Deploying tear gas on routes where people were leaving.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Arresting people with questionable probable cause.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Illegally searching bags and other possessions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Not wearing name tags and not identifying themselves.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Blocking access to public spaces without apparent cause of officer safety, ongoing investigation, or public safety hazard.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Forcefully blocking recordings of police conduct in public spaces at safe and reasonable distances.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Selectively enforcing access to public spaces.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Entering safe spaces against policy and with questionable probable cause.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

\n

Using intimidating displays of force, explicitly contrary to agreement prior to release of verdict.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

Calling these behaviors \u201cunacceptable,\u201d the ACLU urges city officials to require police officers to follow proper procedures, including:<\/p>\n

\n
• \n

  To not use chemical weapons, such as pepper spray and tear gas, without following the proper protocols to ensure the protection of constitutional rights.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  \n

  Officers\u2019 nametags should be visible at all times for police accountability.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  \n

  To wear their body cameras and have them turned on at all times.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  \n

  Not use force against protesters absent a real and immediate threat of physical harm to others.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/h3>\n

  The protest letter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/a> comes in response to the arrest of Mike Faulk, a reporter who was clearly displaying his credentials, during a roundup of demonstrators in the City of St. Louis.<\/p>\n

  The Post-Dispatch condemned the \u201cinappropriate and highly disturbing\u201d arrest of one of its journalists on Sunday during a mass arrest by St. Louis police officers, and demanded that the city drop charges against him.<\/p>\n

  The letter, written by attorney Joseph E. Martineau, of the Lewis Rice law firm, said officers should have released Faulk immediately after recognizing he was covering a story, and allowed him to keep working.<\/p>\n

  Instead, he was arrested with \u201cunneeded and inappropriate force\u201d that caused injury to both legs, his back and wrist. Faulk was \u201cforcefully pushed to the ground by police officers and a police officer\u2019s boot was placed on his head.\u201d After his wrists were bound with zip ties, a police officer \u201cdeliberately sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, mace or some other stinging substance.\u201d At some point, an officer reviewed the contents of Faulk\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n

  Inside the jail, the letter said, jail personnel denied Faulk\u2019s repeated requests for medical attention. The city counselor\u2019s office charged Faulk with failure to disperse, and he was released on $50 bail. He returned to the newsroom limping, knees bloodied and pepper spray still on his skin.<\/p>\n

  The city\u2019s failure to establish a protocol to recognize and respect the rights of journalists gathering news was \u201ca grave mistake,\u201d the letter said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

  In a comment published in the Post-Dispatch as the letter was making its way to city officials, the newspaper\u2019s editor, Gilbert Bailon said:<\/p>\n

  St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalists and other credentialed news media provide critical information to the public. When St. Louis police arrested Mike, after he fully identified himself while covering the protests, they violated basic tenets of our democracy. Additionally, the physical abuse he suffered during the arrest is abhorrent and must be investigated. The Post-Dispatch is calling for our city leaders to immediately implement policies that will prevent journalists from being arrested without cause.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

  So, is the pen [aka keyboard] actually mightier than the sword [aka pepper spray, Mace, plastic wrist ties]? Let\u2019s hope so. Otherwise, our democracy is in deep peril.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In St. Louis, bad behavior by police responding to protests about…previous bad police behavior\u2014has sparked another form of protest: the publicly published protest letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[767,119,1360],"tags":[1970,2517,82,1330],"yoast_head":"\n