Thursday, August 13, 2009

Minneapolis/St. Paul Twin Cities Area Has a "Communities Against Police Brutality" Group and Website

Communities Against Police Brutality in the Minneapolis/St. Paul twin cities area, a group of that says it is comprised of "survivors of police brutality and members of the community working together to fight for justice," highlights the Maria Inamagua case. According to their report:

Maria Inamagua was an Ecuadoran immigrant living in the United States. She was arrested on an immigration violation and detained at the Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul. While there, she reported severe headaches and dizziness. Over the five weeks she was there, she repeatedly asked for health care. The jail responded by giving her Tylenol. She was never allowed to see a doctor.

On April 13, 2006, jailers found Maria unconscious and severely ill in her cell. Instead of taking her to the hospital just a few blocks away, they watched her health deteriorate for four hours. By the time they finally took her to the hospital, it was too late. Maria Inamagua died of a massive brain infection late that night.

To fight against abuses like this one, they offer a links to many organizations working to stop various forms of police brutality. I haven't personally contacted the groups below, but I would be very interested in comments from readers about their experiences. The list is as follows, with a hat tip to Communities Against Police Brutality, which compiled the list:
Organizations Working on Police Brutality and Accountability
October 22nd National Coalition: http://www.october22.org/
ACLU Police Practices Project: http://www.aclu.org/PolicePractices/PolicePracticesMain.cfm
Idriss Stelley Foundation: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
National Coalition on Police Accountability: http://www.citizensalert.org/ncopa.htm
National Lawyers Guild, National Police Accountability Project: http://www.nlg.org/npap/
Police Complaint Center: http://www.policeabuse.org/
Police Crimes: http://flyservers.registerfly.com/members5/policecrime.com/
Refuse & Resist!: http://www.refuseandresist.org/altindex.php
Stolen Lives Project: http://stolenlives.org/
Law Office of Blake Horwitz (attorney specializing in police brutality cases): http://www.police-watchers.com/

Reports on Police Brutality:
Amnesty International's Race, Rights and Police Brutality: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/usa/document.do?id=133746465C2D34CA8025690000692D98
Amnesty International's Report: Police Brutality and Excessive Force: http://www.amnestyusa.org/rightsforall/police/nypd/index.html
Amnesty International's Torture Report: http://www.webnetarts.com/socialjustice/aitortrpts.html
Human Rights Watch's Shielded from Justice--Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States: http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/index.htm
Misconduct by Men in Blue (youth police brutality project): http://misconduct.weebly.com/index.html
Information on "Less Lethal" Weapons Including Chemical Irritants and Tasers
A Short and Sordid History of Pepper Spray: http://www.nopepperspray.org/sordid.htm
An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control: http://www.iwar.org.uk/sigint/resources/stoa/stoa-atpc-so.htm
Bibliography of "An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control": http://www.aib.de/nsa/eu/stoa-bib.htm
Chemical Cops: Tear Gas And Pepper Spray Can Be Deadly: http://www.commondreams.org/views/030900-103.htm
CPRC Report, Oleoresin Capsicum in Buffalo: http://www.cprc.org/tr/1995/04/tr-04-95E.pdf
Dugway Report (Great info on chemical composition of Freeze + P): http://www.capstun.com/english/cap-stun/reports/dugwayreport.html
The Effect of Police Officer Confidence on Officer Injuries and Excessive Force Complaints (includes info on cop killed by bad pepper spray training): http://www.sashley.com/Articles/EffectofPoliceOfficerConfidence.htm
FBI Report, Oleoresin Capsicum Training and Use: http://www.capstun.com/english/cap-stun/reports/fbireport.html
HowStuffWorks: What does tear gas do?: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question340.htm
Inmates Sue Florida Over Pepper Spray, Tear Gas Torture: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C97214%2C00.html
Is CS Gas Dangerous?: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/320/7233/458
Montreal Medical Team Exposes Documents on Tear Gas Danger: http://www.afn.org/~iguana/archives/2001_05/20010512.html
Pepper Spray Gets in Their Eyes, Media Missed Militarization of Police Work in Seattle: http://www.fair.org/extra/0003/pepper-spray.html
Pepper Spray Madness (deaths from pepper spray): http://mediafilter.org/caq/CAQ56pepper.html
Personal Defense Sprays: Effects and Management of [Ocular] Exposure: http://www.pwdistributing.com/OC%20Eye%20Test.html
Police Sprayed Deadly Toxins at WTO; Accused of "Chemical Warfare" by MD: http://www.sparklehouse.com/awake/cp/gas_1.html
The Power and Controversy of Pepper Sprays: http://www.sunbeltshows.com/dave/pepperspray.html
Preparing for "Sudden Death!": http://www.laaw.com/cdsldm.htm
Protester First Aid (Black Cross Collective Guide): http://www.mts.net/~slord/FIRST%20AID.htm
Study by a Street Medic Suggests Long-Term Effects of Tear Gas: http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2002/091902/news3.html
Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Reference for Medics: http://urgencemanif.meagerman.net/chem.html
Treatment of Riot Control Agents: Tear Gas and Pepper Spray: http://free.freespeech.org/a20/teargas.htm
U.S. Government Use of Chemical Weapons Against U.S. Citizens: http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/10/11_chemical.html
The Use and Abuse of Pepper Spray (Legal article by By Lynne Wilson, Seattle Attorney): http://www.pcworks.demon.co.uk/magazine/documents/pepperspray.pdf
Use of Aerosol Weapons by Law Enforcement: http://www.sashley.com/Articles/UseofAerosolWeapons.htm
Use of CS Gas in Gulf is Illegal, says Red Cross: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0309-05.htm
Virtual Naval Hospital, Textbook of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare: Chapter 12, Riot Control Agents (Definitive website for detailed info on medical effects of chemical irritants): http://www.vnh.org/MedAspChemBioWar/chapters/chapter_12.htm
Wikipedia Article on Pepper Spray: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray

Information on Positional Asphyxia and Hogtying
Asphyxial Death During Prone Restraint Revisited: A Report of 21 Cases: http://www.charlydmiller.com/LIB/2000asphyxrevisit.html
Patient Restraint & Restraint Asphyxia Newz Directory: http://www.charlydmiller.com/ranewz.html#directory

Information on Handcuffing and Handcuff Neuropathy
AfterCare: Handcuff Injuries: http://www.action-medical.net/library/aftercare/handcuffs.htm
Cheiralgia Paresthetica (Handcuff Neuropathy): http://www.ncemi.org/cse/cse0920.htm
Complaints of Pain After Use of Handcuffs Should Not be Dismissed: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/318/7175/55
Focal Neurological Complications of Handcuff Application: http://aafs.micronexx.com/PDF/JOFS/JFS4651124/JFS4651124.pdf
Handcuff Neuropathy: Two Unusual Cases: http://www.aapmr.org/education/archive/emg9706a.htm
Handcuffing, Advance Stacking Techniques: http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/pti/
Liability Constraints on Human Restraints: http://www.laaw.com/finalre2.htm
Orthopedic Injuries Experienced by U.S. Prisoners of War During Operation Desert Storm: A Descriptive Analysis: http://infoventures.com/osh/abs/mili0005.html
PC Wins Handcuff Damages: http://www.cuffs.fsnet.co.uk/Handcuffs_docs/Pc%20wins%20handcuff%20damages.PDF

Communities Against Police Brutality says, "If you have a suggestion for a link, please email it to mgresist@minn.net

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We think that your readers will be interested in this article from the “Broward-Palm Beach New Times”, about a man who was left brain damaged from a car collision with a Broward deputy ten years ago, and who still has not received any money from the insurance or BSO.

Here is a link: http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-08-13/news/a-deputy-left-eric-brody-brain-damaged-and-his-family-still-hasn-t-received-a-penny/

Thank you