As mentioned in GMN a few hours ago, an undercover cop working last night’s police accountability march in Oakland wound up pulling a gun on protesters once his cover was blown.
I linked to a chilling photograph showing the officer—still officially unidentified, including which agency he works for—pointing at a group of people, holding his gun sideways. In the same picture, his partner, still sporting a black-bloc-style mask, can be seen arresting someone. (Reports so far differ on whether the officers were attacked before or after the gun came out. Some say the officers were pounding on windows before they were outed, attempting rile marchers up.)
But a new shot of that confrontation has surfaced, and it’s far more chilling. It was snapped by one of the people the officer was pointing his gun at.
Here is an image of one of last nights undercovers pointing his gun directly at a person with a camera. #oakland pic.twitter.com/lVEsNEhFpu
— Courtney Harrop (@CourtneyPFB) December 11, 2014
Everyone should see this. This is just as iconic as a certain photo of a hug. This isn’t the first time marchers in Oakland and Berkeley have picked out the cops in their midst. Given how often police agencies are believed to send in undercover officers when marches are brewing, it’s maybe a little surprising we haven’t seen a picture like this sooner. Or worse.
This is just sad
Pounding on windows and attempting to rile the marchers up? Sounds like they were sent in to deliberately turn a peaceful protest violent. Fuck the police.
Twitter reports from that link say the undercover cops were instigating and agitating for looting. How is this appropriate police behavior?
Of course he’s arresting the black protestors. Fucking America. What’s changed?
Cops are just thugs with badges.
This is one of the cops favorite tactics. It’s why those masks and face coverings are so convenient for police infiltrators. Better think twice if some linebacker looking dudes with shiny new boots and their faces obscured attempt to rile up trouble at a march. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJ7aU-n1L…
Activists are notoriously bad at looking around the room and figuring out who is the undercover cop and who isn’t.
They invariably pick out somebody they think is “different” and making themselves look like paranoid fools. (See http://bikeportland.org/2013/04/03/an-apol… )
Meanwhile, the dude who is the coolest “radical” rock-thrower is the one who ends up being the cop. (See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/… )
One more great reason to resist the urge to follow the loudmouths off a cliff and stick to peaceful protest: If you avoid breaking stuff, you don’t have to worry about your “gut reactions” about who’s allowed in your group and who isn’t.
People in general are notoriously bad at identifying people that don’t want to be identified. Activists only have the special problem of the bad actors being cops.