One of a number of similar signs created for today. Set outside the Marriott Hotel, where Urban Shield, a conference dedicated to the glorification of the militarization of the police, is taking place today. Outside, protesters are picketing.
See here. here and here for the day’s activities.
Tweets:
mary mad @marymad
#UrbanShield RT @mrdaveyd: They have hundreds of white police vans down here at the Marriott in downtown Oakland
Adam @AdamInOakland
#oakland a few protestors at hotel entrance of Marriott. OPD & ACSO have 10th blocked off & dozens of cops around the convention center.
Adam @AdamInOakland
#oakland 10th St is literally packed w/white police transport vans.
Getting started:
With the tragic death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by Santa Rosa sheriff deputies, fresh on our minds, many in the Bay Area are upset and beyond anxious about this weekends Urban Shield gathering.. For those who are unaware, The Department of Homeland Security, SWAT teams from all over the state and country and other Law Enforcement outfits will be descending upon Oakland to host a weapons show and hold an urban war game competition..
This year’s Urban Shield activities are kicking off on the second anniversary of Occupy Oakland when Iraq War vet Scott Olson was shot by police a protest..Some law enforcement folks note that it was training received at Urban Sheild that prepared police for Occupy protests. If that’s not enough in addition to all the SWAT teams and weapons manufacturers, former police Chief Bill Bratton and now consultant to OPD will be here as well.
The arrival of Urban Shield’s carnival of control technologies has dozens of Bay Area groups raising pointed questions: Why should their community support the market for policing techniques and technologies that have been responsible for so many deaths and injuries, like the killing of the unarmed man Oscar Grant by a public transit policeman and the police projectile assault on veteran Scott Olsen? The city council of Oakland, located in Alameda County, recently paid $1.17 million to Occupy Oakland participants for injuries suffered at the hands of police with riot control technologies.
The Facing Urban Shield Action Network, a coalition of 20 groups in the Bay Area, is organizing actions this week to make visible the corporate interests at the heart of this growing urban security industry. The coalition has prepared a day-long picket, rally and press conference in front of the Marriott Hotel in Oakland, which is hosting this year’s Urban Shield weapons expo and seminars.
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