[Cprb] Still more on tasers/stun guns in Champaign

[J. Wason]

>Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 12:52:48 -0600
>From: "Kranich, Kimberlie" <Kranich at WILL.uiuc.edu>
>To: "Peace Listerv (E-mail)" <peace at lists.groogroo.com>
>Cc: "IMC (E-mail)" <imc at urbana.indymedia.org>
>Subject: [Imc] My letter to City Council re: Tasers
>
>
>Here is the letter I will mail tomorrow to all of the Champaign City Council
>members.  If so moved, feel free to steal from what I have written.
>
>If AWARE decides as a group to take this issue on, I am happy to be part of
>the working group.
>
>Kimberlie
>
>
>J.W. Pirtle, Deputy Mayor
>1205 Carver Drive
>Champaign, IL 61820
>
>March 1, 2004
>
>Dear Alderman Pirtle:
>
>I am writing to express my solidarity with Tracy Parsons of the Urban League
>and ask you to vote against authorizing the purchase of Tasers by the
>Champaign Police Department.  
>
>I believe that the potential of police officers to overuse and misuse Tasers
>against minorities as well as political protestors outweighs any potential
>benefits. 
>
>I do not believe, as was quoted in the News Gazette, that Tasers will just
>reduce harm to officers and "suspects."  They will also be used against
>innocent people. I do not trust the ability of individual police officers to
>show restraint.  
>
>The example that the Mayor likes to use to promote Tasers is that of the
>death of Mr. Greg Brown by "heart failure" in 2000. It took 17 officers to
>subdue and arrest Mr. Brown and when they did, he was dead.  The question
>for me isn't, would a Taser have saved Mr. Brown's life, but how did the
>officer approach Mr. Brown as he walked down a Champaign Street and why did
>the officer want to stop him in the first place?  Mr. Brown was afraid of
>the police, had a history of mental health issues, and was obese.  It seems
>to me more money should be spent on officer training, not on officer
>weaponry.  
>
>I have had my own experiences with Champaign Police.  I have demonstrated
>peacefully with AWARE on North Prospect Ave. against the US invasion of
>Iraq.  When I saw that officers were denying our rights to leaflet drivers
>and were threatening us with arrest, I and others met with Lt. Gallo to
>discuss how we could work together.  This was one of several meetings
>between AWARE and the police department.  Despite Lt. Gallo's efforts to
>educate his officers on their duties with respect to peaceful protests,
>several officers subjectively upheld the law and denied us our rights.  One
>officer tackled my friend from behind while she was having an altercation
>with a pro-war demonstrator.  She was slammed to the ground and handcuffed.
>When the woman she had the altercation with didn't want to press charges,
>police charged her with resisting arrest (one of the "reasons" a Taser might
>be used).  My friend did not resist arrest. The officer never identified
>himself nor did she see him until she was on the ground, face down and
>handcuffed.  I was at her trial and watched as officers lied on the stand.
>She was found guilty.  When you watch as officers lie on the stand, you lose
>your faith in them.
>
>Since 911, there has been an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in this
>country.  Our local police force is not immune to the fear and repression
>embodied in these new so-called terrorism laws. National firms who stand to
>make a profit off these weapons are marketing them to police forces across
>the country.  Hospitals and prisons are being privatized to make the largest
>profits, not to serve the public good.  Our local police force is subject to
>these same forces.  
>
>For some national context, I am enclosing a 20-minute news segment from the
>program, "NOW with Bill Moyers." The segment examines the trend of police
>forces across the nation to crack down on dissent and uses what happened in
>Miami last November as an example of this trend. Tasers and beanbags filled
>with lead pellets are some of the tools these officers are using. 
>
>The NOW March 5 show will look more closely at this issue.  I hope that you
>will have time to watch it or tape it yourself. It airs Friday, March 5 at
>8pm on WILL-TV.
>
>I want a safe community. I want officers to have the tools they need to
>protect the community. I also want officers to be professional and to uphold
>the law despite their own personal opinions.  I want racist officers out of
>the police force. I have heard white officers, who think I am as racist as
>they are, say that they like working the north end because they get to
>"crack some heads."  This kind of aggressive mentality among our police
>force exacerbates the problem.  
>
>If the Champaign Police Department spent more time working on community
>policing and community relationships, perhaps the distrust that many of us
>in the community feel would be absent?  If there were a citizens review
>panel of the police department, perhaps the trust would be there? 
>
>I urge the city council to turn the issues of Tasers on its head and to
>examine the real underlying issue of citizen mistrust of the police and
>police abuse in this community. Thank you for your consideration.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Kimberlie Kranich
>
>