Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/tag/police-brutality/page/7/)
The grand jury’s decision on whether or not to indict killer cop Darren Wilson for the death of Michael Brown is expected any day. Authorities are planning and prepping for major unrest in Ferguson and throughout the country, the KKK is threatening to use ‘lethal force’ against protesters and, meanwhile, the activist world is aflutter with calls to action once the news is out. Continue Reading
Outside of Sateren Auditorium on Augsburg College’s campus, dozens of protesters convened in the cold November air, demanding KSTP publicly apologize for their report last week, now dubbed #Pointergate.Inside, a packed auditorium listened to KSTP owner Stanley Hubbard present his points on the success of broadcast journalism. But the sold out event wasn’t because of Hubbard’s insights into broadcasting. About a third of the audience there, organized by Augsburg’s Minnesota Public Interest Group and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, were there to demand a public apology for KSTP’s report.Less than 30 minutes into Hubbard’s speech, protesters interrupted the event demanding he apologize on air. Watch the unedited video below to see what happened, or keep reading to find out more.Related article: #Pointergate protesters plan rally against KSTP owner Stan Hubbard(UNEDITED VIDEO: Stanley Hubbard refuses to apologize during Augsburg #Pointergate protest)“Speaking of integrity,” says a man wearing a large, red foam hand. “We demand an apology on air.”The foam hand, the kind seen at sports events, is pointing with one finger, and at this point dozens of protesters stand up in the auditorium, all wearing the same red finger.“No, of course not,” Hubbard replies to the man. Continue Reading
Updated: Watch KSTP owner Stanley Hubbard refuse to apologize during Augsburg #Pointergate protestKSTP’s report of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges supposedly flashing a gang sign on camera sent the local news station straight into the national spotlight. Social media erupted in anger, demanding the station retract the story and apologize on air.But KSTP decided to stand behind their report, so protesters are now taking their chants off Twitter and onto the streets.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of this issueAugsburg College’s Minnesota Public Interest Group (MPIRG) along with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change are planning to protest an Augsburg event hosted by KSTP owner and chairman of Hubbard Broadcasting Stanley Hubbard on Nov. 13.The protesters plan to rally before the event at 4:15 p.m. at Anderson Music Hall on 22nd Avenue South.“Last Thursday night, KSTP aired an outrageous and inflammatory story accusing MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC) organizer Navell Gordon of flashing a gang sign with Mayor Betsy Hodges,” wrote MPIRG organizers on their Facebook event page. “In reality, the photo snapped during the event shows them merely pointing at each other … We must show up in solidarity with Navell and demand KSTP issue an on air apology.”KSTP has been unavailable for comment but issued a statement on Nov. 7, standing behind the story.Augsburg College also issued a statement on their website, saying, “Hosting a speaker on campus is not an endorsement of a speaker’s comments or business practices … The College has communicated with student leaders who are organizing a demonstration before the event to establish a safe location for the expression of their opinions while, at the same time, ensuring a positive experience for participants attending the event to hear the speaker’s comments.”Hubbard’s speech, taking place at Sateren Auditorium, is now sold out.“This story is a prime example of how the Minneapolis Police Department Union is attempting to use the media to negatively influence public opinion,” said Filsan Ibrahim, co-chair at MPIRG’s Augsburg chapter. Continue Reading
Three dozen Minneapolis Police Department officers began testing the use of body-mounted cameras on Friday.
The body cameras, which are growing in popularity nationwide, will make police proceedings more open and simplify police misconduct investigations, city and department officials said at a press conference Friday.
The KSTP story with Mayor Hodges doing stylish finger pointing has created a real buzz. But for me the underlying issues of this episode that the public or media are not asking about or may not understand need to be explored. Where did the picture come from? Was it a part of a law enforcement agency or agencies social media monitoring and surveillance activities that the picture was discovered? Or more of a direct question: Is it relevant to and interest of the public to know if an agency is engaging in cyber stalking of people, data collected for unknown purposes and then share with others? Continue Reading
Everybody’s talking about #Pointergate, the absurd KSTP story of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, where she is supposedly flashing a gang sign with a 22-year-old man from north Minneapolis who is working to get out the vote.Yes, on one level, this is a story that reeks of disgruntled police officers/ex police officers airing a vendetta against the current chief of police and mayor for their efforts to “clean house” by chipping away at the old guard and instituting new policies such as body cameras that will make the force more accountable. As others have pointed out, there seems to be no coincidence that the KSTP story came out just prior to the roll out of the new body cams.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of this issue.But there’s another level to this story as well. Here we have Navell Gordon, a young man who has served time for a felony and is currently unable to vote because his probation period hasn’t ended. Working with the Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Gordon was helping others in his community to vote where he could not. That’s something that should be applauded and his situation is one that offers an opportunity for reflection about the ways that people of color still are systemically disenfranchised.Earlier this fall, the ACLU released a report that took a look at the racial disparities of arrests in Minneapolis, and the numbers are quite shocking. Continue Reading
Some Minneapolis residents are outraged over a KSTP report claiming Mayor Betsy Hodges allegedly flashed a gang sign with a Northside man with a criminal history.5 Eyewitness News reported on Nov. 6 that a photo they obtained shows Hodges and now identified north Minneapolis resident Navell Gordon flashing gang signs. The photo, KSTP reports, was taken a week before the November elections, and shows Hodges and Gordon pointing at one another and smiling. KSTP’s reporter Jay Kolls said on his Twitter account that the hand gesture is a known gang sign of the north Minneapolis gang Stick Up Boys. KSTP has the photo posted on their website.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of this issue.But many residents disagree and have expressed their dissent via social media. Continue Reading
Third-party candidates in the state’s upcoming attorney general race delved into issues of police brutality, prison-worthy crimes and drug prevention at a debate on the University of Minnesota’s campus Tuesday night.
To Mayor Betsy Hodges,
Last month, I attended a forum at the Minneapolis Urban League about police-community relations. One of the panelists, longtime community leader and media presence Ron Edwards, pointedly mentioned that all of the debates about problems of police conduct were not so different from debates in the 1960s — we’ve had 50 years of a community looking for positive reform but getting very little.
The following are some thoughts after attending “Let’s Talk: Ferguson” at Penumbra Theatre, Wednesday, September 10. Sarah Bellamy hosted panelists Dr. Matthew Johnson, Ricardo Levins Morales, and Dr. Soolin Pate. Artistic readings were given by Malik Curtis, Erin Washington, H. Adam Harris, and Gebreil Khadar.