Phoenix PD attack marchers, mace children at Arpaio protest : AZ IMC

We couldn't agree with Sal Reza more when he says, "There was provocation by some groups who came here for their own purpose to disrupt a peaceful march." We know he isn't talking about us, because he invited members of the Diné, O'odham, anarchist/anti-authoritarian bloc on stage to speak at the rally at Falcon Park.

So, who is the outside faction Sal's talking about? In our opinion it must be the Phoenix Police. Unprovoked, a female officer on horseback (who later covered her name on her uniform) charged her horse headlong into the march, colliding with several people and in the process almost running over at least one child in a stroller. After attacking families and protesters, she then whipped out her pepper spray and let loose on the whole crowd, who fled the noxious spew. In the process, children were blasted with pepper spray.

After that, other Phoenix PD officers stormed the crowd, violently attacking marchers, dragging several to the ground and further deploying their chemical weapons from all directions in an attempt to justify their their aggression by nabbing a few people. Dozens were so affected that they were soaked in chemicals, having to strip off clothes to stop the burning. Street medics (not Phoenix Fire Department) and other protesters came to each others' aid. At the end of the melee, out of the more than a hundred that marched together, four of our comrades were in chains and countless others stood bleeding, bruised and momentarily stunned.

Still, shaking it off, we rallied, facing down the cops, until eventually they withdrew. We celebrated and took turns speaking out about what it's like to be under attack by a system that values property and power over people.

Indeed, during the entire march the Phoenix police had been provoking marchers. Riding bikes and golf carts into people. Pushing and shoving. For what? To keep one northbound lane open? Rather than assaulting people expressing their legitimate desires to see an end to oppression, why not shut down the street? Cops do traffic control all the time. What's wrong with PPD? Why, for instance, is it somehow possible for Tempe PD to shut down Tempe streets tomorrow for the corporate schlock that is "PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon" tomorrow but not for PPD to close off a few streets so that people can assemble without threat of attack? Truly a backwards system indeed!

The police have so far put forward several different explanations for what happened, all of which contradict each other. On one channel they say that they were breaking up a fight. On another they say that people were throwing bottles. And on and on. What'll it be in five minutes, we wonder? The contradictory stories ought to be your first clue that what they're claiming happened didn't in fact happen. No surprise that the media swallowed it. But if we know they're lying, we have to wonder why anyone else would defend their actions?

Did people fight back against the police assault. We don't know because our eyes were full of pepper spray, but we wouldn't begrudge them if they did. To be charged into by a twelve hundred pound horse, while attacked by thugs using chemical weapons necessarily evokes the instinct to fight back, especially when your enemy is so vile as to assault children. Police demand the impossible from people. They expect you to allow them to attack you while at the same time demanding that you suppress you gut, human tendency to defend yourself. There is nothing "peaceful" in that relationship. That sort of power relation is one that condemns those who resist while exonerating the violence of those from above. It reflects the current distribution of power -- a distribution we want to change drastically. This is as unnatural as fighting power without taking action. Movements, like people, have a right to self-defense. For us, that has to be in the form of direct action and civil disobedience against the system. It must be made not to work unless our demands are met. No more mediation through shady politicians. No more appealing to power through moral arguments. We can take our futures into our own hands, directly.

Still, we're not surprised that the police attacked. While it seems the leaders of the movement are eager to make excuses for police who attack children, we know that what we saw today is but a glimpse of what the cops do everyday. We see it with our own eyes. They are the outside, alien force that first and foremost defends white supremacy and capitalism. How can someone say they are organizing a "peaceful march" when they work with such sadists? Naturally they were going to attack the march eventually, especially considering the militaristic fashion in which they deployed. Phoenix PD deports more migrants than Sheriff Joe and yet we are told that we ought to give them a pass so that we can focus on that clown Arpaio? We saw today just how foolish that strategy is.

In our eyes, this is but a symptom of the failure of the strategy being pursued by the movement as it is. White supremacy in Arizona goes far beyond one ancient sheriff in one county. Ballot measures attacking people of color will almost certainly pass in Arizona yet again this year with 70 or 80 percent margins. Is this Sheriff Joe's fault? Obviously not. But marches against Joe won't stop that.

We need a broader movement with a critique beyond Joe so that we can challenge the whole problem -- one that stretches from Tohono O'odham land down south to the land of the Diné up north. And everywhere in between. And we need to break from this mode of organizing that can only deliver more oppression and more violence down on our heads. No more politicians. No more working with cops. Look what it brings.

This is why we supported the call for the Diné, O'odham, anarchist/anti-authoritarian bloc. For someone to say now when it is inconvenient that we are an outside force is to replicate the marginalization that for centuries has dominated the discourse around land and movement in this region. But PCWC's native comrades didn't come from outside. They were always here. And we stand with them.

i was there, witnessed the whole thing and yeah, the "movement" folks show their true colors by siding with the polices/state.
No surprise here.

p.s. love to IMC for keeping us informed!

Where was ICE during this march. Why didn't they start arresting these parasites and beat the hell out of the anarchist pieces of shit.

YouTube video of the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9ysthwvIyM&feature=youtube_gdata

As an anarchist from Az, the word I got was that the march would be a place where we focused on messaging. This came from people who had been discussing what Dine, O'Odham & Anarchists could do together to push more critique of Arpaio and the police state.
Hanging back from the bloc now and then, I witnessed numerous marchers, many people of color, expressing their frustration with police and immigration policy as vigorously as any anti-authoritarian. Shouts of "Assesino" at sheriff's deputies as we passed the jail, people with children questioning vocally and loudly the aggressiveness of police. If these are part of an outside faction as well, I wonder who is included. Let's not forget, 500 years of oppression has affected numerous people, and even as they try to wipe out our collective memories, many will continue to understand that police forces are there to keep the people in line.
At the time of the police attack I was behind it. What I witnessed was numerous people representing the spectrum of age, race and politics running from the area. I watched as men and women carried and steered their children away from the point of attack. Numerous people, including children anywhere from age 3 to 12 had been sprayed or near the attack. Many were having trouble with breathing and eye irritation.
So people can criticize the Dine, O'Odham, Anarchist bloc all they want but the fact is that nobody in the march did anything to provoke such a violent response at that time. As many eyewitness reports will tell you(opposed to the talking head reports taking only police accounts) a Phoenix police officer rode her horse into the crowd, pushing participants into an adjacent line of police and endangering many people as she obviously did not have control of the horse. At least one persons foot was stepped on by the horse, I witnessed the swelling and bruising myself. The fact is that the police response was inhumane first with no regard for anyone. Secondly, it was unprofessional, not a surprise to me or some others, but they are hired by the city, they are sworn to protect and to serve the community. For those who find this sort of thing important Phx police obviously crossed a huge line and they should be held accountable. They carry the guns, the tazers, the chemical weapons. They used chemical weapons and threat of violent force on children. To try to confuse this story is a huge mistake. The DOA bloc posed barely a threat, if any. It was the police action and reaction which shows who is violent and unstable and poses the biggest threat to liberty of our communities.

"Ruben Gallego, a local candidate running for the legislature, witnessed the incident and said the anarchists were not part of the organization and did not share the agenda of the protest, "They do not represent 99% of the 15,000 people that were there. They tried to take away the message.""

Wonder if Gallego and Reza coordinated their statements cause they sound virtually the same. It's incredible how quick they are to denounce anarchists while complicitly supporting the police. Way to go guys - justifying the police attacking "your" march is a real betrayal to all of those who were victims of police abuse.

Thats whack that you guys got sprayed. I have mad respect for you guys. I was there too when that happened. I think 1 they said what they said because they werent there when that went down and 2 they probably trying to protect the movement, because they dont want to get the message twisted. The media is always twisting it. i ssen the cops messing with yall since the biggining. They dirty pigs man.

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