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Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arrested

by TChris

Last September, TalkLeft reported the arrest of 1,000 protesters at the Republican National Convention in New York City. It turned out that 1,806 people were arrested during the Convention, including a guy who was busted while he was on his way to pick up sushi.

The first arrestee to take his case to trial, Dennis Kyne, was charged with inciting a riot and resisting arrest. The arresting officer testified that Kyne had to be carried away "because he was kicking and refusing to walk on his own." The officer didn't know, however, that the arrest was captured on a video recording that would expose his perjury.

During a recess, the defense had brought new information to the prosecutor. A videotape shot by a documentary filmmaker showed Mr. Kyne agitated but plainly walking under his own power down the library steps, contradicting the vivid account of Officer Wohl, who was nowhere to be seen in the pictures. Nor was the officer seen taking part in the arrests of four other people at the library against whom he signed complaints.

The charges were abruptly dismissed. And what about the poor guy who just wanted to get his sushi?

Last week, he discovered that there were two versions of the same police tape: the one that was to be used as evidence in his trial had been edited at two spots, removing images that showed Mr. Dunlop behaving peacefully. When a volunteer film archivist found a more complete version of the tape and gave it to Mr. Dunlop's lawyer, prosecutors immediately dropped the charges and said that a technician had cut the material by mistake.

How convenient that this "mistake" happened to benefit the prosecution. The deleted portions of the tape contradicted police claims that Dunlop pushed his bicycle into a line of police officers.

If it wasn't obvious at the time, it should now be clear that most protestors at the RNC weren't arrested for breaking the law; they were arrested for protesting. "Of the 1,670 cases that have run their full course, 91 percent ended with the charges dismissed or with a verdict of not guilty after trial."

In the bulk of the 400 cases that were dismissed based on videotapes, most involved arrests at three places - 16th Street near Union Square, 17th Street near Union Square and on Fulton Street - where police officers and civilians taped the gatherings, said Martin R. Stolar, the president of the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. Those tapes showed that the demonstrators had followed the instructions of senior officers to walk down those streets, only to have another official order their arrests.

Arresting protestors might have benefited the Republican Party, but the arrests came at an enormous cost to the public, to the individual arrestees, and to the First Amendment. The New York City police should be ashamed to have played this game.

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    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:39:37 AM EST
    Can all these jailed innocents sue the city for unlawful inprisonment and/or being denied their civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights?

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#2)
    by roy on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:39:41 AM EST
    Any chance of those cops being charged with a crime? Aggravated kidnapping, and perjury sound about right.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#3)
    by Beck on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:46:17 AM EST
    If it wasn't obvious at the time, it should now be clear that most protestors at the RNC weren't arrested for breaking the law; they were arrested for protesting.
    As an American, the significance of this statement sends a chill down my spine.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:51:27 AM EST
    Me too Beck. The sad thing is, no matter how many cops get caughts lying on the stand, most Americans have no problems with this. In their distorted minds, somehow the cop is always right and the guy/gal who was denied their freedom deserves it.

    The cop needs to be charged with perjury. Why this won't happen I don't know but it won't. In one case the prosecutors actually edited a tape and played it in court but someone had a more complete tape without the edit that exonerated the guy. They said it was just a "mistake." There is a class action suit pending on behalf of all those rounded up during the convention.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#6)
    by roy on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:56:11 AM EST
    At least it's nice to see the NYPD abusing a white guy for a change.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#7)
    by desertswine on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:57:32 AM EST
    Despicable but just standard operating procedure for them.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#8)
    by Marvyt on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:04:39 AM EST
    Prosecutors will not charge policemen with perjury because sometimes the prosecutors want the officers to perjure themselves.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#9)
    by aw on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:33:56 AM EST
    Where are all the wingers with their ready excuses? Cat got your keyboards?

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#10)
    by roy on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:49:54 AM EST
    Where are all the wingers with their ready excuses? Cat got your keyboards?
    On behalf of the Right, I cough uncomfortably.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:53:47 AM EST
    I remember our right leaning friends saying these people must have done something illegal, otherwise why would the cops arrest them? Troublemakers, anarchists, loonies they were called. They "deserved" it for "causing trouble". This was during the RNC. How's crow taste this time of year?

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#12)
    by Patrick on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 10:03:51 AM EST
    Roy,
    At least it's nice to see the NYPD abusing a white guy for a change.
    Funny. Too bad it's true.

    read this old thread "Plus, from what I saw on TV (MSNBC mostly) the cops were remarkably relaxed in the face of a lot of profanity" -Cliff

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#14)
    by libdevil on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 11:52:28 AM EST
    How's crow taste this time of year? When served with a side dish of a Bush administration, seasoned with Social Security privatization or new wingnut Supreme Court justices, and topped with a sauce of gay/Muslim/liberal/Hollywood bashing, I'm sure it goes down just fine. They don't care. They won. That's all that matters. No matter how dirty they had to fight, no matter how much of the Constitution they had to subvert, no matter how many laws they broke: they won.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#15)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 12:14:19 PM EST
    Sad but true libdev. What we witnessed during the RNC was the new "pre-emptive" doctrine on the home front. The pre-emptive chaining of those who disagree with the status quo, and peacefully voice said opposition. That road leads to dangerous, dark places.

    PBS's "Frontline" is airing a documentary of Karl Rove where they expose his 30 year plan to make the Republicans a permanent majority. Check your local listings for times. And remember... erections lasting longer than five hours... OOPS! Wrong ad.! Mibad.

    "Posted by kdog: "most Americans have no problems with this." People who waste their time with assumed generalizations about 280 million people and what they believe or think are bigots at least. Five years of stolen elections is why Bush and the Rs are in power. It is NOT due to a plebicite on their actions, which are roundly despised, no matter what the clowns on tv tell you. NYPD, get ready to lose your chief. Some more people destroyed by Bush. It's his favorite hobby.

    Give me a break already. Time for a Reality Check. These 'protestors' (rioters) were with the same group of people who broke into the RNC and disrupted a speach by Andrew Card. Same group of people that threw ball bearings under horses' hooves to try and get them to toss-a-cop. Same group of people that published information about how to tie down NYC subway security with 'fake bomb threats'. Same group of people who beat an undercover cop unconcious. So some of them got locked up, maybe undeservedly so. BFD. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.

    I was beginning to think that sanity had returned to the world, and then I read Horse's post. I get tired of these apologist's for the fascists in our country, but I do like to keep them on the radar. They can't get up to any mischeif when they are out in the open.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#20)
    by kdog on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 01:28:11 PM EST
    In their distorted minds, somehow the cop is always right and the guy/gal who was denied their freedom deserves it.
    See Horse w/ no name. I think we can name that horse now...how about "fascist filly".

    As one of those "rioters" I would find your post amusing if it wasn't so disturbing. Are you actually trying to say that if you are at an event and a small handful of individuals who you don't know or have anything to do with does something illegal, you have no claim to your civil rights? If I had any say in who could come to marches I (along with all the peaceful protestors at the event) would tell said people not to come. But I have no control of them, so how could I have any culpability for their actions. By your logic we could never attend any public event because someone could come and do something inappropriate and I could and should wind up in jail. You really don't deserve to be an american if that is how you feel about our rights.

    The only grounds for this thread is that a cop embellished his testimony. Oh, the horror! Maybe someday 'facism' will be abolished and all you peace loving people will be free to make 'fake bomb threats' and beat cops unconcious. Until then, tell it to a judge.

    horse whose's name is definitely known apologist is not strong enough a characterization; "political patsy" might be more appropriate. if you "embellish” your testimony under oath it's called perjury. It is illegal, you do know this? provide a link to some msm articles/stories that verify your accusations. Your descent into futile winggery accelerates.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#24)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 02:11:28 PM EST
    Horse - You forgot to mention how those America haters were caught trying to burn down the Reichstag building again. Lets see some links that back up your ball-bearings, cop beaten unconscious stories. Btw your Rush/O'Reily inspired fever dreams dont count as a reliable link.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#25)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 02:25:19 PM EST
    The font of winger folklore is a perrenial spring. Guaranteed Horse knows someone who saw protesters spit on returning Viet vets.

    Horse, Answer my questions, or you're just a chicken.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#27)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 02:50:24 PM EST
    Chicken and a liar/useful idiot. Strong words but apropos.

    OutOfWitHeIs So charge the cop with perjury. Don't falsely characterize this isolated incident as evidence that all 'RNC protestors were falsely arrested'. Doing so is ridiculous, and makes you Lefties look like idiots. This post talks about TWO incidents, not an alarming number given the amount of ‘protestors’. Jondee Do you live in a cave, or are you trying to rewrite history again? For the widely recognized Officer knocked Unconscious "I was at the scene. I saw what went on. The officer was knocked unconscious." - Police Commissioner John F. Timoney RNC Press Release "The persons arrested had secreted road flare-like smoke bombs and ball bearings inside cardboard polls" Dallas News "A dragon float in front of Madison Square Garden was ignited, and barriers and ball bearings were hurled into police lines." And now for Ball Bearings under horses, from that Fascist Canadian Rag Captains Quarters "...the police department had to contend with protestors throwing ball bearings and marbles onto the street where their mounted units deployed" I won't bother to link anything else (including the float that was set on fire, burning multiple protestors and officers) since you seem to acknowledge it occurred. Be your own librarian, I will never lie to you. Let the Anarchist Apologies Begin! Who wants to bet that Jondee says the ball bearings were for proper balance of the protest signs?

    1. "Where are all the wingers with their ready excuses? Cat got your keyboards?" 2. "The only grounds for this thread is that a cop embellished his testimony. Oh, the horror!" 3. "apologist is not strong enough a characterization; "political patsy" might be more appropriate." So, there you have it, people: damned if you do and damned if you don't. Sorry, Horse, but you didn't follow the 1st Commandment of the left: Thou shalt shuck and jive to the orthodoxy; for we have the lock on tolerance, and we will not tolerate any deviation from same.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#30)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 03:29:02 PM EST
    Horse - Apparently you have access to inside info unavailable to the D.A's office and the presiding judge in the "beating" case. Maybe you should contact them. Until you do the alleged perpetrators will remain alleged and "accused". As for your ball bearing open-and-closed case,all I see in the way of verification is a winger blog repeating, to put it politely, an anecdote. But,Im sure you have the real goods on that one too.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#31)
    by Walter on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 03:34:40 PM EST
    Yes, we should be tolerant of police officers who commit perjury and also to those who defend those actions. I filed a complaint against an attorney with the Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Both Patricia Walker, the investigator for the Medina County Bar Association and Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Kenneth Donchatz fabricated a story for the attorney and based their determinations on their own fabrication. If a couple of lawyers working under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Ohio engage in fabrication, why shouldn't we tolerate perjury by everybody else?

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#32)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 03:38:37 PM EST
    Ace - Repeating the same post ad nauseum,ie: "shuck and jive to orthodoxy",with varied,but mainly the same,references to"leftist dogma", gets a little mechanical, dare I say dogmatic? Got anything fresh to share with us?

    Jondee, I just call 'em as I see 'em. Maybe if some here could break out of the rightwingnutbushliarcochimpidiotnazifascist,etc.,etc.,etc.,program I wouldn't have to keep leveling the same sharp, accurate cogent, factual criticism called for to entertain the lurkers around here and help them avoid the same fate.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#34)
    by cp on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 03:49:53 PM EST
    "On behalf of the Right, I cough uncomfortably." i do that every time i get a physical. lying under oath is a crime, it's called perjury. worse, this cop wasn't even at the scene. nor was he at all involved in four other arrests that he was the complainent in. where were the actual arresting officers, who presumably did witness the events leading to the complaints? of special note is this: of 1607 cases tried so far, out of 1806 arrests, 91% had the charges dismissed, or were found not guilty. that translates into a 9% sustention rate for the NYPD. put another way, fewer than 1 in 10 arrests were found to have merit. not exactly the NYPD's shining moment. if my numbers at work were that low, i would be counseled, undergo retraining, and probably eventually be terminated. and rightfully so. the tapes also showed the NYPD maintaining good crowd control with little explicit violence. in their defense, i suspect the average cop was operating under rules of engagement from the top. the top being republican, the rules were to keep these people as far away from the convention site, and out of the tv spotlight, as possible. one only need remember the 1968 democratic convention in chicago, for a history lesson.

    Jondee You're a piece of work. We have an RNC press release saying protestors were arrested with ball bearings. We have the Dallas News saying ball bearings were hurled into police lines. Is it not logical to believe these ball bearings were meant to disrupt mounted officers? Think real hard now. RE: Police beaten by protestor. I'll take the word of the Police Commisioner over a violent protestor any day. And these protestors called in 'Fake Bomb Threats'. And broke into the RNC to disrupt speeches. Maybe if you guys weren't such apologists for the ridiculous, you might have a shred of credit with mainstream society. Maybe, but probably not.

    THE HORSE WITH NO NAME: I have rarely had the displeasure of hearing someone with such a closed mind and propensity for gross over-generalization as I have heard from you. I was an ROTC cadet during the Vietnam War and I was a judge advocate that led the effort to maintain order at an Air Force Base beseiged by protestors. I saw the news reports concerning demonstrations at the RNC convention. There were very, very few incidents of violence given the number of protestors. However, you choose to assume that all those who protested condoned or assisted in violent and illegal acts. I was willing to serve this country in the military in order to protect the right of a free people to publicly redress the government and to participate in their right to protest. I do not believe in violent protest. I just as strongly believe that the actions of a few does deprive the majority of those who choose to protest from their right to do so. I would hate to see the liberty and free speech rights that I served to protect as a military member, a prosecutor and attorney be taken away from the shollow minded, blind and over reactive mind such as yours

    JMOHR I'm not looking to take away anyone's rights. I was making the point, effectively, that not all of these 'protestors' were innocent bystanders that had their civil rights stripped illegally, as this post seems to imply. Just a reality check, my friend.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#38)
    by Sailor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 06:14:36 PM EST
    whorse has no credibility, quoting an rnc press release as proof!? But, hey, let's go to the tape: Cop's sworn testimony - proved wrong by video evidence. This cop not only committed perjury, he violated the constitutional rights of all concerned. When an agent of the state violates the constitution the penaly should be LWOP. After all, they know the law and it should actually serve as a deterrent for them.

    Sailor Nice try with the slight-of-hand. The RNC press release said "The persons arrested had secreted road flare-like smoke bombs and ball bearings inside cardboard polls" and is undisputed, and backed by multiple other sources. As far as the Cop's sworn testimony, this is in regards to a DIFFERENT ISSUE, one about 'resisting arrest', and "all involved" was ONE protestor. Thanks for adding your "intelligence" to this thread. Stay in the kiddie pool where you belong. et al See how dishonest these Lefties can be?

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#40)
    by Johnny on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 06:26:37 PM EST
    So we have the wrong wingers playing down the importance of perjury, but I seem to remember how important it was in the case of a hummer, not so long ago. Fire this cop.

    Well, if someone, somewhere was throwing ball bearings, then let's invade Iran. Or arrest anyone, perjure ourselves on the police report. It's the American Way.

    HWNN:
    RE: Police beaten by protestor. I'll take the word of the Police Commisioner over a violent protestor any day.
    KDOG:
    In their distorted minds, somehow the cop is always right and the guy/gal who was denied their freedom deserves it.
    Ohhhh... Snap.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#45)
    by Sailor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 07:12:51 PM EST
    "The RNC press release said "The persons arrested had secreted road flare-like smoke bombs and ball bearings inside cardboard polls" and is undisputed, and backed by multiple other sources." Provide links. "As far as the Cop's sworn testimony, this is in regards to a DIFFERENT ISSUE, one about 'resisting arrest', and "all involved" was ONE protestor." You didn't read the article did you? He swore false complaints against others. OTOH, you extrapolated that all protestors were guilty because of one unproven allegation. Kiddie pool. Indeed. Heh.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#46)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 07:25:37 PM EST
    Same group of people who beat an undercover cop unconcious Horse, That is an old tactic. If that cop had been successful in his assignment, a whole lot more than one person would have been "beaten unconcious". The ball bearings are also a tried and true tactic. The bigger they are, the harder they fall (since you are so fond of sayings).

    I'm not looking to take away anyone's rights. I was making the point, effectively, that not all of these 'protestors' were innocent bystanders that had their civil rights stripped illegally, as this post seems to imply. That is not true. In your original post you suggested that this is what peaceful protestors deserve for going to a protest when a few bad seeds show up. As to your various accusations against protestors, i don't think it is fair to characterize a group of a few hundred thousand peaceful protestors by the actions of a small handful of jack asses. Everyone I knew at the protests spoke condemningly of the dragon burning business. The rest of what you said I have not seen published in any credible source, but if it did happen, I am sure all the peaceful protestors would condemn that too. You seem dismissive of this because there are "only two cases" mentioned in the article. The reason why this concerns me so much is that in most cases there are no cameras rolling. In those cases, we take the word of the police officer. That means they have a tremendous responsibility toward honesty. If there are two cases on video tape, how many more cases are not caught on tape? Finally, I would not trust Timoney further than I could throw him. He is a vicious bastard. I don't have references at hand (but since you encouraged us to do our own research, I will encourage you to do the same on Timoney before you cite him as a source of facts), but he is well known in the activist community for encouraging police brutality at protests. I read an interview of him where he boasted about intentionally picking a fight with a activist (one very small in stature for the record, the cowardly bully), and then beating him and arresting him.

    No one's playing down the importance of perjury, Johnny. The observation that this is one cop and one protester in a cast of thousands is cogent in this context. [Doctor Ace, you're over limit for today. Please return another day.]

    et all So charge the cop with perjury if that's what he did! Nowon You lost me with the fish analogy. V2 I already said the cop embellished his testimony. Call it perjury if you want. Sailor Provide links. I already did. The ball-bearing account is mentioned in the Dallas News. Of course, Dallas is in Texas, so the DN must be in bed with Bushco, just like the RNC Press Release must be a lie, since Bushco is a Republican. If you want more sources, git 'em yerself. OTOH, you extrapolated that all protestors were guilty because of one unproven allegation. No I didn't. But I did say clearly in my 7:07pm post that not all of these 'protestors' were innocent bystanders that had their civil rights stripped illegally. So now you have mischaracterized the RNC Press Release, and you have mischaracterized my stated position. One more time might make you a liar. Care to play again? Yes, Kiddie Pool. I suggest you stay there. Bring your snorkel ;-) Che You saw conspiracy theory, I saw violent protestors. Noname Interesting, but I'd need evidence to believe it. et all Put simply; not all of the 'protestors' were innocent victims of police misconduct who had their civil rights stripped from them illegaly. Some of these protestors were dangerous, and did dangerous things. Some of them hurt people, and they deserve the full force of the law. **Extra Credit - See if you can spot all the instances of Liberal dishonest weasling in this thread (hint, check Sailor's posts...)

    What a brilliant strategy to discredit the police: don't do anything illegal, just to get arrested. Only disloyal Bush-haters would do something like that while the Republican convention was under way.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#50)
    by Walter on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 03:34:24 AM EST
    As I wrote to Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Thomas Moyer about assistant disciplinary counsel Ken Donchatz fabrications and his advising the attorney to tamper with evidence, I now understand how innocent people end up on death row.

    et all So charge the cop with perjury if that's what he did! I charge him with perjury. Consider him so charged. Now see the problem: I don't have the authority to indict him and begin prosecution. Your suggestion is exactly right. The evidence seems strong and clear enough to support an indictment. But this guy is on the team that works up the indictments. When, where, how is the indictment going to be produced?

    Horse, your argument makes as much sense as arguing that all soldiers in Iraq have committed torture because some of them did.

    Fraser See my 7:07pm post and stop lying about what I said. Posted by The Horse with no Name at April 12, 2005 07:07 PM JMOHR I'm not looking to take away anyone's rights. I was making the point, effectively, that not all of these 'protestors' were innocent bystanders that had their civil rights stripped illegally, as this post seems to imply.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#54)
    by Sailor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 12:15:01 PM EST
    so horse is only a flip flopper; his original post sez:
    "These 'protestors' (rioters) were with the same group of people who broke into the RNC and disrupted a speach by Andrew Card."
    BTW, according to the DA's office 91% were aquitted or had charges dropped. And frankly, if this is how NYC treats peaceful protestors then it seems reasonable to take the cops out first. You know, under this admin's Preemptive Strike Doctrine.

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#55)
    by Walter on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 03:38:06 PM EST
    Where exactly does it say that a policeman has a right to commit perjury?

    Come on, hoss. I have charged him with perjury per your suggestion. Now what?

    Sailor Yeah, sure. A flip-flop. Read it again, my position is consistent. et all Notice how about 1/4 of this thread was spent defending the RNC Rioters, and the other 3/4 was spent trying to impeach my character? There's a lesson to be learned here...

    Re: Tapes Show RNC Protestors Were Falsely Arreste (none / 0) (#58)
    by Che's Lounge on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:41:33 PM EST
    Horse, In 100,000 people you saw a handful of violent protesters? And you think I have a conspiracy theory problem?