Copwatch Explained

Copwatch (also Cop Watch or Cop-Watch) is a network of typically autonomous activist organizations, focused in local areas in the United States, Canada, and Europe, that observe and document police activity looking for signs of police misconduct and brutality. They believe that monitoring police activity on the streets is a way to prevent police brutality.[1] They also propose theoretical and practical approaches to security and justice structures to replace the police. They criticize capitalism and see crime as a consequence of social problems that cannot be fought by surveillance and punishment.[2]

Copwatch was started in Berkeley, California, in 1990.[3]

Methods

The main function of most Copwatch groups is monitoring police activity. "Copwatchers" go out on foot or driving patrols in their communities and record interactions between the police, suspects, and civilians. Copwatchers hope that monitoring police activity will provide a deterrent against police misconduct. Some groups also patrol protests and demonstrations to ensure that police do not violate the rights of protesters. One Copwatch organization states that it has a policy of non-interference with the police, although this may not be true for all groups.[4] In Phoenix, Arizona, copwatchers have increased the practice of "reverse surveillance" of the police in an effort to document racial profiling. They believe that Arizona Senate Bill 1070, a controversial law that allows police to question people they believe are illegal immigrants, will increase racial profiling by police.[5]

Copwatch groups also hold "Know Your Rights" forums to educate the public about their legal and human rights when interacting with the police, and some groups organize events to highlight problems of police abuse in their communities.[6]

Copwatch calls for responses to, or critical evaluation of, police controls in order to support those affected, especially by racial or class profiling.[7] Educational work regarding the powers of the police as well as civilian rights is a focus of Copwatch in order to support more people in their encounters with police.[8]

Activities

Response to the killing of Kendra James

In 2003, Kendra James was fatally shot by Portland, Oregon officer Scott McCollister as she attempted to drive away from a traffic stop with Officer McCollister attempting to pull her out of the vehicle. After the shooting Copwatch offered a reward for a photograph of McCollister. It then produced and distributed posters bearing McCollister's photo and the phrase "Getting away with murder".

The editorial staff of Willamette Week opined that the poster was "inflamed rhetoric" which would harm "the relationship between the Portland police and the community it serves", and said that protest posters put up by the Rose City chapter of Copwatch were aimed at "inciting generalized anti-cop hysteria at the expense of informed criticism".[9]

A member of the Rose City Copwatch group said that the shooting "demonstrate[s] a culture of racism and brutality that's really sort of at the core of policing".[10] A grand jury later found no criminal wrongdoing on McCollister's part.[11]

William Cardenas video

On November 3, 2006, CopWatch LA posted a video showing the arrest of William Cardenas, whom police described as "a known gang member who had been wanted on a felony warrant for receiving stolen property". According to the arrest report, when officers tried to arrest Cardenas as he was drinking beer on the sidewalk with two others, he fled, but was caught and tripped by the officers, who then began to attempt to handcuff Cardenas as he fought with the officers to avoid being arrested.

The video, in which Cardenas struggles to prevent the police from handcuffing him, shows an officer repeatedly punching him in the face while trying to force his hands together. The officers indicated that they were unable to subdue Cardenas with pepper spray, which seemed to have "little effect", and that some of the punches were delivered in response to Cardenas putting his hand on one officer's gun holster during the struggle. According to the arrest report, several witnesses confirmed that Cardenas threw punches at the officers, who were only able to handcuff him after two of his friends arrived and told him to stop fighting.[12] [13]

The circulation of this video led to nationwide media coverage of Copwatch, and, although the LAPD had begun a use-of-force investigation the same day as the arrest, prompted an additional investigation into police conduct by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[14] A Superior Court commissioner had previously concluded that the use of force was reasonable because Cardenas was resisting arrest.[12]

International Day against Police Violence 15th March

On the International Day against Police Violence, designated as March 15, the different Copwatch groups organize actions together or in relation to each other.[15] They focus on what they say are aspects of police violence, such as racist and sexist police violence, or violence against the climate justice movement seen as critical of capitalism.[16]

Opposition to new police and security laws

Copwatch opposes increases of resources and powers for the police which they connect to increasing social militarization which they also oppose.Many Copwatch groups are involved in alliances against new police and security laws[17] that expand the police's areas of responsibility instead of solving the material roots of inequality.[18]

Information and documentation points

Many local Copwatch groups have created information and/or documentation centers. People maintaining that they are Victims of discriminatory behavior or police violence can turn to the groups for legal, financial or emotional support.[19]

Educational work

As one of the core aims of the Copwatch groups is to document police stops and support those affected, there is a call to film the police.[20] Workshops are given on how to intervene in police checks,[21] what rights one has vis-à-vis the police, and what legal powers the police have.[22]

Criticism of Capitalism

Copwatch embeds its critique of the police in a larger socio-critical framework that focuses primarily on what it sees as injustice within capitalism. Copwatch groups share a feminist, anti-racist, and anti-fascist consensus.[23] [24] [25] In doing so, they call for alternatives to the current ways of dealing with material inequality and psychological problems,[26] and strive for a more equitable transformation of society.[27] [28]

Awards

In 2013 Berkeley Copwatch was awarded the James Madison Freedom of Information Award by the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, for "effective use of public records to block a Homeland Security grant for putting an armored military vehicle on the streets of Albany and Berkeley."[29]

Criticism

Joe Arpaio, the former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, who was accused of police brutality among his deputies and corrections officers and was personally convicted of contempt of court,[30] said that his opponents' videotaping of police during traffic stops create safety concerns for his deputies.[31]

Tim Dees, former police officer and editor-in-chief of Officer.com, alleges that Copwatch selectively distributes video and photographic media to "spin" incidents against law enforcement.[32]

List of local Copwatch organizations

The following is an inexhaustive list of local Copwatch organizations

There are also groups working on the same topics:

Media coverage

Active press work and the creation of its own communication channels have helped to bring police criticism increasingly into the public eye.

On 2 August 2016, the BBC documentary NYPD: Biggest Gang in New York? aired on the British television channel BBC One, focusing on the activities of cop watchers in New York, including Ramsey Orta who filmed the death of Eric Garner.[48]

The documentary film Copwatch premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, which depicted the organization WeCopwatch, including segments on Ramsey Orta, Kevin Moore, who filmed the police abuse of Freddie Gray, and David Whitt who lived in the apartment complex where Michael Brown was killed, as well as Jacob Crawford, who seeded and co-founded Copwatch groups inspired by the Berkeley Copwatch group.[49]

On October 23, 2019, BET Network premiered a show named Copwatch America. The network describes the docu-series as a "provocative look into police brutality and whistleblowers battling the issue".[50]

See also

Further reading

External links

Media

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Visual Culture Reader, 2nd edition . Nicholas Mirzoeff . 2002 . Routledge . 978-0-415-25222-5 . 390 .
  2. Web site: Abolishing police in Germany. 23 April 2021 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210426200753/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/2021/04/23/ein-konzept-zur-abschaffung-der-polizei-in-deutschland/ . 2021-04-26 .
  3. Book: Shelley L. . Schlief . The Rodney King Beating Trial: A Landmark for Reform . . . 2007 . Steven M. . Chermak . Frankie Y. . Bailey . Crimes and Trials of the Century: From the Black Sox scandal to the Attica prison riots . 2 . ABC-CLIO . 978-0-313-34110-6 .
  4. Web site: About Phoenix Copwatch . Phoenix Copwatch . 2008-11-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907125425/http://www.phoenixcopwatch.org/about.html . September 7, 2008 .
  5. News: Emanuella Grinberg. Cop-watchers look for racial profiling on the streets of Phoenix . CNN. May 11, 2010.
  6. Web site: Michelle Chen. 'Copwatch' Activists Patrol Communities to Thwart Police Misconduct. The New Standard. 2005. 2008-11-27.
  7. Web site: How to intervene in police controls. 12 May 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200821000933/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/wie-intervenieren/ . 2020-08-21 .
  8. Web site: About Copwatch Berkeley. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200815192342/https://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/about . 2020-08-15 .
  9. Web site: WW Editorial Staff. Portland's crazed leftists / Arissa / Rose City Copwatch. Willamette Week. 14 April 2004 . 19 January 2017.
  10. News: Portland's crazed leftists / Arissa / Rose City Copwatch. Willamette Week. 2004-04-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092004/http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3024/4997. 2007-09-29. dead.
  11. Web site: Officer in James death to return to duty. Maxine Bernstein. Portland Oregonian. 2008-10-06.
  12. News: Alleged LAPD Brutality Video Sparks Probe. CBS News. 2006-11-10 . 2006-11-09.
  13. News: Video, arrest report at odds . Richard Winton . Patrick McGreevy . Andrew Blankstein . . 2006-11-11 . 2006-11-11 . 2007-10-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002436/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1160385141.html?dids=1160385141%3A1160385141&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Nov%2011%2C%202006&author=Richard%20Winton%2C%20Patrick%20McGreevy%20and%20Andrew%20Blankstein&pub=Los%20Angeles%20Times&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=THE%20STATE&%20Video%2C%20arrest%20report%20at%20odds&%20An%20LAPD%20officer%20says%20he%20punched%20William%20Cardenas%20twice.%20A%20tape%20that%20aired%20on%20YouTube%20shows%20at%20least%20six%20blows. . dead .
  14. News: YouTube.com Video Prompts Probe of LAPD. Veiga. Alex. Associated Press. 2006-11-13 . 2006-11-13. USA Today.
  15. Web site: International Day against Police Violence - Germany. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180809111358/http://15mrz.org/ . 2018-08-09 .
  16. Web site: Alliance against Police Violence Germany. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200320075530/https://buendnis1503.blackblogs.org/ . 2020-03-20 .
  17. Web site: Polizeigesetz Stoppen (Sachsen, Germany). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181213133207/https://polizeigesetz-stoppen.de/ . 2018-12-13 .
  18. Web site: Einrichtung der Waffenverbotszone Leipzig. 16 October 2018 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181017061803/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/einrichtung-der-waffenverbotszone/ . 2018-10-17 .
  19. Web site: Kooperation gegen Polizeigewalt Sachsen. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200813144119/https://www.kgp-sachsen.org/ . 2020-08-13 .
  20. Web site: Kampagne für Opfer rassistischer Polizeigewalt (Germany). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211207115942/https://kop-berlin.de/veranstaltung/go-film-the-police-aufruf-protestkundgebung-gegen-rassistische-polizeigewalt-und-racial-profiling . 2021-12-07 .
  21. Web site: Intervene in police controls. 12 May 2019 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200821000933/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/wie-intervenieren/ . 2020-08-21 .
  22. Web site: Copwatch College. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160118071845/http://wecopwatch.org:80/copwatchcollege/ . 2016-01-18 .
  23. Web site: Copwatch Leipzig. 12 September 2018 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200602201409/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/2018/09/12/kids-copwatch-le/ . 2020-06-02 .
  24. Web site: Copwatch Berkeley. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200815192342/https://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/about . 2020-08-15 .
  25. Web site: Copwatch Frankfurt. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161024162134/http://copwatchffm.org:80/?page_id=226 . 2016-10-24 .
  26. Web site: Care not Cops!. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210525165717/https://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/care-not-cops . 2021-05-25 .
  27. Web site: About Copwatch. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130630045634/http://wecopwatch.org:80/about/ . 2013-06-30 .
  28. Web site: Abolishing Police in Germany. 19 May 2021 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210521232719/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/abolish-the-police/ . 2021-05-21 .
  29. Web site: Berkeleyans Receive Awards from Society of Professional Journalists. www.berkeleydailyplanet.com. Michael O'Malley. 8 July 2016.
  30. News: Finnegan . William . Sheriff Joe: Joe Arpaio is tough on prisoners and undocumented immigrants. What about crime? . The New Yorker . July 13, 2009 . 2020-03-24 .
  31. News: ABC15.com. Nearly 70 arrested during Arpaio's West Valley crime sweeps . https://web.archive.org/web/20091021083210/http://www.abc15.com/content/news/westvalley/surprise/story/Nearly-70-arrested-during-Arpaio-s-West-Valley/IVjY5KNxnEWn-CkwFVE15Q.cspx. October 21, 2009. October 20, 2009. October 30, 2009.
  32. Web site: Cop Watch. Tim Dees. officer.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20080614191025/http://www.officer.com/interactive/2006/11/17/copwatch/ . 2008-06-14.
  33. Web site: Krupanski. Marc. Policing the Police: Civilian Video Monitoring of Police Activity. theglobaljournal.net. The Global Journal. 8 July 2016.
  34. http://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/ Anti Police Terror Project
  35. http://peacefulstreets.com/ Peaceful Streets Project
  36. Web site: Washington. Shirley. Copwatch opens office in Ferguson. fox2now.com. 11 November 2014. Tribune Broadcasting. 8 July 2016.
  37. Web site: They’ve Been Filming the Police for Almost Two Decades. Meet America’s Copwatchers, Tim Stelloh, 4/4/2017, Fusion . 2017-04-26 . 2017-04-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170426153148/https://fusion.net/they-ve-been-filming-the-police-for-almost-two-decades-1793991402 . dead .
  38. http://www.peoplesresponseteamchicago.org/ People's Response Team
  39. Web site: Copwatch America Inc. | Police Accountability | Police Brutality .
  40. Web site: COPWATCH.com - Policing the Police and Fighting Police Brutality. www.copwatch.org. 2019-01-26.
  41. Web site: Copwatch Hamburg (Germany). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025224526/https://copwatchhamburg.blackblogs.org/ . 2020-10-25 .
  42. Web site: Copwatch Frankfurt am Main. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305085223/http://copwatchffm.org:80/ . 2016-03-05 .
  43. Web site: Copwatch Leipzig. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190406013159/https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog/ . 2019-04-06 .
  44. Web site: KOP Berlin. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20030827173654/http://www.kop-berlin.de:80/ . 2003-08-27 .
  45. Web site: KOP Bremen. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170831022413/https://kopbremen.noblogs.org/ . 2017-08-31 .
  46. Web site: KOP Kiel. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170915052517/http://kop-kiel.de/ . 2017-09-15 .
  47. Web site: KGP Sachsen. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200805142312/https://www.kgp-sachsen.org/en/ . 2020-08-05 .
  48. Web site: NYPD: Biggest Gang in New York? - BBC Three. BBC. 2016-08-02.
  49. Web site: Copwatch 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. 2020-08-20. Tribeca.
  50. Web site: BET Shines a light on Police Brutality with Copwatch America. BET.

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