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From the Los Angeles Times

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Occupy protests put spotlight on police tactics

A post-9/11 climate has led some departments to respond more forcefully to Occupy protests in Northern California than they might have before, observers say.

by Maria L. La Ganga, Larry Gordon and Geraldine Baum, Los Angeles Times

November 24, 2011

Reporting from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York -- Police efforts to break up Occupy encampments in Northern California and elsewhere have led to investigations, apologies and lawsuits. And now the soul-searching: Why did some officers use what is being described as excessive force, wielding batons and pepper spray, against apparently peaceful protesters?

The tough response to the 2-month-old movement of civil disobedience — particularly in Oakland and on campuses in Berkeley and Davis — is an outgrowth, some say, of factors that include the spontaneous nature of the Occupy protests and two post-9/11 trends: a heightened police sensitivity to threats and a more militaristic approach to police work.

"I think we're talking about a long-term trend accelerated in the post-9/11 era," said George Ciccariello-Maher, a political scientist at Drexel University in Philadelphia. After the attacks, "the federal government began to provide military technology to police agencies, a very clear upping of the stakes."

Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, who presided over the chaotic and violent response to the World Trade Organization protests in his city in 1999, faults what he calls the militarization of police forces across America in the last 10 years for the heavy-handed crackdowns on Occupy protesters.

"Everyday policing is characterized by a SWAT mentality, every other 911 call a military mission," Stamper wrote recently in The Nation. "What emerges is a picture of a vital public-safety institution perpetually at war with its own people."

Others see the very nature of the movement — leaderless and spontaneous — as stymieing police departments that have been well-trained in responding to more traditional forms of protest, particularly in New York City, the birthplace of Occupy Wall Street.

Jon Shane, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in police policy, said New York cops are well-trained to handle planned occurrences but have struggled with "the unique challenge of a rapidly evolving situation."

With Occupy Wall Street, "you don't know if half the group is going to Wall Street or the other half goes to Times Square," said Shane, who is a retired Newark, N.J., police captain. "That's part of the tactics covered under riot control. You have to have a cadre of people ready to move rapidly."

The most vilified police responses to Occupy protests all happened in Northern California, a region with a long history of civic demonstrations and law enforcement agencies accustomed to civil disobedience.

Two of those were on University of California campuses — Friday's pepper-spraying of seated students at UC Davis and the wielding of batons against protesters, including former poet laureate Robert Haas, at UC Berkeley on Nov. 9.

UC President Mark G. Yudof this week launched an investigation into the Davis incident, which will be headed by former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, and a review of police policies in handling student protests at all 10 UC campuses.

The varied responses to Occupy encampments have highlighted vastly different policing practices across the country — and even within the UC system.

Although all UC police departments' 300 or so sworn officers operate under an 86-page, systemwide guideline, officials at each campus have wide discretion, particularly in adapting use-of-force policies. For example, said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein, departments at UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA do not use Tasers, but other departments do.

"UCSF has a six-level continuum" in addressing protesters, Klein said. Level 1 involves "mere presence, show and look mean," she explained. "Six is deadly force. Pepper spray and batons are Level 5.

"Again, it's not a stair-step, where each must be applied before you go to the next…. Escalation is based on sound judgment."

At UC Berkeley, Police Chief Mitch Celaya has not authorized the use of large pepper spray canisters like the ones used against students at Davis, said Capt. Margo Bennett. "It is just something we would rather not use on our campus."

Although officers carry small canisters on their utility belts, Bennett said, it is "not intended for primary use in dispersing crowds."

The incident at Berkeley is under review, Bennett said, declining to discuss specifics. But officers used their batons because "the crowd behavior at that moment was not a simple peaceful linking of arms. It was active resistance, where the crowd was pushing against police and acting in a non-peaceful manner."

On Tuesday, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau issued an audio apology to the Berkeley community, extending his "sympathies to any of you who suffered an injury during these protests. As chancellor, I take full responsibility for these events and will do my very best to ensure that this does not happen again."

Bennett said officers were acting on orders of the administration to clear out the Occupy Cal encampment: "On this particular day, it was not the protest that was of issue," she said. "It was the encampment and the erection of tents. The administration said no tents."

About 30 Berkeley students plan to file a lawsuit against the university and others in federal court Monday, according to their attorney, Monica Smith.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi also apologized this week to students at Davis. In a letter to protesters Friday, Katehi had ordered their tents to come down. But Wednesday, Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter said police were acting against orders when they used pepper spray on students.

Hexter said he was involved in high-level discussions about the Davis encampment before police moved in, and "the chancellor and I and others in those discussions made it very clear that we wanted this to go forward peaceably.

"We definitely did not want a repeat of Berkeley, where batons were used," Hexter said. "We also discussed quite openly that, if the numbers were too large and the police chief felt that her force could not handle it peacefully, they were to disengage."

Bratton, who will lead the investigation into the Davis incident, said he believes it is important to look at agencies' responses to the Occupy movement in light of how policing has changed since the protests of the 1960s.

Police departments in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle have been given relatively high marks for their responses.

"Each city is responding differently and in some cases responding to the specific actions of demonstrators," Bratton said. "So in Oakland, for example, you had more aggressive protests and more aggressive response."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-police-civil-disobedience-20111124,0,817670,print.story

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FBI arrests 7 Amish men on hate-crime charges

FBI agents on Wednesday raided an Ohio compound and arrested seven Amish men on hate charges in connection with haircutting attacks on other members of the usually isolated Christian religion.

The early morning arrests opened a window in the world of the Amish, who are known for shunning modern conveniences, using horses and buggies rather than cars, and preferring to deal with their problems within their traditional and ordered communities, without going to outside civil authorities.

Court papers, distributed by the Justice Department after the raid, paint a picture of those arrested as a schismatic group with some of the attributes of a cult, at battle with the traditionalist and pacifist religion.

At the center of the splinter group is Samuel Mullet Sr., who with his family and followers left the established Amish community in Frederickstown, Ohio, in 1995 to establish a separate group in Bergholz, Ohio. Ohio ranks right behind Pennsylvania with the second-largest number of Amish, about 61,000 in the rural areas outside Cleveland.

In addition to Mullet, the Justice Department said that his sons, Johnny, Daniel and Lester, were also arrested, as was Emanuel Schrock, Mullett's son-in-law. Levi F. Miller and Eli M. Miller, identified as members of the Bergholz community, were also arrested.

All are charged with conspiring to carry out a series of assaults over the last few months on Amish men and women, cutting off their beards and head hair with scissors and battery-powered clippers. The acts were especially heinous to the Amish who believe there is a biblical injunction to shaving when men marry.

If convicted, the suspects face up to life in prison, the government said.

Wednesday's raids cap years of disputes between Mullet and other parts of the Amish community. In 2005, eight families who were part of Mullet's group moved away from Bergholz, citing religious differences. Mullet, as head of the splinter group, excommunicated those who left.

But in keeping with Amish policies, other bishops investigated the excommunication and overturned Mullet's decision and allowed the families to join other Amish communities in Ohio, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.

One of the victims of the haircutting was a bishop who served on the committee that overturned the excommunications, according to court papers.

According to the affidavit, Mullet's daughter-in-law and former son-in-law explained how Mullet “controls all aspects of the lives of the Bergholz clan members. ... In disregard for Amish teachings and scripture, Samuel Mullet Sr. has forced extreme punishments and physical injury to those in the community who defy him, including forcing members to sleep for days at a time in a chicken coop” and allowing others to beat those who disobey.

In addition, the pair alleged that Mullet “has been ‘counseling' the married women in the Bergholz clan and taking them into his home so that he may cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy.”

In an October interview with the Associated Press, Mullet said that he didn't order the haircutting but didn't stop his sons and others from carrying it out. He said the goal of the haircutting was to send a message to local Amish that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating Mullet and his community, according to the court papers.

“They changed the rulings of our church here, and they're trying to force their way down our throat, make us do like they want us to do, and we're not going to do that,” Mullet said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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From Google News

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Louisville police help church deliver Thanksgiving meals to needy

During his first year in the department, Louisville Metro Police Officer Scott McConnell heard that help was needed in delivering Thanksgiving meals to elderly and indigent members of the community. So he enlisted the assistance of his daughter, Amanda.

On Wednesday father and daughter made their third trip to Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church to help plate Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings to take to members of the community.

“I just like cooking the meals,” said 9-year-old Amanda, who added that one of the highlights is “hanging out and spending some time with my dad and helping others get a good Thanksgiving.”

This is the 13th year that police have paired with the church to cook up turkey, gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese, stuffing and corn pudding. Police officers come to the church to pack up the meals and then deliver them to people who may be alone for the holiday. Officers also served meals this year to residents at Flaget Apartments and Lourdes Hall.

When the outreach first began, Deputy Chief Yvette Gentry, who coordinates the event, said they helped about 200 people. Now more than 500 people are served by the effort.

This year, Gentry said, she was overwhelmed by the generosity she received in supporting the event. She said Kentucky Harvest once again donated the turkeys and much of the food, including canned goods collected by a second-grade class at Sacred Heart Academy.

“It was amazing,” she said.

“This is community policing at the next level,” said Chief Robert White, who took his two granddaughters to help deliver meals. “Volunteering is one of the most important things we can do as citizens, and to see police officers do it warms my heart.”

While he has volunteered before, this is the first year White brought his granddaughters, Cecelia and Camille Moore, who are in town visiting for the holiday and asked if they could go along.

“It's cool,” said Cecelia, 7. “We get to meet a lot of people. We're giving out food to people who don't have money and make their Thanksgiving nicer.”

Said White: “My two granddaughters need to learn early on in life the importance of volunteering.”

Lt. Josh Judah, who works in the city's 4th Division, which includes Old Louisville, came to volunteer for the first time with the Thanksgiving program.

He said the opportunity to hand out some food in a non-adversarial circumstance is valuable in helping the community understand that police want to help.

“It's an opportunity to go out and directly affect someone's holiday,” Judah said. “This is the time of year when people are at their loneliest.”

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111123/NEWS01/311230064/1001/Louisville-police-help-church-deliver-Thanksgiving-meals-needy

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From the FBI

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The FBI and DNA
Part 1: Maintaining the Nationwide System that Helps Solve Crimes

11/23/11

The use of DNA—which carries individuals' unique genetic information—to help solve crimes has become such a fundamental tool for law enforcement that it's hard to believe this technique of matching unknown profiles to known offenders is a fairly recent phenomenon.

The FBI launched the National DNA Index System (NDIS) in 1998—along with the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) software to manage the program—and since that time it has become the world's largest repository of known offender DNA records. Last year, in partnership with local, state, and federal crime laboratories and law enforcement agencies, CODIS aided nearly 25,000 criminal investigations.

FBI.gov recently sat down with Douglas Hares, a Ph.D. scientist at the FBI Laboratory who is the custodian of the National DNA Database.

Q: How did the Bureau come to play such a key role in using DNA to help solve crimes?

Hares: DNA technology was first introduced in criminal court cases around 1988. When the FBI saw the potential for exchanging and comparing DNA profiles to help solve crimes—crimes that might not be solved in any other way—the concept of a national program was born. In 1994, Congress passed the DNA Identification Act, which gave the FBI authority to establish a national database. During the next few years, the FBI developed, tested, and implemented the CODIS software as well as training support for states authorized to collect DNA samples from offenders. In 1998, we started NDIS with nine participating states. Now, all 50 states participate, and NDIS currently contains over 10 million DNA profiles.

Q: What is a DNA profile?

Hares: A DNA profile, or type, is just a series of numbers. These numbers are assigned to an individual based on specific identification markers on his or her DNA molecule. In CODIS, those numbers represent a person's one-of-a-kind DNA profile.

Q: How does CODIS use those profiles to solve crimes?

Hares: A forensic laboratory receives evidence in a criminal investigation and is asked to perform DNA testing on that evidence. The evidence may be part of a rape case or a homicide. Or maybe there is a murder weapon that contains DNA. The DNA profile obtained from the crime scene evidence is called a forensic unknown. The laboratory doesn't know whose profile it is, but they know it is associated with the crime. The laboratory enters that profile into CODIS. If it's a local case, the profile is entered into the local CODIS system and uploaded to the state level. At the state level, the profile will be compared with all the offenders from that state's database. The forensic unknown may or may not match with other DNA records at the state level. On a weekly basis, the state uploads its DNA records to NDIS, the national level. We search the profile against all 50 states' offender profiles to see if there is a match; if there is, the CODIS software automatically returns messages in the system to the laboratories involved. The local labs evaluate the matches and release that information to the law enforcement agency. That is how a previously unknown DNA profile is associated with a known offender.

Q: Who has access to CODIS?

Hares: By federal law, access is generally limited to criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identification purposes. That federal law also authorizes access for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant in connection with his or her case. CODIS was designed to ensure the confidentiality of the DNA record. No personal identifiers, such as name, social security number, or date of birth are stored in CODIS.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/dna_112311/dna_112311

From the Department of Homeland Security

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On Cyber Monday, Don't Let a Cyber Grinch Steal Your Holiday Spirit...or Your Passwords

• Pay close attention to website URLs . Pay attention to the URLs of websites you visit. Malicious websites sometimes use a variation in common spelling or a different domain (for example, .com instead of .net) to deceive unsuspecting computer users.
  
  
• Protect your $$ : When banking and shopping, check to be sure the site is security enabled. Look for web addresses with "https://" or "shttp://", which means the site takes extra measures to help secure your information. "Http://" is not secure.
  
  
• Use a credit card - There are laws to limit your liability for fraudulent credit card charges, and you may not have the same level of protection when using your debit card.
  
  
• Check your statements - Keep a record of your purchases and copies of confirmation pages, and compare them to your bank statements. If there is a discrepancy, report it immediately.
  
  
• Check privacy policies - Before providing personal or financial information, check the website's privacy policy.
  
  
• As always, keep your operating system, browser, anti-virus and other critical software up to date . Security updates and patches are available for free from major companies.

Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and each of us has a role to play. For more basic tips to stay safe while shopping online, visit:

www.dhs.gov/files/cybersecurity.shtm

http://blog.dhs.gov/2011/11/on-cyber-monday-dont-let-cyber-grinch.html

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