Contents:

• City Council Gives Cops Green Light to Use Rubber Bullets on Protesters, Delays Action on Protecting Protesters from Police Repression
• Urgent Call for Copwatchers at Critical Mass

UPDATE TO YESTERDAY'S URGENT ACTION ALERT:
CITY COUNCIL GIVES COPS GREEN LIGHT TO USE RUBBER BULLETS ON PROTESTERS; DELAYS ACTION ON PROTECTING PROTESTERS

We normally try our best not to blow up your inbox with emails but this is an urgent update to the situation we alerted you to yesterday.  As we told you yesterday, the Minneapolis City Council deviously plotted to strip away important protections for activists including a prohibition on the use of rubber bullets, restrictions against police confiscating cameras and harassing journalists and legal observers, etc.

Turns out that the hearing on the Cam Gordon proposal to return those protections to the community is being delayed until the next council cycle at the request of the MPD.  So, in other words, this council can strip away our protections without as much as a public hearing or even advance notice of their plans but they allow the cops to tell them when to have a hearing on the proposal that might restore some of those protections--makes you wonder who they really work for.

AT THIS POINT THERE IS NO NEED TO COME TO TOMORROW'S PS&RS COMMITTEE MEETING unless you just want to sneer in the council members faces for doing this to the community.  Save your time off and use it when this item will come up on their agenda.  We need a mass turnout of people on this day:

Wednesday, July 16, 1:00 p.m.
Minneapolis City Hall
350 S 5th Street, Room 317, Minneapolis

WE STILL NEED YOU TO CALL AND EMAIL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. This is very important and should be done as soon as possible. Call them all but concentrate on the members of the PS&RS Committee:

Don Samuels, President 673-2205 [email protected]

Paul Ostrow 673-2201 [email protected]

Cam Gordon 673-2202 [email protected]

Diane Hofstede 673-2203 [email protected]

Barb Johnson 673-2204 [email protected]

Gary Schiff 673-2209 [email protected]

Talking points:
1) It is an outrage that they would rescind an ordinance that provides important protections to the community without even knowing what they were passing and without seeking the community's input.

2) How dare they empower police to use rubber bullets on protesters when we are only weeks away from protests against the RNC?  Was this by design?

3) Do they honestly believe police should be allowed to confiscate cameras, harass legal observers and infiltrate organizations that haven't broken any laws?

PLEASE, PLEASE contact your council member and the council members on the PS&RS committee listed above.  And make your plans now to pack the council chambers on July 16th.

URGENT CALL FOR COPWATCHERS AT THIS FRIDAY'S CRITICAL MASS

Critical Mass
Friday, June 27 at 5:30 p.m.
Loring Park
At the fountain on the Harmon Place side of the park

Now that cops have won a major victory in having restrictions on their conduct lifted, we need to be out in force to observe police behavior and, hopefully, prevent misconduct and brutality against participants in the Critical Mass bike ride.  Please meet members of CUAPB down at the dandelion fountain on the Harmon Place side of Loring Park.  If you own a bike and are okay with riding along, bring it.  Also bring a camera if you own one.  There have been rumors that police are planning to attack this ride.  We've had a copwatch presence at every critical mass since the ride was attacked by police last August and it does make a real difference in the safety of the events.  Please be there if you can.