Orlando resort to 'apartheid' tactics to end police brutality protests

-

Orlando has taken a page from the playbook of South Africa’s formerly racist apartheid government to stop police brutality protesters.




The city has imposed a special early curfew on part of downtown and the historically black Parramore community. That curfew starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday (6/3). Curfews were one of the tactics the racist white South African government tried to suppress activists in black townships.

The curfew for the rest of the city and Orange County begins at 10 p.m. The 10 p.m. curfew was re-imposed Sunday by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

The 8 p.m. curfew area is from West Colonial to State Road 408 and Tampa Avenue to Summerlin Avenue. In addition to Parramore, the curfew area includes much of the downtown entertainment and dining area and Eola Heights and Thornton Park.

The new measures were imposed after 4 nights of demonstrations in the wake of the high-profile murder of George Lloyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Demonstrations on Tuesday night that traveled through the Parramore community and ended up at City Hall ended up with tear gas used on the crowd. Those in the multi-racial crowd said the demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful. There were a few white males in the crowd suspected to be members of the Boogalu Boys -- provocateurs who stir up trouble so black people will be blamed.

Police said at one point some members of the crowd pelted officers with objects. However, demonstrators said problems really started when police riot squads use barriers, shields and bicycles to trap people trying to leave the events. This controversial tactic is known as “kettling”. Frequently this tactic sweeps up innocent people who weren’t causing trouble. It also violates the 1st Amendment, which guarantees people the right to peacefully assemble to share their concerns with government leaders.

Several demonstration participants – who don’t know each other -- told us that many officers (dressed in riot gear) were needlessly aggressive.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Girl gets body slammed, now cops want to arrest her

-
Image
  Believe it or not, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is considering filing criminal charges against the teen-age black girl shown in a viral video being body slammed by a deputy last Tuesday (Jan. 26). During a news conference on Saturday (Jan. 30) civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson revealed that sheriff’s office detectives called Taylor Bracey’s home and asked her parents to let them interview her as they considered filing assault and resisting arrest charges against the girl. This tactic is intended to take legal heat off the deputy who hurt Taylor. Ms. Jackson said they advised their client to exercise her 5 th Amendment right not to answer questions because the responses could be used against her in a criminal court. Crump, who is known for representing black people and families who have been victimized by racism and police violence, said the deputy should be facing criminal charges for brutally assaulting 16-year-old Taylor. Taylor was knocked unco...
Read more

Orlando ignored environmental racism, so women stepped up

-
Image
  Orlando responded to requests to study pollution and the health of residents in Parramore and other historically black neighborhoods by dragging its feet for years. That’s why the Coalition of Black Women – Central Florida applied for and received a $120,000 federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study these long-standing problems. “People’s health and lives were at risk,” said Project Manager Lawanna Gelzer. “We were tired waiting on the city. We had to act.” The grant work begins this Thursday (Dec. 3) 6:30 p.m. when the Coalition of 100 Black Women holds an online community forum to begin the fact-finding process. Residents are encouraged to attend this forum by clicking: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqceippjIiGtHDymQPlxPKN5asozf1qXCV (After you click, check your email for access to the meeting.) The dangerous pollution in Orlando’s historically black Parramore community was spotlighted almost 2 years ago in a national article pub...
Read more

Recruiting 'citizen scientists' in urban Orlando

-
Image
    Do you know anyone who ever wanted to be a scientist? Now they have a chance to make that dream reality right here in Orlando. The Coalition of 100 Black Women – Central Florida is looking for “citizen scientist” candidates to work under the $120,000 federal grant the organization received recently from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to study air pollution in the Parramore, Holden Heights and Mercy Drive communities.  (For more information on this grant, and the project, click here.) That’s right…WORK! The people selected as citizen scientists will be paid a stipend. To be a citizen scientist you don’t need a fancy degree. “We’re looking for people who are reliable, motivated and intellectually curious,” said Project Manager Lawanna Gelzer. This could be a great opportunity for a student, a retired person, an activist, or anyone who wants to work on a project that can help protect the health of thousands of people who live in and near downtown Orlando. Th...
Read more