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  1. TopTop #1
    Bursts O'Goodness
    Guest

    Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    here is a letter to the DA asking them to drop the charges against Ben
    Saari for his unjustified arrest on May 1st. If you can, please either
    sign it yourself and send it in or treat it like a petition and gather
    signatures and then send it in. Ideally we are trying to send it in asap
    (with in the next week or so) so however you can help will be awesome. The
    following is the letter. If you have the time and would like to send in
    your own letter that would be excellent.

    Concerned community members have also made a website concerning Ben's arrest and how to support him. They're hoping to use the site in the future to support others made into prisoners of conscience in Sonoma County. The website is https://www.sonomadefense.org
    =============================================================

    Stephan Passalacqua

    Hall of Justice, Second Floor
    600 Administration Drive, Room 212-J
    Santa Rosa, California 95403
    Telephone: (707) 565-2311
    FAX: (707) 565-2762


    Mr. Passalacqua,


    Hello. I’m writing you to insist that you drop all charges against
    Benjamin Saari from his arrest of May 1st, 2008. I believe Mr. Saari is an
    upstanding member of our community and that his arrest for publicly
    observing police activities in a legal manner is an attack on individuals
    and thus the community’s right to safely and critically observe public
    servants on the job.

    On May 1st, as thousands were entering Santa Rosa’s Juliard Park from the
    east side, Santa Rosa police officers began trying to corral youth, mostly
    young Latinos, on the west side of the park. SRPD had extended metal
    batons at ready and a very agitated police dog. Different squads of
    police were yelling conflicting orders at the nebulous group of youth
    they’d defined as a gang. I believe that at this point Ben Saari exercised
    his ability to observe the police in a manner in keeping with the First
    Ammendment right to peaceably assemble. As police advanced on the crowd,
    which Mr. Saari was pushed into, Mr. Saari made a point of communicating
    with the advancing officers and keeping a safe distance between himself
    and the officers.

    At one point an officer being most directly observed stepped up his pace
    and shoulder-checked Mr. Saari, claiming the contact as Mr. Saari’s
    interference with police activities and arresting him for such. The
    arresting officer did not immediately announce the charges as Mr. Saari
    was arrested, nor was Mr. Saari read his Miranda rights. Mr. Saari
    repeatedly asked the officer if he was being arrested and just before Mr.
    Saari’s arrest the arresting officer informed Mr. Saari that he was in
    fact not being arrested. Mr. Saari was never told by the police or the
    police department what he was being arrested for. He was only informed of
    his charges when released on bail by the person who posted the bail.

    Elements of Sonoma County Law Enforcement, particularly among the Santa
    Rosa Police and Sonoma County Sheriff, have been resistant to public
    observation of their activities from a safe distance, in some cases not
    identifying themselves, obscuring the visibility of interactions or even
    threatening the observers with arrest. Many believe this is because the
    police fear being observed overstepping their bounds and trampling
    people’s rights and because of a law enforcement culture that fears public
    oversight.

    I believe that community members checking authorities and pushing
    institutions towards more transparency deters abuse of power and makes a
    community healthier. Local activists should not be allowed to be punished
    for legitimately checking authority and attempting to deescalate
    potentially explosive situations through their public observation and nor
    should they be dissuaded from active participation in matters of public
    affair.

    The foundations of a free and open society rest upon the active
    participation of those living within it’s bounds in the decisions and
    running of that society. That is the foundation of democracy. Allowing a
    branch of the executive to suppress the legitimate oversight of that
    institution by the people affected by its activities leads us further down
    the road away from that free and open society and hastens toward rule by a
    government with unchecked power.

    Again, I strongly encourage you to do the right thing and drop the charges
    against Benjamin Saari. Thank you for your time.

    Sincerely,

    (print and sign your name, followed by your address here)
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  2. TopTop #2
    Lenny
    Guest

    Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    I wasn't there, but how can you claim it was an "unjustified arrest"? And he hasn't even had his day in court? But you are already saying it's wrong?
    I can only guess you were there, and after reading your letter, how can you say "thousands" of young folks were entering the park, and then ask the cops give clear, concise orders. Sounds like a melee to me; and knowing the game, a probable action-jackson time. And it sounds like you want more of that kind of action!
    OK, sorry. Enough screwing around with you.
    You know, your 1930s communist party tactics really are anachronistic and need to be abandoned or kicked in the slats. There are "Latino" gangs out here and being an old "half-breed" myself growing up in the Mission back in the day, I find it gives me enough credibility to tell you to let the cops do their job. Your kind of shit just gets US hurt, feeds US false hopes and deadly poison, and then you go off and laugh at your parties. Stick it, cause you and your stuff ain't worth
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  3. TopTop #3
    PeriodThree
    Guest

    Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    I agree more with Bursts O'Goodness than with Lenny, but he has a major point when he asks how we can know it was an unjustified arrest?

    Our system of justice is imperfect, but it is only system we have right now. And it is a far better way of determining truth (even with its flaws!) than debating on a mailing list.

    You wrote "As police advanced on the crowd,
    which Mr. Saari was pushed into, Mr. Saari made a point of communicating
    with the advancing officers and keeping a safe distance between himself
    and the officers.

    At one point an officer being most directly observed stepped up his pace
    and shoulder-checked Mr. Saari, claiming the contact as Mr. Saari’s
    interference with police activities and arresting him for such."
    I was not there, but it seems the police treated this is a potential riot situation. In that situation it seems pretty reasonable to me to argue that he was interfering with police activities. You say he insisted on 'communicating with the advancing officers' and he apparently was in the way of officers (even _if_ the officer stepped up his pace-Mr. Saari was in their way).

    In theory the argument will be conducted in court, in front of a judge, rather than on a message board.

    Best luck to all involved.
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  4. TopTop #4
    Ben Saari
     

    Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    Just a quick update...

    It's been over 14 weeks since my arrest.

    The DA has filed no charges.

    My videotape of the events leading up to my arrest hasn't been returned.

    To get more regular updates check: www.sonomadefense.org
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  5. TopTop #5
    Toxic Reverend's Avatar
    Toxic Reverend
     

    First they came for ..Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    Ben Saari said the videotape of the events leading
    up to his arrest hasn't been returned. Just as the
    family of Jeremiah Chass have been denied access
    to evidence regarding his fatal shooting by police.

    Might the tape of Ben Saari's arrest show
    constitutional and civil rights violations ?

    To get more regular updates about Ben's case check: www.sonomadefense.org


    FYI:
    First they came... - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    "First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor
    Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of
    German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power

    _________

    Police Brutality and Steroid Abuse,
    a national epidemic

    Roid a Cops - Police shootings, Brutality & Steroid Abuse - WaccoBB - Aug 28"
    Big Guns: When Cops Use Steroids Steroid Abuse Can Contribute to Police brutality and influence
    the use of "Deadly Force"...

    By the The Toxic Reverend We as tax payers put out a lot of cash to train a policeman ...
    https://waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=63773
    - 87k

    Google search term;
    "sonoma county police shooting"
    also see;
    Community Concerns About Law Enforcement in Sonoma County, May 2000
    https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/sac/ca0500/main.htm
    ______________

    Prejudice; Contempt prior to investigation.
    Making a judgment before receiving information
    relevant to the particular issue on which a judgment
    was being made; it came, however, to be widely
    used to refer to any hostile attitude towards people
    based on their race or even by just judging someone
    without even knowing them. Subsequently the word
    has come to be widely so interpreted in this way in
    contexts other than those relating to race. The
    meaning now is frequently "any unreasonable
    attitude that is unusually resistant to rational
    influence".[1]

    _________________


    Blessings,

    The Toxic Reverend
    https://www.myspace.com/toxicreverend
    aka
    Justice Is Homeless
    https://www.myspace.com/justiceishomeless


    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Lenny: View Post
    I wasn't there, but how can you claim it was an "unjustified arrest"? And he hasn't even had his day in court? But you are already saying it's wrong?
    I can only guess you were there, and after reading your letter, how can you say "thousands" of young folks were entering the park, and then ask the cops give clear, concise orders. Sounds like a melee to me; and knowing the game, a probable action-jackson time. And it sounds like you want more of that kind of action!
    OK, sorry. Enough screwing around with you.
    You know, your 1930s communist party tactics really are anachronistic and need to be abandoned or kicked in the slats. There are "Latino" gangs out here and being an old "half-breed" myself growing up in the Mission back in the day, I find it gives me enough credibility to tell you to let the cops do their job. Your kind of shit just gets US hurt, feeds US false hopes and deadly poison, and then you go off and laugh at your parties. Stick it, cause you and your stuff ain't worth
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  6. TopTop #6
    d-cat
    Guest

    Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    Ben - I'd like to get your story some exposure (to an audience of approx 2 million). Please check your private messages.

    Police State 2007
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvHDx8YQk4
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  7. TopTop #7
    Moon
    Guest

    Re: Support Benjamin Saari and your right to observe police activity

    Talk like this shows us what kind of person sides with those in power no matter what they do.

    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Lenny: View Post
    You know, your 1930s communist party tactics really are anachronistic and need to be abandoned or kicked in the slats. There are "Latino" gangs out here and being an old "half-breed" myself growing up in the Mission back in the day, I find it gives me enough credibility to tell you to let the cops do their job. Your kind of shit just gets US hurt, feeds US false hopes and deadly poison, and then you go off and laugh at your parties. Stick it, cause you and your stuff ain't worth
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

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