Finally, A Governor (Jerry Brown) Says: Hold The Pepper Spray

[kpete]

Dear Mr. Cappitelli:

As I indicated to you in our conversation today, I am seriously concerned that the rules governing the use of force, in particular the use of pepper spray, are not well understood in the context of civil disobedience and various forms of public protest. The recent "occupation" protests in cities throughout California and on campuses of the University of California underscore the urgency of articulating guidelines that are crystal clear and comport with constitutional requirements.

In view of widespread public concern, I am requesting that POST carefully review it's 2003 Crowd Management and Civil Disobedience Guidelines and, without delay, make whatever changes are necessary to ensure compliance with First and Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force.

Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown Jr.

http://www.dailycal.org/2011/11/28/gov-brown-requests-review-of-police-use-of-force-guidelines/

[PufPuf23]

1. Thank you Jerry Brown for speaking up.

Jerry Brown would have been a better POTUS than what we got back in his time.

Edit to add: One should also mention case law in the 9th District Court of Appeals re: pepper spray and civil disobediance.

[AntiFascist]

2. K&R n/.t

[Magoo48]

3. Thanks Jerry, now if Mr. O would do the same...

[kath]

10. Mr. O would have to give a shit about the 99% in order to do so.

Sadly...

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. plus++++

[emilyg]

31. ......

[gtar100]

36. But it does seem he cares for the 99%...

just not the ones here in the US. He saves those supportive words for democracy and freedom for people in other countries.

[UrbScotty]

39. If Jerry Brown were President, odds are you'd be thinking of him what you now think of Obama.

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

43. Good

And good sig.

[NOLALady]

48. So true.

[FailureToCommunicate]

42. That's PRESIDENT O, by the way.

[Huey P. Long]

4. How about tents?

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Whoohoo!

:applause::woohoo::applause:

[Ship of Fools]

6. Pretty unreal that it even needs to be said ... Thank you, Governor Brown.

[eShirl]

7. "First and Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force."

Don't stop with just Occupy, either.

[kestrel91316]

8. Thanks, Jerry. Better late than never.

[DiverDave]

18. You got that right

and add my thanks to Gov. Brown too

[femrap]

21. That's what I thought....

a little too late, huh?

[shanti]

9. current gov and former AG

he's not without his flaws (who isn't?), but so glad we finally have an adult in charge!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Odd to see everyone rejoicing over a statement that does *NOTHING*

with regards to the current situation.

[Ed Suspicious]

37. No kidding. That was some weak shit. Please clarify whether or not we may or may not be

in compliance with the constitution. If so please make it known that we will pepper spray the crap out of anyone who looks cross at us.

[Ed Suspicious]

38. Pepper spray will be found not to be excessive the same way waterboarding was. n/t

[tpsbmam]

44. ITA...he's hardly saying "hold the pepper spray"

He's urging them to cool it and only use it in line with the Constitution and California laws/guidelines. At least he did that, though -- that's more than all of our Democrats have done, from Obama on down.

[Magoo48]

49. You can foresee the future; I always wished I could do that.

[a2liberal]

51. it's very easy actually

See there's these things called patterns. When a person or a group acts a certain way in a certain type of situation 99% of the time, you can predict with high accuracy what they're going to do the next time in a similar situation. Maybe I'll post some examples later when I'm not on my phone.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

52. Its easy in this case when you understand to whom the letter was sent and their role

[lunatica]

12. I hope other Governors take note and follow suit.

I think the Governors have tried to let the Mayors deal with it since it's kind of imposing in this regard. But enough is enough. Violence is not the answer.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. About bloody time.

[Uncle Joe]

14. Good, kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.:thumbsup:

[DainBramaged]

15. It's unfortunate our President named Obama didn't do this first

but Wall Street is his friend....

[Kevin Beyer]

40. +1 n/t

[MzNov]

17. Hopefully the Gov is responding to all of the letters like mine.

I ripped him a new one so badly I was fearful the militant pigs would come after me. :rofl:

[T S Justly]

19. not sure serious...

Brown has a history - remember Oakland - but if he's serious, then
he would need to consider using CHIPS to put down the next municipal
law enforcement riot. That would be quite a spectacle should it come
to pass.

[Dawson Leery]

20. k/r

[AsahinaKimi]

22. Its about damn time....

Jerry, what took you so long!

[Remember Me]

23. Love me some Gov Moonbeam

Go, Jerry!!

[wundermaus]

24. Always a day (months) late and a dollar (millions) short...

What else should we expect from our sElected officials?
Not much.

[peace frog]

25. A bit tardy but better late than never

Thank you, Governor Brown.

[ZombieHorde]

26. Another OWS win. nt

[lonestarnot]

27. K & R!

[unionworks]

28. thank you Jerry Brown

K&R!

[alp227]

29. Gov. Reagan: "Go get a job, kids. And officers, SPRAY DOWN THEM ALL!"

[Politicalboi]

30. How about telling Obama to hold the

Medical Marijuana busts too.

[Le Taz Hot]

41. From the governor who vetoed the Industrial Hemp Bill?

Not likely. Nice, safe, tepid response on his part -- don't want to piss off his Democratic Party bosses don't 'cha know?

[cyglet]

32. Might be late, but

who else is going to say it?

Methinks no one.

[rhett o rick]

33. This is what Pres Obama should do. nm

[defendandprotect]

34. Sounds like the old Jerry Brown -- we need more of that -- and more Govs/Mayors saying that!!

There is no right to "free assembly" if you get pepper sprayed for peaceful assembly --

needless to say, not either if you get your head bashed in!!

[Flaxbee]

35. I'm glad he wrote this. Well, if he wrote it, someone needs to give him

a simple grammar lesson.

I suspect it was written for him by a staffer who doesn't understand the difference between "its" and "it's".

Not in any way to disparage or dismiss the step that was taken by the governor of such a large state. But please. Come on. At least be literate.

[midnight]

45. Better late than never....

[AllyCat]

46. It's about freakin' time one of them stood up to this.

Thank you Governor Brown. I don't know if they will listen as their corporate masters are really calling the shots (literally), but at least you are on record for standing up to this brutality.

[SoapBox]

47. Late but still...thanks for manning up Jerry.

Tax payer dollar paid, Police Militia/Goon Squads

vs.

American's just sitting.

About time someone spoke up.

[pscot]

50. And Governor Brown is not even a Constitutional Scholar

Why is it so hard for the President to come out with something along these lines? Or does he just not think it matters?

[malthaussen]

53. Not to rain on anybody's parade...

... but he is requesting a "careful review" of the guidelines. Semantically, that is a big fat nothing.

-- Mal

[Duval]

54. Damn.....FINALLY

we hear from him. Damn...do ya'll remember how he was one of us??

[fishwax]

55. Fortunately for Jerry Brown, using "it's" when one means "its" is not a pepper-sprayable offense

Just wanted to point that out for the record ;)