Cops say what they really think about ASU Professor Ore in online fourms and it's not pretty

Just keyboard warriors? Behold one cop's response to the arrest of Professor Ore. Here's what a bunch more had to say. Are you mad yet?

REM870 is a reference to a shotgun commonly used by police

On August first, ASU English professor Ersula Ore will be sentenced for "passively resisting an unlawful arrest" after Officer Stewart Ferrin confronted her for jaywalking and obstructing traffic in closed off a construction zone near the university.

The case sparked outrage, protest and even some drama at one of the Tempe city council candidate forums when outraged community members vocalized their frustration with local cops. As the scandal put pressure on ASU, the officer was put on leave and the two top bosses at the university cop shop were eventually replaced. Local dissident cop blog, The Integrity Report, has been documenting the internal shakeup which at least some officers seem to hope will create an opportunity to rein in a police force that they allege (with a good deal of evidence) is unaccountable and out of control.

Professor Ore (Photo via Phoenix New Times)

But since Ore took responsibility for her act of self-defense, much of the tension has dissipated from this once highly controversial and contentious case. Coverage was mixed in the media but it has mostly dropped off the radar as she moves towards sentencing.

Notable exceptions include a recent exchange of letters to the editor, one by former Mesa cop Bill Richardson defending Ferrin's character, followed by a response challenging it ("Letter: Police officer's personality doesn't matter"), both run in the State Press, ASU's east campus newspaper. Over the course of the scandal, one particular local weekly news blog/magazine left some very interesting things out of the story, but we'll come back to that at the end.

We at Down and Drought pay a lot of attention to the police, including cop online forums. So when we saw last week that New York Magazine had run a piece focusing on the comments from officers on various cop websites regarding the recent death of a cigarette vender, who appears to have died as a result of very rough treatment by the NYPD, we thought we'd give the Ore case the same treatment. We thought: let's see what cops have to say online about her case, under the cover of (what they think is ) anonymity.

As the NY Magazine article points out, in order to post on cop forums like PoliceOne.com, you have to register and be verified as an actual cop or retired law enforcement officer. PoliceOne.com boasts over 200,000 members and claims that they "confirm the status of all officers registering... by calling that officer’s department directly." Which means when you read opinions from commentators on their forums, you can be pretty sure you're getting the thoughts of a cop or former cop.

We were able to track some of these officers back to their departments ourselves through basic internet searches and confirm that they are in fact cops, but we weren't able to link any of them directly to ASU -- although some of the comments we looked at demonstrated knowledge of policing in Tempe and Arizona.

READ: TEMPE POLICE HAVE A STINGRAY CELL PHONE SPYING DEVICE BUT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT IT

That said, it's important to note that the comments we're sharing here, while outrageous, weren't out of step with the general tenor of comments we found. No comments defended Ore and most posters thought that Ferrin had been too forgiving with her. As we've demonstrated before, Phoenix and Tempe police have notoriously bad senses of humor (see here, and here, and here). So there's no reason to think that they are any better than online cops in terms of their opinions.

So let's dig in and see what some cops had to say about the Ore arrest. To get things started, here's one officer making a joke referencing sexual assault. Remember, Ore objected vocally on the video about Ferrin's manhandling of her causing her dress to hike up. Thus an officer naturally thought this was an appropriate joke to make.

 In the same comment thread, another officer chimes in:

In a different post on the same site, user "SgtDavidWilliams" rushes to Ferrin's defense, counseling that she's lucky she didn't get the rougher treatment he thinks she deserved:

Advocating for less tolerance and a higher degree of violence was common in the online cop forums we looked at. Most officers took the position that Ferrin had been too kind in his interaction with Ore.

Officers also frequently argued for liberal use of the Taser. One user hinted in a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" sort of way that "I did see a taser on his belt, correct?" In the comment below, the reference to "sparky" (the taser) may or may not be a double entendre also alluding to the ASU mascot, but it certainly indicates a casualness that is disturbing when it comes to the use of a weapon that has been linked to many deaths over the years.

Along similar lines was another comment boasting that the "college professor would've met the pavement far sooner had I been arresting her." Yet another joked that Ferrin should "probably work on that straight arm bar takedown." Later in the thread another member says, "She really needed to taste the color of the paint on the hood."

Another set of comments focused on Ore's race and gender, reflecting the usual tact and sophistication that one tends to expect from the reactionary right.

 

 

  

In an era of increasing skepticism and worry about the police, even on the traditionally law and order right, comments like those we found don't do cops any favors in the PR department. If white middle class people -- the traditional base of support for law enforcement, no matter how brutal -- are worried about their interactions with police then it's an indication of something significant going on. Police should be worried. The carte blanche they've had for, well, basically forever may be in danger.

And those curious omissions I mentioned at the beginning? One of the curious features of the Ore coverage was the oddly reactionary treatment from the Phoenix New Times, spearheaded by Ray Stern. Stern went pretty hard against Ore. He conceded Ferrin's approach appeared "mildly thuggish," but when Ore pleaded guilty he pronounced somewhat smugly that, "it looks like Ore's done fighting the good fight. We're not expecting her to follow up on the threat she made in the video to sue the (bleep) out of the officer or ASU."

Read: If ASU can't protect faculty from its violent police, what does it mean for the rest of us?

In one article, Stern in passing gives us a brief history of Stewart Ferrin, who it was revealed early on hails from a law enforcement family and had long harbored aspirations of continuing that legacy. But what legacy? Strangely, Stern fails to mention another little bit of Ferrin law enforcement family history -- one detailed in the very archives of the Phoenix New Times itself!

In a September 1998 article entitled "Thrust and Parry," the New Times detailed in a feature article the story of Alvin Yellowhair, a Native American student at ASU who alleged that Stewart Ferrin's father, John Ferrin, then an officer with the Tempe PD, had beaten and sodomized him with a nightstick after arresting him at a party.

"Advocating for less tolerance and a higher degree of violence was common in the online cop forums we looked at." 

The case, which involved missing evidence and allegations of obstructionism from city officials, was eventually ruled in Ferrin's favor, and he came out the winner in a lawsuit by Yellowhair, too, which was finally resolved by jury in 2005. But the case led to allegations of an out of control police force without proper supervision and the revelation that the senior Ferrin, at that point, had had four citizen complaints against him which the city didn't want to reveal. Does any of this sound familiar? White cop, civilian person of color, ASU, use of force, out of control police force, potential cover up and lack of investigation? Quite an omission, if you ask me!

But Stern's probably right when he says that "ASU's very sensitive to the pubic perception, especially given President Michael Crow's goal to attract 100,000 students to lucrative online-degree programs." Indeed, the University should be concerned about how they will be viewed by prospective or returning students and their parents. Especially if those students aren't white.

Nothing to see here!

As Professor Ore faces sentencing, with a shakeup going on at ASU PD, and with residents in the surrounding neighborhoods increasingly fed up with both the actions of local cops and the complete failure of the politicians to do anything about it, the university and the city would each be well-advised to consider taking immediate public steps to address these concerns with concrete actions.

Locals have put forward several options, from repealing the loud party ordinances that so quickly can escalate under heavy handed policing, to canceling the upcoming "safe & sober" campaign (in which cops invade the neighborhoods and detain residents at rates higher than NYC's "stop & frisk" program), or selling off controversial spy equipment like the Stingray mass cell phone monitoring device.

How about a program of de-militarizing TPD in general? In an era of mass corporate tax giveaways downtown, why not raise some cash by selling off that useless cop clutter? On a related note, does the Tempe Citizens’ Panel for Review of Police Complaints and Use of Force even meet? Down and Drought has been following the public page for this supposed oversight board for a year now and have yet to see a single posting for a public meeting nor any updates on what they're up to.

Meanwhile candidates for city council have to be forced by angry crowds to discuss the police, and the only solutions they seem to have is lavishing them with even more expensive toys which residents can be assured they will abuse. Increasingly, Tempe government looks completely out of step with a public that is asking themselves just what the hell is going on with the cops that patrol their neighborhoods. Does the city have any answers for them? It appears that answer is, no.

TEMPE PD OFFERED PROTECTION TO FRAT AT CENTER OF RACIST MLK PARTY

The president of ASU'S expelled Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity tweeted that the chapter had been offered escorts by the Tempe police. The fraternity's president Syed "Shafqat" Huq posted on his twitter account, which is now private, on Thursday that he had been contacted by a sergeant from the Tempe police who offered police escorts to protect fraternity members.  It's unclear what threat the Tempe police believe the TKE frat boys are facing, but Huq laughs off their proposal in his tweet.

It's interesting to note that while the Tempe police regularly coordinate with the FBI to spy on activists, and place department critics on "hazard" watch lists, they are willing to provide police protection to a fraternity with a history of racism and violence. Nor is this the first time the police have come to the aid of ASU's fraternities during a racist outburst. As noted in our previous piece on the violent, racist, and sexist frat culture at ASU, the gangster themed MLK party hosted by TKE members has a historical precedent in the racist actions of campus frats of the past.

As Michael Lacey reported in his Phoenix New Times article on the April 1989 race riot on frat row, the frats faced no consequences from their 500 strong attack on four black students, whom drunk Greeks and party-goers surrounded and pilloried with anti-black racist epithets, in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Indeed it was two of the attacked black students who were taken in handcuffs to the police station, and one of the men detained by the police recalled the cruelty of police officers during his detention, reporting that his "handcuffs were so tight that he was in pain as he sat in the back of the squad car."  And that "[a]s he shifted positions, he remembered an officer warning him that if he moved again, the cuffs would be tightened until tears came to his eyes."  Lacey also documented the efforts of ASU police to downplay any racist elements of the attack, as the national press cooperated by not reporting on the scale of the attack and the racism of the students present.

The offer of police protection for TKE members is not the only troubling news since the expulsion of the ASU chapter, as more racist skeletons in the TKE closet emerged despite the national organization's attempt at sanitizing their image.  After Arizona State University announced on Thursday that the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity would be expelled from campus, the national TKE fraternity announced its support for the ASU chapter. The national body followed the announcement of expulsion by putting the frat on internal probation, placing the blame for the party on 16 of the chapter's 125 members, and offering to provide a "a professional program on cultural diversity" or something.

The tone of the national TKE is at odds with the efforts of the supporters of the ASU chapter, who created a "SAVE Arizona State University Tau Kappa Epsilon" to rally support for the troubled chapter.  However, the support did not arrive in the way that the backers might have hoped.  A Facebook user named  Micheal King, who claimed to be a TKE alumni, posted a racist frat party photo (see below) of two men in a stereotypical gangster attire, and in black face, with the following text:

Full support on the issues of freedom of speech and expressing controversial opinions and ideas. Save our consititutional rights. here’s a pics from 1990 at Kent state univ. when TKE was allowed to express our rights. if the university or TKE nationals causes you problems, ,seek independent legal advise.

More throwback, 1990, Who is that dark skinned brother on the left ? . Kent State , TKE fraternity party, back when we were allowed to express ourselves. damn, times have changed for the worse. [sic]

The post has since been removed from the Facebook page.  Meanwhile, the official message from the exclusive organization, that "[t]he poor taste and acts of a few are not reflective of the whole" continued to look more and more ridiculous.  As thegloss.com writer Julia Sonenshein noted, 'TKE clicked “like”' on the black face photo. 

READ MORE COVERAGE OF ASU FRATS HERE.

Party Foul: Racist ASU frats are ruinning Tempe's party culture

Tempe frats aren't just racist.  They're also bad partiers.  And they're ruining it for everyone else.

At least no one wore blackface.  That may be the one positive thing you can say about the stupid, racist "MLK Black Party" organized by members of ASU's Tau Kappa Epsilon.  Saved by low standards?

Thankfully not.  The university stepped in, suspending the organization for a second time in just over a year after pics from the party surfaced documenting white celebrants donning sports jerseys, tossing up gang signs and drinking out of watermelons.  By the way, the first suspension came after a gang of about 20 TKE members invaded an apartment complex and assaulted a black associate of another fraternity, an attack that certainly takes on a different hue in light of recent events.  Local civil rights advocates have issued a series of demands and threatened a boycott.

Photo via Phoenix New Times

This newest incident comes as the latest in a long line of frats behaving badly in Tempe.  Recent incidents include the near-immolation of an underage female party-goer, the aforementioned assault, a gun fight, the ditching of frat brother, intoxicated and near death, at a local emergency room with a post-it note stuck to him.  Etc, etc.

Reacting to the frat chaos, the city and police department vowed to respond.  "These young individuals as well as the property owners, they have to respect the right of our community and that is what we are trying to do," said Chief Ryff at the time.  The city set about making a plan to crack down, not just on trouble-making frats, but on the community in general.

This plan manifested at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, under a program called Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods (GAIN).  Hundreds of cops invaded and occupied the neighborhoods surrounding the university.  In Arizona's version of Stop and Frisk, thousands of police contacts were made.  Over three weekends Tempe police and Maricopa Sheriff's deputies charged almost 1400 people, certainly very few of whom were fratboys.

READ MORE ABOUT TEMPE'S CRACKDOWN HERE

In particular, the inclusion of the MCSO in the program raised serious questions, given their terrible record of profiling Latinos and other people of color.  Students and residents in the neighborhoods around ASU resisted the police invasion in a variety of ways, including a popular Twitter campaign with the hashtag #shotsforjoe, which accompanied pictures of determined youthful partiers mocking Sheriff Joe Arpaio, drinks in hand, in defiance of the crackdown on good times.  Residents reached out to the media to explain their side of the story and to denounce the racism of the TPD and MCSO.

The crackdown was abruptly cut short after police gunned down a Tempe resident in broad daylight in the heart of downtown Tempe.  Witnesses contradicted the police story, but one this is for sure: the city had declared the area a police state, announcing a "zero tolerance policy" for any disorder.

There is an instinctual sense that ASU, still a regular top ranker in Playboy's top party schools list, has always been a place where partying was a part of life and that this was precisely what differentiated that part of the city from the quieter white bread suburban neighborhoods in the southern part of the city.  The areas around the school have always boasted a raucous culture of house parties and drunken walks home from the bar.  People live in downtown for a reason and accept and enjoy a certain degree of chaos.

But this traditionally more wild lifestyle has increasingly come into conflict with the city's plans for yuppification, upscalification and conventionification of downtown.  Recently the city changed it's standards for noise ordinances and residential codes in an attempt to homogenize the city.  Police can now act immediately to shut down loud parties whereas before they were required to give a warning.

As the city plans for a future of middle class USA basketball tourists and insurance salesmen, the need to domesticate downtown has become more pressing, and fratboy antics have given them the excuse they need.  Speaking to the Republic of the basketball deal, Susan Eastridge, CEO of Concord Eastridge, Inc., said, “In a lot of ways, we think this will invite even more development to happen in Tempe."  The expansion of commerce downtown demands order.

READ MORE ABOUT TEMPE'S PLAN TO DOMESTICATE DOWNTOWN

So it was no surprise that the police trotted out frat violence as their excuse for their crackdown.  The city recently released it's own self-tabulated results of the crackdown, citing reduced noise violations and lower incidents of muggings as proof that they had achieved their objective.  But at the outset the city had singled out in particular the frat violence and sexual assaults as justifications for their increased policing of what they deem the "loud party corridor."

Frat row, closed for business

Therefore, it's worth noting then that the city's own numbers have shown that they have completely failed in this objective.  Neither reports of aggravated nor sexual assaults declined in the period of increased policing, which cost nearly $150,000 (most of which was covered by the Feds) and which padded officers bank accounts with plenty of overtime before the holiday season.

But how does this relate to a bunch of white fratboys throwing a racist party?  Because despite what the city says, downtown Tempe is a place that welcomes parties, but the frats are really bad at partying.  They are self-centered and disconnected from reality in ways that are very troubling.  The failure to understand how their actions would be viewed and the message it would send is indeed deeply troubling.  And this violence, racism and general poor form is providing an excuse for the police to crackdown on everyone else.

Many people who are aware of Arizona's history as a segregationist state, of the battles over the MLK holiday, and the infamous racist rant of former governor Evan Mecham might not be surprised by whites acting badly.  Yet some people are wondering, "shouldn't these kids have known better?"  It turns out Tempe and ASU has its own troubled history.  Come time travel with me.

On April 14, 1989, a white mob surrounded four black students leaving a party on the now-bulldozed fraternity row.  In what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, 500 fratboys and other whites surrounded the men, spat on them and taunted them with racial epithets.  When it turned violent the cops broke it up, macing the crowd and arresting two of the black men, who were taken to the station in handcuffs.  The local press ignored the racist riot until a week later when protesters marched and blocked the Memorial Union on campus.  Among their demands, that all fraternities develop an anti-racism education program for their members.  Imagine that?  In 1989!

Before that, back in the day, Tempe was a Klan stronghold and a "sundown town," and many prominent members of the community -- including the mayor, city council members and civic leaders (the founder of the Tempe Rotary Club, for instance) -- boasted membership in the not so secret organization.

This included two-time mayor and perennial councilman Hugh Laird whose name graces a school and a street and who used to enjoy regaling friends and family with this touching yet eerily relevant story of racial appropriation, as detailed in the book "Memories of Old Settlers of Tempe."

'Between 1905 and 1910, the new manager of Borden's Creamery was coming from the East Coast on the train. In a letter to the present manager, who was retiring, he inquired whether he should be concerned about Indian attacks or train robbers. Several Tempeans heard about the inquiry and decided not to disappoint him.

'The evening of his arrival, he was met by several Borden officials and was driven to the creamery by horse and buggy. Borden's Creamery was located on Eighth St. just east of Rural Road. About twenty of the leading townspeople we awaiting, west of Rural and Eight St. on horseback, dressed up in feathers and war paint to "attack" the buggy. When the "attack" occurred, the officials jumped from the buggy, but the new manager grabbed the reins and started back toward town. The "Indians" followed whooping and hollering and then faded away in the vicinity of Mill Avenue. The new manager drove the buggy back to the train depot on Ash Avenue, got on the train and headed back to Phoenix.

'Other Borden officials had a "devil" of a time trying to persuade him to return and assume his duties. He didn't think the prank was funny! I know this story because my grandfather, Hugh Laird, was one of the "Indians" and he delighted to tell it every Christmas.'

It seems to me that this isn't just a question of not "knowing better."  Racism isn't just about the maintenance of a white supremacist system, although it clearly is that.  And this kind of thing isn't just a social faux pas.  As if the real crime is that the thoughts were expressed publicly.  It's obvious why the caricature of blackness, of the rapper or the sports star or the drug dealer, would appeal to a bunch of workaholic repressed white kids who were likely raised in the suburbs by parents exactly the same as them. Hell, there's not much that is appealing about the repressed white protestant pressed-suit work-worshipping 9-5 life they're all sadly destined to lead.

Whites in the US, experiencing the constant self-repression of Protestantism and the work ethic, have a long history of envying idealized versions of the lives of others.  In terms of white fantasies, you can draw a line from the Noble Savage to the hip hop artist.  The white New Ager wants the spirituality without the poverty of the reservation.  The white fratboy wants the rap swagger without the police attention and prison time.

But these fratboys are playing black without the consequences.  Paul Mooney famously remarked on this historical tendency.  These kids want to play black without the disadvantages.   To inhabit that identity when its convenient.  That's a big part of why it's particularly offensive to see a bunch of privileged rich white kids doing this kind of racist shit.

On a Tempe neighborhood forum where complaints about local cops, fratboys and racism are common, one black former frat member described his experience this way, 

The privileged white kids of these fraternities will engage in all the post-racial backslapping in the world. They say "nigga" When it comes up in rap songs, so they get to thinking they "get it"--that it's all for fun, that "only lazy hood [black] people are niggas...you know what I mean right bro? You're different."

He continued: 'These kids probably say things like "but, God, racism ended like 40 years ago, right?"'

Another problem with the behavior of the frats in the neighborhood is that the repercussions for their actions generally land squarely on other people.  Which, in the case of the police response they invite, means poor, working class people, and people of color in particular.  That is, people with a lot less power and resources than fratboys have and who don't have rich daddies with season football passes and exclusive organizations to back them up.  

Fratboys can play black all night in the apartments their parents pay for, but when they're driving home in that shiny new graduation present they fly under the cops' radar.  Their whiteness protects them.  But they have brought upon the whole neighborhood a police crackdown from which they themselves are largely immune, which is painfully ironic coming from an exclusive club of resume-builders constantly crowing about the self-described community "philanthropy" they engage in.  Check out the Facebook page of any one of these organizations.  It's nothing but photo ops of well-off mostly white kids masturbating themselves for resume points while doing what should be considered normal, human behavior.  As the old saying goes, if you're who they've sent to save us, we don't want to be saved.  Or, "you're a little short for a stormtrooper."

In addition to denouncing their racist brothers, which they should do immediately, ASU Greeks also need to be better partiers.  Most people who live in the neighborhoods around the university support parties -- welcome them, in fact.  Not just because they're fun but also because they help push back against the developers and city managers who dream of raising rents, filling the neighborhood with condos, driving fun-loving people out, and squashing out all good times that aren't bought and paid for in a bar or restaurant on Mill Avenue.  So throwing these godawful racist or violent parties puts everyone who likes parties in an awkward position.

If there's hope for defending a rebellious Tempe where fun can still happen, it's in refusing to be cowed in the neighborhoods by buzzkillers in blue (who are sometimes actual killers) and pencil-necked urban planners.  But the frats' shitty, racist, sexist and idiotic behavior has become just another excuse for the ongoing crackdown on good times in the neighborhood.  The frats need to get their shit together.  Dump the racism first and foremost.  There are parties to be thrown and beers to be drunk.  For the common good.  And before it's too late.

TAILGATE: PHOENIX'S SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL

ASU FOOTBALL FANS, CITY COUNCILMEN, ACTIVISTS AND ANARCHISTS ALL BECOME TARGETS OF THE WIDENING AND SUSPICIOUS GAZE OF BIG BROTHER


Is this a photo of the "War of the Worlds" spy camera that provoked Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio into action against the encroaching Big Brother state this week?

In various Facebook posts and media interviews, the councilman for the upscale Phoenix neighborhoods Ahwatukee and Arcadia says he was just enjoying a good time tailgating at the ASU-USC game at Sun Devil Stadium when he and his friends noticed a curious white truck from the Phoenix Police Department patrolling the parking lot.   Protruding out of the bed of the truck was "a tall adjustable spire" with a sci-fi look to it and a camera, scanning the assembled fans and their hot dogs.

“I was just frustrated, and I wasn’t happy about it,” the councilman told the Arizona Republic  “Why does Phoenix police send out a truck with a camera videotaping tailgaters? ... It’s just one more level of intrusion by the government looking into our personal lives.”

DiCiccio made several inquiries and after ASU and Tempe initially denied involvement Phoenix stepped forward to claim credit, in a way, and to tell us all to relax: the spying was for our own good and they didn't really feel like explaining much more about it.  So there.  If you're not satisfied with that then you're supporting the terrorists.

Mayor Stanton put it this way:

“The suggestion is that we shouldn’t provide homeland security support to another jurisdiction unless it rises to the level where we’re ready to arrest somebody,” Stanton said as he stood in front of Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.

“I think most people, both in the law enforcement world and then families who are attending this game, would probably disagree. ... Rather, what is in the best interest of keeping tens of thousands of people attending a game safe.”

What size hot dog is that in your hand, citizen?  The state needs to know to keep you safe.  From terrorists.  Or maybe just protesters.

Because, dear reader, you may find it interesting to know that the photo above of the PPD's spy cam didn't come from the ASU-USC game.   That photo was taken at a protest in 2012, when thousands of Unitarian Universalists bused themselves into town from around the country for their national conference and held a highly regulated and peaceful protest against SB1070 in front of Arpaio's tent city gulag.

Unitarians protest fucked up shit, get played by Big Brother -- via State Press

The PPD positioned the surveillance device by the entrance to the rally, presumably recording everyone coming in and out of the protest zone.  Indeed, this caused quite a bit of controversy because police, perhaps tipped off by the towering eye in the sky, singled out several local protesters, anarchists mostly, and then proceeded to exclude them from the protest with the cooperation of out of state UU organizers (who may not have understood that they were being manipulated by PPD's red squad).

Cops wait for anarcho-Qaeda among the Unitarians -- via AzCentral

In the emails below, PPD terror cop Brenda Dowhan (who was PPD's main internet spy during Occupy Phoenix) is discussing putting together a "face sheet" so that cops can identify specific activists at the Unitarian protest, and expressing her concerns about anarchists and which of them ought to go on the sheet.

In one case she's reaching out to Tempe terror cop Derek Pittam for his input. Pittam himself is famous recently for having massively over-reacted to community gardeners, deploying undercovers and riot cops to stop the planting of of veggies in an empty lot in downtown Tempe.

This face sheet is to be used to pick out undesirables, despite no criminal allegations against them, and eliminate them from the protest.  She also references a previous face sheet that was created in collaboration with various private and federal intelligence agencies for the anti-ALEC protests that took place the previous April.  Of course, this raises the question of whether the Phoenix cops' spy toy has facial recognition technology.

Again, no one made any allegation that these protesters had committed any crime.  The basis for the special attention seems to have been their participation in Occupy Phoenix, according to emails released by the PPD to investigator Beau Hodai.  And, as we've cataloged here at Down and Drought, the PPD was involved in a long and detailed surveillance operation against local anarchists and Occupy Phoenix activists, which included information sharing with private and corporate security companies, as well as the Feds via the local fusion center.

One indication, that we're looking at the same spy device, aside from the striking similarity to DiCiccio's description, is the fact that the PPD's own explanation of their ASU operation matches up with the way it was used in 2012.  Responding to the Republic, the PPD reported the device was "part of a multi-jurisdictional operation to monitor entry and exit points from the stadium area from a homeland security perspective.”

The cops describe their ASU surveillance operation as part of Urban Areas Security Initiative, a federal grant that funds the equipment.  And of course homeland security is big business.  The chart above, taken from DHS's report "The State of Arizona’s Management of Urban Areas Security Initiative Grants Awarded During Fiscal Years 2007 through 2009," shows the many millions of dollars that flowed into Arizona via homeland security grants in just a few years -- millions that bought equipment just like that spying on local activists and football fans.

And, of course, it's not just a bounty for local law enforcement agencies.  As an upcoming Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce event indicates, local companies are keen to strap on the federal feedbag as well.  Innocuously entitled "Doing Business with the Federal Government," check out the teaser:

The federal budget is more than $1 trillion, with the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security spending a combined $20 billion in Arizona alone in 2012. Through this highly-interactive presentation, you will learn how to get started on earning some of that business for your company, find out about available assistance, gain insight into future trends and share your successes and challenges of doing business with the federal government.

Twenty billion dollars is a lot of dough.  And it buys a lot of equipment.  Although their website claims the GPCC "pursues and promotes a free market," they don't hesitate to line up for the government slop when its feeding time.  Even when it comes at the expense of our freedom.  Isn't that interesting?

And, of course, the other part of the equation in Tempe is the city's recent crackdown on what they call "rowdyism."  Essentially a counter-insurgency crackdown on fun with the aim of pacifying the area around ASU for developers, the city flooded the downtown neighborhoods with overwhelming police force for three weekends in a row, including enlisting the help of the notoriously racist MCSO, making thousands of arrests with contact rates rivaling NYPD's racist "stop and frisk."  All in an alleged effort to stop college drinking.  Sound familiar?  In his response to DiCiccio, Mayor Stanton claimed that ASU requested the surveillance, which was confirmed by the ASU PD.

Clearly this has to viewed in the larger context of the crackdown in Tempe.  Perhaps, surprised at the level of resistance their "Safe and Sober" campaign received, ASU and the city have turned to other means.  Or maybe this is just a case of mission creep.  After all, despite local terror cops assertions, not much in the way of terrorism is happening in the Valley.  But once you got the tools, you gotta use them for something.

It's worth pointing out that these police activities aren't just problems of Big Brother, personal data and privacy.  They can be about life and death.  The militarization of the police has consequences, sometimes deadly. They certainly were on the first day of phase two of Tempe's "zero tolerance" crackdown on "rowdyism", when Tempe police responding to a call about a man with a box cutter gunned down Austin Del Castillo in plain daylight at the intersection of Mill and University.

In that case police claimed they "feared for their lives".  But doesn't the deployment of spy cameras against activists and football fans indicate the same level of fear, this time of the population at large -- a general criminalization of society in which we are all assumed to be guilty rather than innocent, each of us a potential threat.  And, as we see, when we accept this augment for increased police power in one case, it quickly gets turned to broader use.  What was bought under the excuse of fighting terrorism first becomes a tool for tracking activists and disrupting their activism, and then the next thing you know there's an embarrassing photo of your drunk-ass puking your brains out in a DHS database.

With cities facing an alleged budget crunch, and politicians like DiCiccio calling for union busting under the argument that we can't afford them, maybe it's time to look to a fire sale of police hardware to get us out of the red.  How about we de-certify the police union as punishment for their over-reaching.  The cops clearly can't use either their power or their toys responsibly.  Plus, it could do far more than save other innocent public workers from needless cuts to pensions and salaries.  Think of the payoff in terms of freedom!  Can you put a price tag on that?