Emergency rally: Tuesday April 24, 1.30pm NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney On Tuesday April 24 at 1.30pm we will be holding a rally outside the NSW Parliament House to protest the violence and abuse of the NSW police as exampled by the circumstances at Kings Cross and five police-related deaths in custody so far this year already.

We will also be putting to the Barry O’Farrell government, and police minister Mike Gallacher specifically, that tasers be withdrawn from the frontline police due to their lethality. If you can make it to this rally and support us please do. Help us to make justice – not just us! The April 22 shooting of two Aboriginal teenagers in a stolen car at Kings Cross focuses the mind on just how violent are the NSW Police Force and the police in the rest of this country.

I do not condone car theft (and yes I have suffered having my car stolen) or any other crime for that matter but I certainly would argue that the crime is hardly a hanging offence. The allegedly stolen car had six young Aborigines, aged between 13 and 24, inside of it when the police drew their guns and fired through the windscreen. Why couldn’t they shoot the tyres out? They didn’t because they are not trained to shoot out tyres, they are trained to shoot to kill. Perhaps the occupants were armed, possibly attempting to shoot out the tyres could have led to the death or wounding of civilians? The driver elected to attempt an escape, so we are told, and tasers were useless in this situation so they pulled their Glocks and let loose. But then shooting the driver was no guarantee that the car would stop – it could have caused greater mayhem.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of that situation, what followed was police brutality at its worst. Both TV reports and still shots clearly show police exacting their own brand of punishment upon at least one of the occupants of the car. Troy Taylor, the alleged driver, had been wounded twice, once in the chest and an arm/shoulder wound. Troy had a wound to his neck and he was seen to be bleeding profusely from his wound. Troy was dragged from the car seat, with force that would of caused him further pain. Then the officer doing the extraction is seen laying into Troy with his fist. It was obvious to anyone watching that Troy was definitely not resisting arrest in any manner. While on the ground he was also knelt on as they put the cuffs on him. (This practice of kneeling or sitting on the victims back is a most dangerous act as was evidenced by the knee-drop from Hurley to Mulrinji Doomadgee in 2004 and the kneeling/sitting on the back of Terrance Briscoe in the Alice Springs lock-up in January of this year. Positional asphyxia would have been an important causal link to his death.

Still the police around the country continues to use this form of arrest technique as it is far safer for them to do so. Does the life of a police officer far outweighs that of any member of the citizenry?) We then saw an officer grab hold of Troy’s shirt and roughly drag him over the roadway like a sack of potatoes. He was then dumped face-down and cuffed but one can see that he was still bleeding profusely. I have seen no visuals of the driver being extracted but the procedure would have been the same even though he was wounded twice. Both are in critical condition in hospital. This disgusting and inhuman treatment handed out by those police involved at the Kings Cross scene however comes as no great surprise. In a four-month period, roughly, we have had at least five deaths in custody relative to police actions and two near-death events that could be fatal in one case at least.

At Springwood, NSW a 67-year old man walked into the Springwood police station and he then collapsed and died. Nothing else is known about the circumstances of that death. In February police around Bathurst were involved in a high speed pursuit of a stolen car and other acts. The car eventually crashed and the two occupants were arrested and taken to Bathurst gaol where the 22 year old driver collapsed in his cell and died. He was offered assistance at the Bathurst hospital but for whatever reason he refused to comply. Also in February 21 Magistrate Geoffrey Dunleavey threw out a case against Phillip Bugmy of Wilcannia and charged the police instead for tasering Phillip in his home whilst Phillip was on his knees with his hands behind his head. Sometimes magistrates do stand up to the police.

On the March 18 a police action led to the death of Roberto Laudisio Curti by six police who decided to play cat and mouse with Roberto as they chased him through the streets of Sydney. They had maced him and let him run blind, they caught him and video shows them slamming his head into the frame of the shop window and again let him run. Then they tasered him at least three times and allowed him to run until he collapsed and died. On March 25 at the end of a police pursuit the victim, Darren Neil, was cornered at the Westfield shopping centre whereby he was then shot dead by the officer who had pursued him. Details are sketchy and we have only the police version to go on. April 16 found the police up Tenterfield, NSW in a situation that the victim seemed to be suffering a psychotic attack. It was alleged that he had a crossbow and a knife and threatened the police who were present. The female officer fired off a taser but missed so the male officer drew his Glock and killed the victim. Over in Western Australia a police officer who was in a high speed pursuit of a stolen car ran a red light in the process and crashed into a civilian vehicle. The woman died and the officer is being charged for dangerous driving.

We urgently need, as a society, to manage our police better and make them far more accountable for their actions and their mistakes.

For more information call Ray Jackson at 0450651063 or Raul Bassi at 0403037376  Indigenous Social Justice Association

- Police withdraw six more camping charges

- Altogether 11 camping/staying overnight matters have been dismissed due to lack of evidence
- Magistrate finds prosecution’s evidence “essentially unreliable” and the arrest to have been made illegally
- One sentence overturned and conviction quashed on appeal while Judge commends “courage”
- Federal Court challenge to police actions continues, led by Stuart Littlemore QC
Last Friday 13th April, over 25 participants in Occupy Sydney came before the courts, largely for matters arising from the first police clearance of the Occupy Sydney protest site on 23rd October 2011. In another victory for the right to protest against greed and injustice in Australia NSW police were forced to withdraw six matters alleging ‘camping’. The continuing illegitimate police tactics towards the Occupy Sydney movement only serve to reinforce the public perception of a poorly directed NSW Police force.
These events follow two similar recently withdrawn matters. On 4th April, due to insufficient evidence the court also dismissed a charge of a breach of a local council regulation prohibiting “staying overnight”. Magistrate Bradd in the Downing Centre found the prosecution’s evidence to be lacking and “essentially unreliable”. He also made remarks about the illegality of the initial arrest given the absence of reasonable grounds for the police to suspect an offence had occurred.

In that case, the police officers involved included Detective Sergeant Damien Loone from the Rocks Police Station, commander of Operation Goulding, responsible for the policing of the Occupy Sydney protest. Robert Hammond, a 66-year-old pensioner and Occupy Sydney participant from the Central Coast, was forced to spend 10 hours in police custody in early February for the alleged offence of “staying overnight” in Martin Place. Mr. Hammond successfully defended himself by exposing the lack of evidence for the offence and the inappropriate use of arrest and bail, far in excess of the alleged offence, so as to prevent him from returning to the Occupy Sydney demonstration site in Martin Place.
On 12th April, Vicki Smart, also an Occupy participant, successfully challenged the severity of her sentence earlier this year regarding a solidarity action against Westpac’s redundancies and offshoring. The Judge found that Ms. Smart’s original sentence was excessive, and commented on her courage in the action itself. The Judge then ordered a Section 10 “no conviction recorded” replace the original conviction.

Since mid-October 2011, NSW police have made over 90 arrests of people who, through Occupy Sydney, have been demonstrating against economic injustice and government indifference. The vast majority of legal matters relate to alleged breaches of local council regulations by ‘camping’ or “staying overnight”. ‘To date, not a single charge has succeeded in court. In total, ten charges have either been withdrawn by police or dismissed by the court due to lack of evidence. This shows a clear pattern of political abuse directed towards Occupy Sydney, something which we have been forced to endure for these last six months. Globally police forces have behaved irrationally towards peaceful protesters participating in this movement and we urge the relevant bodies to engage with addressing these issues’ said ….. an Occupy Sydney participant These courtroom victories expose the police attempts to criminalise involvement in the Occupy Sydney demonstration.

Occupy Sydney is also challenging the constitutional basis of police actions in the Federal Court. Stuart Littlemore QC, with instructions from solicitors in Marsden’s Law Group, is representing Occupy Sydney to challenge whether police evictions, arrests, property seizures and other actions conducted on the premise of enforcing a Council notice prohibiting ‘camping’, are in breach of the implied right to the freedom of political communication in the Constitution.
Occupy Sydney’s Federal Court case is similar to one brought by Occupy Melbourne, which is currently awaiting a decision on its recent hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne. The outcomes of these challenges will have important consequences for the right of all Australians to protest freely in public without state sponsored interference and intimidation.
Participants in Occupy Sydney will continue to challenge attempts to criminalise their political activity and demonstrations against continued financial and environmental crisis. The next directions hearing for the Federal Court case will be 22nd May at the Federal Court. On 30th May at the Downing Centre, the barrister and media figure Charles Waterstreet will continue his pro bono defence of Lily Hatten, a 19-year-old woman who is one of the most active participants in Occupy Sydney, also charged with “staying overnight”.
Media contacts:

Vicki Smart 0447 842 547

Wenny Theresia – 0452 101 002

Jacquelene Drinkall – 0414 551 791

Tomorrow, Friday March 30th  our very own Lily has her hearing for a ‘staying overnight’ charge from the big eviction on 2nd Feb. It’s our first hearing on ‘staying overnight’.  She has representation by very high-profile barrister Charles Waterstreet – Occupy Sydney is grateful for his time and effort defending this case!
Please come along if you can, 9.30am @ Downing Centre, to show your support for Lily, Occupy Sydney, and observe what will likely be a very interesting hearing!

Solidarity, occupy justice!

See you all tomorrow.

Occupy Sydney shares the following information to raise awareness of a protest on Tuesday April 3rd at 12.30 at 45 Clarence Street. The following text has not been altered in any way or edited simply re posted and shared on as intended. We hope to see you there to support this, and to show the NSW Police that their response to this incident was inexcusable.

JUSTICE FOR ROBERTO LAUDISIO CURTI

The death in custody of Roberto Curti at the hands of 6 police officers early on Sunday morning is another one that cannot keep going without a response. . Having watched the video of a part of the chase it is quite clear that the alleged “biscuits thief”, as he was described at the time of the chase, was running away from the 6 police officers and thus is proven to have not caused any danger to those officers. So there is no logical conclusion why he was tasered in his back, THREE TIMES, as he was running away. Also, it has been said that the victim had already been sprayed with capsicum spray and probably his eyes were burning, so he was running to get away from being sprayed again. This is a logic conclusion, however never was accepted by the police.

Also, the fact that 6 police officers could have caught the victim without the use of a taser never has been mentioned. Ray Jackson, one of the more committed campaigners against the Death in Custody, said: “I know that police around Australia, with the single exception of Tasmania, all swear that the taser is a required weapon and continue to falsely argue that tasers do not kill. They, of course do kill as was shown in Queensland in 2009 and now here. There are multiple deaths by taser recorded overseas but still the manufacturer believes that tasers do not kill. That is a bald-faced lie. Tasers must be withdrawn from frontline officers before any more citizens are killed unnecessarily by them. Unlike the USA we do not have a culture of guns and I do not understand why our frontline officers, especially those new recruits still in their teens, need to be so heavily armed when they do not have the maturity to use those weapons. I know they are trained to whatever level of expertise they can attain but you cannot train for panic or frustration at the circumstances of the event that they are involved in. Police at all ranks and time in the force will forget whatever training they may have had and will kill, whether by taser or hand gun”. And yesterday, the NSW police “supported the Ray Jacksons assertion”, killing with a gun an unarmed man in Parramatta shopping Centre.

So, we are witnessing another Death in Custody, like TJ Hickey in Redfern, or Mulrunji in Palm Island, or Terence Briscoe in Alice Spring. A how do we know that is a death in custody? Because the police, the classic allies of police: the shock jocks, Daily Terror, the current affairs programs together with the politicians, ministers, even the Premier O’Farrell, are talking about tasers and the needs of their use and no saying a word about the dead person. Where is the statement of any of these about the terrible tragedy of the killing of an innocent person?  The only things that you can hear from them are all the innuendos, maybe stole a pack of biscuits, or was on drugs, was sick or any other thing that could confirm that Roberto was doing something wrong. And he was. He was just passing through a group of police totally committed to find the responsible of the “terrible robbery” committed against a convenience store.

So is time to act. The Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) is calling to all the Latinos and their organizations to come together with the activists of the Deaths in Custody campaign, the defenders of the Refugee rights, all the human rights campaigners to the Brazilian Consulate, 45 Clarence st, Sydney, at 12.30 on Tuesday 3rd of April, to present a letter to the Consul demanding justice. Contact all your friends, networks, bring your flags, your banners and came together.

For more information contact Ray Jackson at 0450651063 or Raul Bassi at 0403037376

Messages of support can be sent to isja01@internode.on.net.

This Friday we start Occupy Fridays. We plan to welcome anyone who wants to join us for a Friday night occupation of Martin Place, kids events from 4pm (face painting etc) food, yoga classes, meditation, language lessons and more.

FB event http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/383184271699706/

This week to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters at Occupy Wall Street we will hold a peaceful candle lit vigil at 8pm to show our support for those arrested in brutal fashion by the NYPD over the weekend. This police force is inexcusable and in one case a female occupier had bones broken only to be later charged with assaulting an officer. Join us for Occupy Fridays and also for this solidarity action to show the world why we occupy. Another world free from fear of a police state is possible.

BYO candle and messages of support for Zuccotti Park.

Update – Video from March 23rd Solidarity Action

Occupy Sydney has been present in Martin Place for the last 152 days. A crucial part of the occupation is open public discussion of issues concerning humanity and the planet. Some of these discussions are organised into a ‘Free School’, held on most Saturday afternoons.

Free School is:

A space for honest, frank and respectful discussion and the building of solidarity amongst participants

Open for everyone to present or join sessions and workshops

A collective way to address questions about Occupy Sydney’s directions and purposes

An approach to building the movement and keeping it relevant and sustainable

An occasion to discuss how we relate to existing movements, groups and struggles

A place of learning about practical skills and interests helpful to Occupy participants

An opportunity for enjoyable group conversations and fun in growing together.

This Saturday we have the following workshops confirmed

1.30-2.30pm
Sydney  University cuts, the need for students in Australia to get organised with Mark, Sunil, Laura and Frank

Our education is under neoliberal attack: About 300 university staff is at risk of losing their jobs, the teachers, their union and the students have rejected such proposals, hopefully some students and staff from the university will talk about what has been done, what could be done in the future of the dispute and hopefully other students and staff from other universities can be there to talk about their situations.
2.45-3.45pm
Our security on the net with Neil

Climate Change Action and Class with Holly

Building a big movement for climate justice – fighting for affordable renewable energy for all

Electricity prices are rising – and set to increase dramatically in the coming years.  In Australia, and across the world, the profits of big energy companies are escalating, while more and more people cannot afford to pay.

But the climate movement is stuck in a difficult debate controlled by big business.  Climate change impacts are described in terms of percentages of lost Arctic sea ice, far-flung time-frames, and dire scientific warnings. The dominant  solution is a volatile global carbon market – “least cost” to business while we foot the bill.  It suits government and industry to keep the debate on this limited terrain – but we need to build a movement that includes millions of people across Australia.

How can we connect the global impacts of climate change to the everyday experiences of Australians struggling to pay their energy bills?  What solutions can make a difference to addressing climate change and economic inequality? How will we organise our communities on a large-scale to win affordable, renewable and democratic energy systems?
4-5pm Femicides in Mexico with Sydney Action for Juarez.

In the last twenty years, hundreds of young women have been murdered in the northern Mexico city of Juarez.  Their bodies have been found in the desert or in vacant blocks, often with signs of brutal abuse.  It’s an extreme example of the problem of violence against women, and there is now an international movement calling for action to prevent more killings of this kind: Ni Una Mas, Not One Woman More.  In this workshop, organized by the solidarity group Sydney Action for Juarez (find us on Facebook), we will discuss the events in Juarez and the forces that have combined to produce a perfect storm of violence against women: among them resurgent patriarchy, neoliberal globalization, labour migration, narco-traffic, violent masculinities, state indifference and corruption, US wealth, the “war on drugs” and the militarization of the border.  We will discuss Australia’s position in these processes, global solidarity, and strategies for peace in the presence of gender violence.

Facebook event for this week http://www.facebook.com/events/170948553022422/

If you have an idea for a workshop, please contact us at occupysydneyfreeschool@gmail.com. If you could send us a short description and your preferred Saturday and session time (either 1.30 – 2.30, 2.45 – 3.45 or 4 – 5) that would be great! People are also very welcome to come along to Free School on the day and announce workshops and put them on. If you want support in running a workshop, please get in touch with the Free School working group and we’d love to help you out.

Photo by Liam

Friday March 16th is International Occupy Monsanto day!

In the spirit of the day Occupy Sydney will be starting a little non GM, all natural garden at Martin Place free from the evils of Monsanto seeds and other GM products.

Join us at 4pm this Friday  at Martin Place, and bring a little potted plant or two, paper cups with soil, seeds, signs, and other things to make your point that we don’t want Monsanto to own our food!

Some resources:

http://www.facebook.com/occupymonsanto

http://occupymonsanto.wordpress.com/

http://www.naturalnews.com/035221_Roundup_soil_health_food_supply.html

Video from Occupy Sydney Monsanto Action. (Some Offensive Language)