We witnessed violence against peaceful protesters. First it was in New York. It was shocking, but New York might as well be another country from where I am sitting. Once it happened in California I started to pay extra close attention. After the brutal attack on Scott Olsen and other abuses against the people of California I had to act by contacting the state Attorney General's office. Follow me across the jump to see how it came to this, and for the response I received.
Many Californians would not like to think that these abuses happen here. I once heard a lecture from one of our local San Diego area judges wherein she essentially said that these things do not happen here. Our legal system is just so great that people's constitutional rights are just never violated in California. "Maybe in the South or in other countries", she said. A student attending the lecture interjected and described how he had once been violently arrested without cause, and then sat in jail for too many days before getting a lawyer or a hearing. Her response was basically, "Well, I'm sorry if that did happen." So I thought to myself, "perhaps these things actually do happen here."
Now once I saw the violence witnessed against Scott Olsen and other peaceful folks only trying to aid an injured man in Oakland, my only thought was- that shit does happen here and we have a serious problem. I set out to contact AG Kamala Harris' office about the matter. I expressed 3 concerns: The attack on Scott Olsen and those trying to help him was brutal and completely unjustified, the use of force against peaceful protesters in California was completely disproportional and unnecessary, and that our rights to free speech, assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances under the US and California constitutions were being systematically denied.
I have now received a response. It is basically a form letter stating that it is the responsibility of local law enforcement agencies to investigate their own misconduct and respond appropriately. It is not really the AG's place to get involved in these matters! here is an excerpt:
It is the Department of Justice general policy that local governments will be primarily responsible for citizen complaints against law enforcement agencies or employees of law enforcement agencies, and that appropriate local resources (e.g. sheriff or police department, district attorney, citizens review commission, and/or grand jury in the area of jurisdiction) be utilized for resolution of such complaints prior to a request for intervention by the Attorney General.
Essentially, the people who ordered or implemented organized crime are responsible to do something about it. No wonder it takes so many years to bust one of those mobsters. That is what we have here- organized crime in the form of our government in collusion with the neo-robber barons using violence against the citizenry contrary to and to prevent the exercise of our constitutional rights. Now it is the role of whom to investigate AG Harris' indifference? AG Harris herself perhaps?
Why the indifference? Who is actually entitled to their rights? Their rights to speech, assembly, and redress of grievances- and their right to not be brutalized for exercising said rights. Certainly not veterans. Certainly not college students. Why does AG Harris' office not care about Scott Olsen? Are they too busy reassuring corporate criminals that they have nothing to fear from yet another multi-racial democratic politician?
Contact AG Harris