2003 FTAA Protests

The 2003 FTAA protests (Which I am proud to say I attended) was marred by excessive police force. Naturally the police claimed they only arrested and shot unruly activists, however the thousands who attended the protest had a completely different story. To get a better idea of what transpired that day the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) conducted a review of policing efforts that day. I was shot that evening in the back with a rubber bullet (god it hurt like hell) and pepper sprayed on several occasions all while protesting peacefully. Seeing the police corral people and shoot them with rubber bullets mercilessly left me in absolute shock. I have two very vivid memories of that day. The first is of a woman in a suit standing about 100 feet infront of the police. As she stood there the police began marching forward. The woman would not move, the police kept getting closer and begun yelling at her to move. A moment after they warned her she was hit with a barrage of paint balls filled with pepper powder (She ended up on the floor writhing). The other image is of a reporter who got shot in the face with a rubber bullet not 5 feet from me. His forehead was swollen and bleeding profusely. The police didn't help him, the "scum bag" kids protesting did (Good for nothing pigs). I personally think the Miami PD is a department full of resentful fat asses hiding behind guns and riot shields, but that's my personal opinion.

Here are some excerpts from the report:

“instances of police misconduct were observed” and, except for a few groups of people, “the protestors and demonstrators were not violent or disruptive.”

“An overwhelming majority of the arrests made during the FTAA did not result in prosecution or findings of guilt.”

“In certain instances, the MPD did not adequately protect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators…The overwhelming presence of police dressed in riot gear intimidated demonstrators and deterred them from exercising their First Amendment rights.”

“Tasers were employed during the FTAA.” (Thank god I wasn't tasered)

“Some demonstrators were profiled, unlawfully searched and detained.”

Click here to read entire article

Edit: Added some things I left out from the original draft. Hope you don't mind.