[Cprb] Urgent: Tasers on Champaign Council Agenda for 3/9

[J. Wason]

For your continuing information....


>From: "Kranich, Kimberlie" <Kranich at WILL.uiuc.edu>
>Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 10:35:17 -0600 
>Subject: [Imc] Urgent: Tasers on Council Agenda for 3/9
>
>
>Even if you live in Urbana, you are encouraged to write or call Champaign
>City Council because anytime you visit Chamapign, you will be subject to
>Tasers by the police if their purchase is approved.
>
>Kimberlie
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Kranich, Kimberlie
>
>If you are concerned about how Tasers will be used against minorities and
>political protestors, please call, snail mail or regular mail ALL of the
>Champaign City Council members.
>
>And PLEASE consider these tips when contacting the City Council:
>
>1) Mr. Pirtle, Mr. LaDue and Ms. Ennen do not use their email accounts
>
>2) A phone call or snail mail letter are much more meaningful ways of
>influencing your city council person. But if you will only send an email,
>then send an email! 
>
>3)Speak to te City Council members in a persuasive and respectful manner,
>not a combative manner.  Remember, you are trying to influence their vote,
>not cut them down. They are only human. They work long hours for little pay
>or recogition. They can't possibly know all of the reasons why Tasers could
>be bad, so it's our job to tell them.  Use your own personal stories, do
>research and present them with statistics.  This ISN'T a done deal. We can
>make a difference here. Please echo the reasons Mr. PArsons from the Urban
>League has given, too, to show our solidarity.  If a message is repeated
>over and over again, it sometimes sticks!
>
>4) Please come to the Champaign City Council Meeting on March 9 with your
>well-thought out and respectful arguments.
>
>5) Please forward this email wisely to potential allies.
>
>Thank you!
>
>A list of the Champaign City Council Members contact information follows and
>then my letter for those of you who might not have seen it.
>
>The News Gazette story by Mike Monson on tasers can be found at the 
>following link: 
>http://208.5.125.166/ngsearch/index.cfm?&page=displyStory.cfm&yearfolder=the
>04news&file=022704%5Fngstory%5F15534%2Etxt&search=tasers&theorder=asaphrase 
>
>
>J.W. Pirtle
>Deputy Mayor-District 1
>1205 Carver Dr.
>Champaign, IL 61820
>H: 217/356-5500
>
>Michael La Due
>Council Member-District 2
>1005 S. Sixth St., Apt. #28
>Champaign, IL 61820 
>H: 217/367-5536
>
>Vic McIntosh
>Council Member-District 3
>501 Clearwater
>Champaign, IL 61822 H: 217/352-0194
>E: VicMcIntosh at ci.champaign.il.us 2005
> 
>Jim Green
>Council Member-District 4
>2206 Plymouth Dr.
>Champaign, IL 61821 
>H: 217/355-1232
>O: 217/367-2500
>E: JimGreen at ci.champaign.il.us 2005
> 
>Ken Pirok
>Council Member-District 5
>2203 Southmoor Drive
>Champaign, IL 61821  H: 217/398-4258
>O: 217/398-4258
>E: KenPirok at ci.champaign.il.us  2005
> 
>Thomas Bruno
>Council Member-At Large
>1109 W. Park Ave.
>Champaign, IL 61821 
>H: 217/398-2191
>O: 217/328-6000
>E: TomBruno at ci.champaign.il.us 2007
> 
>Kathy Ennen
>Council Member-At Large
>2711 Sangamon Dr.
>Champaign, IL 61821 
>H: 217/351-6164
>
>Giraldo Rosales
>Council Member-At Large
>102 N. Neil St.
>Champaign, IL 61820  
>grosales at uiuc.edu <grosales at uiuc.edu>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>
>
>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
>theh 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
>