this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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Oh god, I didn't need to see this today. Last night I watched a woman (who was sitting quietly, not causing trouble) be tackled and handcuffed by a security guard inside the bus station. His reasoning was she'd been there too long. The asshole guard called the cops, and it just escalated from there. There's more to the story, I'm just too angry still to get into more detail. Anyway, in the end, they took her in, and I can't stop wondering where she is now.
Sorry for the wall of text, I just needed to get it off my chest. I only recently moved to the city from a small, quiet suburb, so I'd never seen this kind of thing firsthand before. It sucked. I wanted to say or do something, but I just stayed feet and watched, bc it seemed like anything I could do would only make the situation worse. It was the same kind of helplessness I used to feel growing up with an abusive parent.
After the cops left, everybody in the station just kind of stood there and shared a collective sick sigh at how wrong the whole thing was. I love my city to death, but I have to wonder, how do people cope with seeing things like this? What do you do with it?
Filming the encounter is always a good option. Sorry for triggering you with this post, that shit can be disturbing, Policing is seriously fucked and exists mainly to protect property owners, not regular citizens that are the most vulnerable
Oh that's a good suggestion, thanks! Please dw about the post, more than anything I'm just glad people are talking about it. Thank you for the kind reply :)
Oh, and I have a weird question. If one day I do have a video of a similar situation, what's the best thing to do with it? Just post it online? I don't have any social media except Lemmy (and youtube), but I guess it doesn't matter if the point is just to get it out there.
There are a few apps that will upload your video directly to the cloud so that if they take and destroy your device, or the original files, they can't destroy the evidence. There are also ACLU apps to upload the video to their servers so they can have the original video, even if the Criminals On Patrol destroy your device, or coerce you into allowing them to delete the files.
That's your first line of defence. Make certain that your devices are pattern or password locked. Do not use biometrics. The Criminals On Patrol don't need a warrant to force you to open your phone, in the US, if you can unlock your phone with biometrics, I.E. your fingerprint, face, or any other lock that only requires you to be there to open. Patterns and passwords have to have a warrant, and you can still refuse even with a warrant under certain circumstances.
Second line of defence: always wear some sort of protective gear. This can range from multiple layers of silk or leather clothing, all the way to anti-stab or bulletproof vests. Remember the Criminals On Patrol have no vested interest in ensuring that law abiding civilians, (what they refer to as "potentially armed enemies") can maintain any semblance of safety. Their only objective is to protect the property of the rich.
Third line of defence: COPs are not your friends, as you have already seen. They are nothing more than state backed armed thugs that will murder you as quickly as they will look at you. Shut the fuck up, and record. Don't say anything to these thugs as it will only make it worse for you. If they attempt to arrest you, don't resist, allow them to illegally detain, and rob you. This isn't always enough to keep your life, so be careful and vigilant.
Edit: If you have the ability, carry a burner phone that has all these apps, exclusively when you can. Having only an unattached burner phone, and no ID really confuses these Thugs with badges.