Riots in America!!!

[tama]

Hidden in local news:

AUGUSTA, Ga. - At least five deputies were injured as a vigil at Cherry Tree Crossing Tuesday night turned chaotic.

Investigators stopped Elmore on suspicion he was driving a stolen vehicle. Officers also say they received a tip he had drugs and a weapon in the vehicle.

The shooting caused chaos throughout the housing project. Multiple fires were set in trash dumpsters, angry neighbors threw rocks and bottles at media and officers the night of the shooting.

Deputies arrested at least four in the chaos Tuesday night.

http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/36277654.html

***

Same subject posted earlier with less catchy topic:

These are the days of Justin Elmore
Posted by tama


Infoshop.org

Augusta, Georgia: Riots Erupt After Cops Kill 23 year old
Wednesday, December 17 2008 @ 01:49 AM CST
Contributed by: Anonymous
Views: 17
Police StateRichmond County Sheriffs shot and killed 23 year old Justin Elmore on Monday in the Cherry Tree Crossing Housing Projects. The Cops, claiming that Justin had stolen the SUV, surrounded him and opened fire. Bullets flew everywhere. Local apartments had windows shot out and a little boy was almost shot in the Head. On Tuesday, the community held a vigil in response to the shooting. After an occupying force of 90 police descended on the neighborhood the people fought back. Locals threw rocks and bottles at both the Police and the Corporate Media. People also set fires to dumpsters and at least one car. Corporate media reports at least 30 shots had been fired during the riot.

Richmond County Sheriffs shot and killed 23 year old Justin Elmore on Monday in the Cherry Tree Crossing Housing Projects. The Cops, claiming that Justin had stolen the SUV, surrounded him and opened fire. Bullets flew everywhere. Local apartments had windows shot out and a little boy was almost shot in the Head.

On Tuesday, the community held a vigil in response to the shooting. After an occupying force of 90 police descended on the neighborhood the people fought back. Locals threw rocks and bottles at both the Police and the Corporate Media. People also set fires to dumpsters and at least one car. Corporate media reports at least 30 shots had been fired during the riot.

Militant resistance to police violence is not confined to the arbitrary borders that make up Greece. Oppressed people's in the US fight the police on a daily basis. Lets keep Augusta, and all of the other cases of atrocities committed by police in the US in mind when we act in Solidarity on Saturday the 20th. Fighting for Greece means fighting for all of us!

You can find corporate coverage at
http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/36277654.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jemefEqYJbE
- check the comments

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Damn. You weren't kidding. n/t

[sarcasmo]

2. I bet this doesn't get reported on the TEEVEE.

[tama]

3. You are correct

and I guess you know the reason: it's not true, it's not happening, if it's not on TEEVEE. And if TEEVEE showed anything that is real, that is true, people might stop watching TEEVEE and get real in the street.

TEEVEE once not in so distant memory showed a video of cops brutally beating a black man. People responded with antiviolence as is their right, and it made big national and international news then. The corporate media has learned to shut up better since then.

[IsItJustMe]

6. You know it and I know it, but when will the majority of Americans know it?

[tama]

Clap hands

isn't that what they do to wake up the victim from hypnosis?

CLAP! Wakey-wake-up.

[Skip Intro]

4. Nowhere in your post is it mentioned that police claim he tried to run them over

I'm not taking any sides here - details are sketchy. You post is obviously written to present a point of view. Omitted facts don't help your case.

Again, I'm not trying to defend or support any action here, but no ne should draw conclusions until the facts of what happened are known.

[tama]

5. I've given all the sources I've seen

feel free to add more.

The point, if there was any, was that many on DU keep saying that Americans don't riot (while Greeks do), at least since 60's. As if Seattle etc. didn't happen. This is just latest example, silenced and buried by corporate media. It's as if some DUers wanted to believe that American communities don't care when cops kill or maim one of their own. I'm not saying that the long history of ongoing brutality has not had desensitying effect, clearly it has. And people don't feel good about that, they feel uneasy - and afraid. It's not easy to stop caring. It takes lots of state terror.

And as for Seattle, let's take a walk on the memory lane. They shut down a WTO meeting. Since then WTO-process has practically ended and IMF kicked out of most of 3rd world, was nearly broke, now praying on small European countries and US allies gone broke. Seattle and what followed was so big victory that 9/11 and wars just had to happen, to distract and terrorize the people and to turn the anti-capitalist mass movement into toothless and easily manipulated Stop the War movement...

[Skip Intro]

8. I understand what you're saying.

And I hope there are more Seattles and that the working class and the masses corralled and oppressed by a corporate run society rise up and reclaim the nation for the people.

And I understand your passion.

But I don't see the example you cite in your OP as really relevent to such things. This may well be a case of self-defense. We don't know yet.

Riot for the sake of a riot is not in and of itself a good thing.

[tama]

12. "Riot for the sake of a riot is not in and of itself a good thing."

Fully agree and that's what I've been saying to some frustrated DUers asking how to find or start a riot :). Riots when they happen, happen as response to violent provocations - without going into the "who started it -games". Anarchistic activism is not about rioting, it's about getting organized - in non-hierarchical way - and taking action in various forms. As it pleases each participant in non-hierarchic political processes.

I have to confess that couple days ago participated in my first anarchistic "black block" demonstration to express solidarity with Greek people, which of course didn't ask police permit but was publicly called, so police was there - many patrol cars. About forty young people occupying the street of Greek Embassy, then marching the streets, shouting slogans, handing out leaflets. One flare ignited for esthetic purposes and couple paint bombs against corporate targets hit their marks. At one point cops grabbed one protestor, their vehicle was immediately surrounded by his/her comrades and traffic jammed at that point for extented period, until the cops released the guy from their patrol car, and the march continued.

I must also say I was impressed by their - our - self organization, which just "happened". The march route was not decided before but as it happened, at cross roads somenone, whoever, would just suggest where next, and so it happened. Organized in organic way. Of course it was obvious that they had lot of experience, despite their young age.

Violence in any form, even symbolic "vandalism", is not my thing. But it's also not my thing to condemn what others do. I just give my support to people who want to change this oppressive and (self)destructive system into something more decent.

[HEyHEY]

11. Corporate media doesn't bury riots, they love riots

it sells

[tama]

13. That is also true

maybe it depends?

[stillcool]

7. The article says it took place...

On Tuesday night. Surely by now the police would have come out with a clear cause for peppering him with bullets, no? Not that it matters.

[Skip Intro]

9. It does matter, but there are two sides

and we don't yet know the facts.

That's all I'm saying.

[stillcool]

10. You'd think after 4 days..

there would be at least a plausible story. Something with drugs, a gun..stuff like that.

[tama]

14. Comments from youtube

My selection of what I thought were interesting and informative:

"That's a funny comment considering that just about every middle class, white guy I know is itching to put a cap in Uncle Sam's ass.
I swear I never thought I'd see the day that so many middle class men wanted to burn down the courthouse."

"I do agree with you that this is just "an incident". But this kind of incidents can trigger much much bigger reactions with the state of the country and the economy.

Check Greece. They have been for weeks on national disorder, the police has run out of anti-mob gas, and they are still at it, because a police-man killed a student. Check Youtube.

In this situation, things like this can be the trigger."

"They made the News Reporters leave for their own safety? Shucks, who doesn't like the news media these days. They're so....elite."

"the fact is He was killed... he died earlier this morning How do I know ? he is my cousin.. i do not agree with his choices in life but he was loved and he loved many people especially his child.. so keep that in your mind his young child wont have daddy there on christmas .. stop all of this hatred ..it disgusts me."

"People in Southern Los Angeles gets killed by cops numerous times. over 5 this year alone. Always have near riots at the scene. Nothing new. Last year in Long Beach the mob surrounded 2 cops after they killed a handicapped disabled man and they had to call in SWAT for protection."

"MSM completely silent on this incident, the elite must be very nervous right now with the events in greece. Thanks again George, I would never have known about this with out your excellent reporting."

"My little brother was in the national guard when the rodney king riots went down we lived in diamond bar then, I was in vegas, his commander called him up 2 days before it happend and told him to get ready, when it started he went in prepared to go and they said were not going in yet! My Bro said why? they told him something about waiting on rubber bullets that have not arrived yet,
reminds me of katrina, let it happen for the shock effect then go in and settle them down them down after,"

"Thanks "white guy" ..but you don't live here. I do. We were not looking for an excuse to raise hell idiot!! The police fired ALL their shots head high and some of those hit people's homes. Going throught windows & walls. Why not shoot out the tires or engine? Both would've stopped the vehicle cold. They just wanted an excuse to shoot someone and he(sadly) gave it to them."

"Assault officers with a vehicle, get dead."

"Assault my ass!! He didn't have enogh room to even build any kind of speed to harm anybody! The news just reported in today's paper that the truck was not even stolen!! Now what? The Police had no probable cause so you just opened yourselves up to a lawsuit from his family. Fuck the PolicE!!!"

"I live right across the street! Jed died the next day(family pulled the plug). The Police have NOT released the dashboard video or what contents were in the vehicle. The ONLY news that came out is the VEHICLE WAS NOT STOLEN!!! It's been ALMOST a week...and people say they don't understand why they're rioting?!? This is the second time a guy in the area has been gunned down by our police. It's just sad."

[tama]

15. Couple more points

They say Justin was victim of War on Drugs. War that is absolutely wrong to begin with: state terror and oppression. What is wrong to begin with does not justify what is done in it's name, on the contrary.

We don't if Justin tried to "ram" the cops. No matter what he did or didn't, it didn't justify his murder. But that was not the immediate cause of the riot. The immediate cause of the riot was that when people who cared about one of their own were having a vigil in his memory, cops invaded their neighbourhood.