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'Top secret' weapons to be used at political convention
Home : Police Practices : General
ACLU Sues Denver Seeking Disclosure Of DNC-Related Purchases Of Police Equipment (5/28/2008)
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CONTACT: info@aclu-co.org
Invoking Colorado's open records laws, the ACLU of Colorado filed suit today in Denver District Court, asking that Denver be ordered to disclose records related to budgeting for and purchase of police equipment dating from January 2007, when Denver was selected as the host city for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
The federal government has allocated $50 million to reimburse Denver for security-related expenses connected to the convention. Denver has revealed that $18 million is budgeted for equipment purchases, but most of the details remain secret.
In refusing the ACLU's request for documents earlier this year, the lawsuit says, a representative of Denver's Department of Safety asserted that disclosure "could potentially disclose tactical security information of the Denver Police Department which would be contrary to the public interest."
"We believe the public interest is served by disclosing how the government is spending the public's money," said John Culver, who is handling the case as an ACLU Cooperating Attorney.
In its request to inspect public records, the ACLU asked for documents related to the purchase of such items as "less lethal" weapons, vehicles, personal body armor, restraint devices, and barricades, fencing or netting."
"I do not believe that the public records at issue here contain the kind of ‘tactical security information' that Denver is reluctant to disclose," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "Even if the requested documents did contain such information, the Colorado legislature addressed this issue in a 2005 amendment to the open records laws. The statute states that ‘specialized details of security arrangements' can be deleted, but the remainder of the documents—the portions that reveal how the government is spending our money—must be disclosed." Home : Police Practices : General ACLU Sues Denver Seeking Disclosure Of DNC-Related Purchases Of Police Equipment (5/28/2008) ... more -
Weapons of Mass Intolerance at DNC
Oh, they're getting ready alright... it looks to me like cops and media are going to be waiting... just waiting for someone to do ANYTHING that justifies the use of force and disinformation. See for yourself how they edit this report. The b-roll footage used is from the Seattle 1999 WTO protests. Oh, they're getting ready alright... it looks to me like cops and media are going to be waiting... just waiting for someone to do... more
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Sound waves, goo guns WON'T be used at Dem convention
Denver officials expect to spend more than $18 million on police equipment for the Democratic National Convention — but the purchases apparently won't include high-tech weapons that use sonic waves to incapacitate protesters or goo guns to immobilize them.
"This budget overview reaffirms to the public our goal to provide the most effective and comprehensive security possible while maintaining an event that is inclusive and enjoyable for all," Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement issued by his office.
Denver police officials have been extremely circumspect in answering questions about either their security plans for the convention or their equipment purchases. Denver officials expect to spend more than $18 million on police equipment for the Democratic National Convention — but the purchases ... more -
Rights violations anyone?
Well isn't this interesting.
The city's policy to use the method, which calls for the injection of a drug into a person, came as a "total surprise" to people most would expect to know all about it.
For almost two years, Metro police have had the option of calling for a needle loaded with a strong sedative to control the most unruly people they encounter on the street Well isn't this interesting. ... more -
Pentagon's raygun demonstrated on mock protesters
The Pentagon has been developing a raygun which can harmlessly repel enemies by causing a burning sensation in the top layer of the skin. However, according to CBS's 60 Minutes, the military is unwilling to actually trust this weapon enough to deploy it in Iraq.
"We are now stepping into the Buck Rogers scenario," explained Colonel Kirk Hymes, who is in charge of testing the "Active Denial System" at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.
Hymes demonstrated the weapon by staging what CBS somewhat oddly called "a scenario soldiers might encounter in Iraq" -- a handful of military volunteers, dressed as civilian protesters, who carried signs saying "peace not war" and threw objects at a small group of soldiers. A series of raygun blasts from half a mile away disrupted their chants and finally sent them running.
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisiton Sue Payton calls the Active Denial System a "huge game-changer" which "would save huge numbers of lives." She told CBS, "It could be used to read someone's mind, in effect. ... If they continue to come at you, then you're fairly sure ... they're probably a terrorist or an adversary who wants to do you harm."
The Active Denial System was developed in secret for ten years before being unveiled by the Pentagon in 2001. As of 2004, it was being described as ready for use in Iraq within the next 12 months. This has still not occurred, and according to Secretary Payton, use of the weapon in Iraq is now "not politically tenable" because after Abu Ghraib "you don't ever, ever, ever want a system like this to be thought of as a torture weapon."
However, the failure to deploy the weapon as planned has raised suspicions that the real intention is to use it for domestic crowd control.
In 2006, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne was quoted as saying that the device should be used first on Americans, because "if we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation. ... If I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."
Raytheon, which developed the system for the Pentagon, is currently selling a more limited-range civilian version of the system, under the name "Silent Guardian," which it promotes as being suitable for "law enforcement, checkpoint security, facility protection, force protection and peacekeeping missions."
Commander Charles "Sid" Heal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, who advised Raytheon in developing the raygun, told CBS that the real reason the system has not been deployed in Iraq is "cowardice." Heal, a former Marine, took a variety of non-lethal weapons to Somalia in 1995 and was dismayed to find that his superiors felt their supposedly humanitarian mission was better accomplished by killing. He would love to have the Pentagon's raygun available for such purposes as controlling prison riots.
The Pentagon is spending just $13.1 million on the raygun this year. Secretary Payton agrees this is "absolutely peanuts ... chump change," but she explained to CBS that with only a $475 billion annual budget, "we don't have enough money to do things that are the here and now." The raygun is seen as unproven because it has never been deployed in the field, and it has not been deployed in the field because it is unproven.
"Lethal weapons have an easier time getting into our system," acknowledges Colonel Hymes. The Pentagon has been developing a raygun which can harmlessly repel enemies by causing a burning sensation in the top layer of the sk... more -
ACLU Sues Denver For Information On Weapons Use During DNC
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city of Denver after an open records request for information about the purchasing of security equipment for the Democratic National Convention was denied. The group wants to know what weapons the city is buying for crowd control during protests.
"Aren't you asking the police to reveal their tactics?" CBS4 asked.
"No, we're not asking the police to reveal tactics, we're asking the police to reveal how they are spending the public's money," said Mark Silverstein of the ACLU.
The city has allocated millions of dollars for security equipment purchases. Officials said they are planning for a peaceful event, but are ready for "contingencies."
The protest group Recreate 68 believes the city is buying high tech weaponry.
"We could save them a whole lot of money by just talking with us and de-escalating the confrontational situation that would cause them to use this weapon technology," said Glenn Spagnuolo of Recreate 68.
Spagnuolo thinks the city is looking at weapons like a stun gun which fires 20 seconds of pain from a shotgun. He also pointed to the LRAD, a long range acoustic device that emits a tone to disable people.
The city responded to CBS4's inquiries by saying it will not discuss tactics and that weapons use is part of that.
"It is important to keep that part of the planning confidential," said David Fine, a city attorney.
A court date is set for June on another lawsuit the ACLU filed against the city. That case concerns the routes protesters will be allowed to march during the convention.
-Rick Sallinger The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city of Denver after an open records request for information about the p... more -
Robot + super gun = 'Crowd control'
What do you do with a robot armed with a million-round-per-minute gun? "Crowd control," naturally. For several months, Metal Storm, the troubled electronic gun developer, has been working with iRobot -- the makers of military machines and cute, semi-autonomous vacuum cleaners -- to arm some of their new, 250-pound unmanned ground vehicles. Last week, at a defense trade show, the two firms showed off the results of their joint venture.
Metal Storm's weapons fire bullets electronically, instead of with firing pins and primer. The ammunition is stacked, rather than mechanically reloaded. And the only moving parts in the weapon are the ammunition itself. Which means the weapon can fire at a rate of thousands of rounds per minute -- maybe even up to a million, theoretically.
Metal Storm's 40mm weapons mount, the company tells us, can deliver both high-explosive and less-lethal rounds. Which makes it perfect for everything from urban assaults to "border patrol" to "infrastructure protection" to "crowd control."
Link below to sho how it works
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/video-fix-milli.h...
CROWD CONTROL??
THEY GOT TO BE KIDDING OR ARE THEY? What do you do with a robot armed with a million-round-per-minute gun? "Crowd control," naturally. For several months, Metal... more
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CROWD CONTROL
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CROWD CONTROL
