Post in [MN-Pol] RNC Reaches into NE MPLS

At 04:04 PM 8/27/2008, Cam Gordon wrote:

>I am concerned by the reports of the incident Monday night in which
>Minneapolis police officers detained three out-of-town
>journalists/videographers and confiscated personal possessions
>including two video cameras, two still cameras, two cellphones,
>notebooks, fliers, a backpack full of clothing and other personal
>effects, and even allegedly some cash.
>
>However, Im very pleased to say that after the media attention and
>my inquiries, the journalists property has been returned to them today.
>
>I have heard from Minneapolis Police (MPD) administration that these
>journalists were detained on suspicion of trespassing on railroad
>property, and that the personal belongings of these journalists were
>held pending review by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
>
>The journalists have flatly denied that they set foot on railroad
>land. There are several reasons that I suspect they are telling the truth:
>
>- They claim to have been walking to the corner of 6th Ave NE and
>27th St NE from the bus stop at Washington Ave and 27th, two blocks
>to the east, where they had just gotten off a number 17 bus. This is
>supported by the bus schedule, which indeed stops at that corner at
>1:28am, minutes from the beginning of the incident. The rail yards
>are to the west of the house at which they were staying.
>- According to the journalists account of the incident, the police
>originally questioned them about car burglaries, not trespassing.
>This has not been contradicted by any statement of the MPD.
>- The MPD claim that officers confiscated these possessions to
>search for documentary evidence that the journalists were indeed
>trespassing on rail land. This offers no explanation whatsoever as
>to why the bag full of clothing, notebooks, fliers and money were
>confiscated, as none of these possessions could possibly offer
>evidence of the alleged trespass.
>
>The City Attorney is still deciding whether or not to press
>misdemeanor trespass charges. I would be very surprised if any
>charges were filed.
>
>I have joined with the journalists in calling for the MPD to release
>the squad car videos, which can quickly substantiate either the MPD
>or the journalists version of events.
>
>If the evidence fails to prove that these folks were trespassing on
>railroad property, I think a public apology to them from the City
>should be done.
>
>This is unfortunately not the only incident in the last several days
>in which journalists have been targeted by the MPD. KSTP news has
>footage of one of their cameramen being pushed into an elevator by
>an MPD sergeant, to prevent him from filming a protest. Another
>person also claims to have been detained and verbally abused for
>taking pictures from a public sidewalk.
>
>This is a disturbing pattern, and as I have said, it sets exactly
>the tone the Council was looking to prevent when we created the work
>group to create a model for how the City can preserve the right to
>political speech and civic debate without disrupting community life
>during the 2008 Republican National Convention last Spring, and when
>we passed the Police Practices Resolution just last month.  Part the
>latter explicitly prohibits MPD officers from confiscating cameras.
>
>I hope that by returning these civilians possessions we can put this
>incident behind us, and that by taking a careful look at all these
>incidents, we can prevent further missteps and establish a better
>climate of welcoming public scrutiny and the independent, free press
>and mass media to enhance and strengthen civic participation rather
>than stifle it.
>
>
>
>Cam Gordon
>Seward
>Minneapolis City Council Member, Second Ward
>673-2202, 296-0579
<email obscured>
>http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
>http://secondward.blogspot.com/
>
>p.s. Here is the update I received today from Deputy Chief Valerie Wurster.
>
>Dear Mayor and Council:
>
>Id like to clarify the facts surrounding the case of the three New
>York residents who were detained in the Second Precinct near the
>Canadian Pacific rail yards on August 26, 2008.  MPD officers
>observed three individuals with cameras, backpacks and camping gear
>exiting the rail yards at 2604 6th Street NE at approximately 1:40 a.m.
>
>Our officers have extensive emergency preparedness training and
>seeing unauthorized people leaving a critical infrastructure site in
>the middle of the night was understandably concerning to them. The
>officers stopped the three to question them about their activity in
>the rail yard and collected their property to determine any threat
>to officer or public safety.  The individuals gave evasive answers
>to questions.  For example, they refused or were unable to tell
>officers were they were going or where they intended to spend the night.
>
>Because trespass in a railroad yard can be a felony offense and
>because this rail yard is frequently the site of hazardous
>materials, personal property belonging to these individuals was held
>pending review by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Upon completion of
>the review, the property was released to the individuals today.
>
>The case remains under investigation and will be forwarded to the
>City Attorneys office for potential misdemeanor trespass charges.
>
>It is unfortunate that the media is portraying this trespassing case
>as something connected to First Amendment rights.  Nothing could be
>further from the truth. These individuals were detained because it
>appeared they were trespassing on federal property and because they
>did not provide complete answers to officers questions. Please be
>assured that the MPD works to protect public safety, ensure our
>Constitutional rights, and uphold our laws.
>
>
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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>Cam Gordon
>
>Info about Cam Gordon: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/camgordon
>
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