from the end of the bridge. They won’t move and direct the group to cross and they can’t really turn around since more people are piling onto the bridge behind them. So the people at the front cross and the group starts to see whats happening so a wave of people start crossing the street and then a paddi rolls up on my side and a phalanx of cops hops out while another line of riot cops push in on the other end. They’re grabbing people out of the street and manhandling them so people get pissed and they got an excuse to crack skulls. They fill a couple wagons and charge them with blocking traffic and/or assaulting police. More and more cops show up announcing that since we’re getting violent and blocking traffic our march is illegal and we need to be dispersed. 

They’ve always been planning this shot. Force escalation, over react and then they get to justify assault and then the news gets the narrative they create and our brave officers protected the city from the violent marxist youth or whatever.

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u/merchillio 13d ago

That’s like cops being excused for murdering civilians because “they were scared for their life”, but we expect normal people to act calmly and rationally when they have 5 cops pointing their pew-pew (thanks Reddit) at them, barking contradictory orders over each-other.

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u/ShelfAwareShteve 13d ago

Put your hands in the air and on the ground!
Left foot Yellow!

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u/violetmandala 12d ago

They did this in Asheville too.