Zombie Performance Artists Violated by Police

Scorptrio · Post by **Scorptrio** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:33 pm

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/1977

Arrest of 'zombies' sparks criticism
By Lydia Howell

Pulse of the Twin Cities

Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis features all kinds of musical "street performers"-one of the joys of a Minnesota summer. Was it paranoia induced by the Department of Homeland Security or sheer incompetence that prompted Minneapolis police to arrest street dancers "armed" only with recorded music?

Aiming for a playful protest against the American obsession with shopping, seven youths danced down Nicollet Mall on Saturday, July 22, around 8 p.m. Faces painted ghoulish white and black, they wore backpacks outfitted with clearly visible speakers playing music, calling themselves the "Zombie Dance Party." They inspired some passers-by to join them.

However, someone at the 1st Precinct decided they should be arrested.
Minneapolis Police Department public information officer Lt. Greg Reinhardt said "the investigation is ongoing" with various charges being considered from "disturbing the peace" to "possession of simulated WMDs."

"First, four officers approached us ... and just told us to turn the volume down a bit. They were totally polite. One even said something about us doing performance art," said Jamie Jones, one of the zombies. "Then, an hour later, three other officers came, very polite, and asked us for IDs and we were totally cooperative. They said it was 'sergeant's orders' to bring us to the precinct. If they thought we had bombs wouldn't SWAT have been there? They didn't even handcuff us!"

Jones is slender and tall, with dredlocks framing her delicate features. She's fascinated with electronics and sustainable DIY permaculture. She invented the musical backpacks as a lightweight, mobile sound system. Like the other zombies, Jones is a member of Critical Mass, the alternative transportation group of bicyclists who interrupt downtown traffic on mass rides the last Friday of every month.

"When we got to the 1st Precinct, Sergeant Ed Nelson said, 'I don't give a goddamn about your f-king constitutional rights!' That's when things got nasty," she pauses. "Later he said 'If I see you with wires coming out of your backpack, we're ordered to shoot you in the back of the head.' I couldn't help but think of that Brazilian electrician that police shot in London when he was just going to work on the subway."

Lt. Reinhardt read part of the official police report over the phone, which states that "officers saw wires leading to triggers." The officers making that claim are not named. The youth said officers tossed their backpacks on the hood of a police car, and the zombies later discovered that their sound equipment had been damaged by police.

Katie Kibbing, another zombie who said she was there mostly to take pictures for an art project, said, "We wanted to channel dissent in a new way. Instead of the usual signs and anger, we felt we were far more approachable and LESS confrontational." She alluded to a Peavey Plaza protest two days earlier, opposing Israel's air strikes against Lebanon. "Even the Bomb Squad guy called our backpacks 'slick.' As for the idea of them being seen as weapons, he said 'That's ridiculous!' But, while we were in the 1st Precinct holding cell, I overheard someone say to put us on the Homeland Security list. Sergeant Nelson said he was going to teach us a lesson."

The young people were separated at the precinct, each questioned and threatened. They were cuffed with overly-tight wrist ties for transport to the county jail. Making what seemed to be deliberate sudden stops, the youths were thrown around the van and then left there for a half hour in the heat, before being booked at the county jail.

Lt. Reinhardt pointed out "public safety concerns around downtown, especially Block E" and said police response to protests had improved over the years he'd been an officer.
"But, police still have to do intelligence-gathering. We have to make distinctions between peaceful protesters and groups like anarchist and the ISAG (International Society for Animal Genetics) protesters."

Reinhardt's reference to ISAG was another police overreaction with claims of a "biological weapon" that turned out to be spoiled hummus.

"Sergeant Nelson said to me that officers are instructed to shoot me on sight if they see me," said Raphi. "This was right after he was holding a large gun in the air."
"Look at what they've been doing since 9/11. It's been a way to take away rights. To put activists on lists," Jones said, voicing concern about such "intelligence-gathering." All the young people were fingerprinted, had mugshots taken and were told the FBI would get the information. The Zombie 7 said they may seek legal representation. Jeremy Hansen, Mayor R.T. Rybak's press aide, released a statement: "The 1st precinct is conducting its own investigation about the incident. The mayor cannot comment until that investigation is complete."

Kibbing's brother Kyle, 16, the youngest and slightest of the group, seemed the most shaken.
"They took a seemingly harmless situation and the way they acted-the explicatives they used, the things they said-it makes me question trusting police." Referring to his right arm, shortened and missing a finger from a birth defect, he said, "One officer called me a 'four-fingered freak.' Another said if he was working with SWAT and saw me, he'd shoot me without hesitation."

One wonders who the real "terrorists" are: unarmed protesters dancing on a summer night or armed police casually making threats to gun down citizens?

iblis · Post by **iblis** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 6:07 pm

Scorptrio wrote:Referring to his right arm, shortened and missing a finger from a birth defect, he said, "One officer called me a 'four-fingered freak.' Another said if he was working with SWAT and saw me, he'd shoot me without hesitation."

ahh! mutant scum!

footprintzinthesand · Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:15 pm

Later he said 'If I see you with wires coming out of your backpack, we're ordered to shoot you in the back of the head.'

Wtf???

Afterwards, they discover dude was an electrician....

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:06 am

State laws vary, as do the policies...Let's not forget the Zombie Party where people ended up dead...I also bet the the dancers didn't coorporate with the police either. It seems quite a bit much for an officer to say something about wires coming out of a backpack when they are unprovoked. Not to mention that malls often have problems of mallrats causing trouble, and my guess is that the mall manager called the police.

"When we got to the 1st Precinct, Sergeant Ed Nelson said, 'I don't give a goddamn about your f-king constitutional rights!'

Most likely bullshit. I don't believe that all cops are good or anything like that, but I'm calling the bullshit card. It sounds like they were a couple of kids who were asked to leave the mall unless they were going to do something other than dance around in their costumes, and they got their panties in a twist...They were most likely disrespectful, and the police were most likely trying to scare them to prevent anything like this from happening again.

Scorptrio · Post by **Scorptrio** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:57 pm

Prevent anything like this from happening again? Any thing like... constitutionally protected assembly and speech? Yes, I'm sure they want to prevent that from happening again. The mall is famous for its performance artists and it's a local attraction to go see performance art at that mall. The bottom line is, no crime was committed, except by the police.

Nephilim · Post by **Nephilim** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:04 pm

Coor wrote:Most likely bullshit. I don't believe that all cops are good or anything like that, but I'm calling the bullshit card. It sounds like they were a couple of kids who were asked to leave the mall unless they were going to do something other than dance around in their costumes, and they got their panties in a twist...They were most likely disrespectful, and the police were most likely trying to scare them to prevent anything like this from happening again.

Except performace art in this area is not uncommon. Why not do the same to the rest of them?

Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis features all kinds of musical "street performers"-one of the joys of a Minnesota summer.

iblis · Post by **iblis** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:06 pm

Nephilim wrote:
Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis features all kinds of musical "street performers"-one of the joys of a Minnesota summer.

w00t!

one more reason why minnesota sucks.

after all, the only good street performer is a mime... in a body cast.

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:09 pm

Scorptrio wrote:Prevent anything like this from happening again? Any thing like... constitutionally protected assembly and speech? Yes, I'm sure they want to prevent that from happening again. The mall is famous for its performance artists and it's a local attraction to go see performance art at that mall. The bottom line is, no crime was committed, except by the police.

I just don't buy it. If no one was bothered..If no one complained...I don't see cops going on a personal vendetta. I really don't buy it coming out of Minneapolis, where there is a HUGE goth/industrial population. Also, Minneapolis is nothing like many southern cities...Minnesota is primiarly democratic, and freedom of speech isn't suppressed like it is in the south. Art is encouraged. If you can tell me the purpose of the "Zombie Performance" and what it was bringing to the art community...other than a few highschool kids who are pissed that they didn't get their way...I'll listen.

But the truth is when one of the most liberal states in the fucking union can't deem it art, or anything but a public disterbance...I find it hard for you to make it convincing otherwise...

Nephilim · Post by **Nephilim** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 6:24 pm

Since when did how "blue" a state or city is dictate how their police act?

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:18 am

it doesn't...however that is also the majority. I just find the story of "abuse" far fecthed. I went to high school with people who called the ACLU over everything. it was rediclious. By the time that I left my school there were over 10 lawsuits headed by the ACLU against the school board and the county. The only ones i could warrent as serious were the 10 commandments andthe fact that homosexuals were not allowed to bring a same sex date to the prom...other than that...that had no real grounds and I found them to be thin files of bullshit.

Nephilim · Post by **Nephilim** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:43 am

So you are basing the validity of their experience with their local police force on your rather limited experience with people calling the ACLU?

Okay.

Post by **darkvader** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:23 pm

Coor wrote:it doesn't...however that is also the majority. I just find the story of "abuse" far fecthed. I went to high school with people who called the ACLU over everything. it was rediclious. By the time that I left my school there were over 10 lawsuits headed by the ACLU against the school board and the county. The only ones i could warrent as serious were the 10 commandments andthe fact that homosexuals were not allowed to bring a same sex date to the prom...other than that...that had no real grounds and I found them to be thin files of bullshit.

The ACLU has limited funds to file suits, so I find it very hard to believe that anything they decide has enough merit to file is actually frivolous.

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:53 pm

I believe they were all filed as one with 10 differant students.

But to note...I've only be getting online when I've been a little inhebriated lately...sorry...

I'm not now though, promise

vertigo25 · Post by **vertigo25** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:33 pm

Coor: The Twin Cities may be a very liberal place, but civil servants everywhere are primarily conservative especially the military and the police.

Your opinion of "bullshit" is merely that: opinion. You have no other information on the case other than what was posted here.

Note that the performers were arrested without being charged (they can't even decide *what* to charge them with). The fact that the police are even considering charging them with a terrorist activity (possession of simulated WMDs), kind of supports the claims of the performers. It's also become pretty standard for police agencies to add names to DHS lists when arresting protesters, regardless of what the protest was about (as long as it isn't a Christian group activity).

The police themselves haven't even refuted the performers' claims, and certain things they *have* said sound more like they are trying to justify the arrest.

And is it just me, or is the idea of police coming up and asking for ID, regardless of how "polite" they were, ring a little bit like "show me your papers, please?"

vertigo25 · Post by **vertigo25** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:42 pm

Here's the article at another site where you can see a picture of what the police think of as a simulated WMD:

http://www.pulsetc.com/article.php?sid=2631

And here's another account of the arrest by a local TV station:

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S17817.html?cat=1

Note the quote from Inspector Janee Harteau:

"...why would you have those (bags) if not to intimidate people?" said "It's not a case of (police) overreacting."

Really?

vertigo25 · Post by **vertigo25** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:06 pm

Oh... and a little info from Wikipedia on R. T. Rybak, the mayor of Minneapolis:

"Rybak has been involved in a number of controversies as mayor. One of the earliest involved the shutdown of a group that oversaw complaints about the Minneapolis Police Department. Considered a model for the nation, Rybak closed it down partly because of funding concerns (he had inherited a situation requiring $5 million to be shaved from the city's budget). After the September 11, 2001 attacks and the U.S. military actions that followed, Rybak opposed sending American forces into Iraq, but pledged to veto any city resolution stating the same since it would be nothing more than a symbolic gesture. Currently in Minneapolis there is no police chief, fire chief or public school superintendent. The fire chief is currently under investigation. The police chief has moved on to San Antonio and the superintendent was forced to leave under questionable circumstances."

So, here again, it's not the political tendencies of a city's voters that count, but the reality of how that city is run.

iblis · Post by **iblis** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:15 pm

i wonder if we could sell minnesota to canada.

i mean, the U.S. seems perfectly capable of buying trouble; it only makes sense that we should be capable of selling it, too.

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:52 am

Right, it was my opinion. Congrats on knowing the differance between an opinion & a fact. I thought it was obvious that it was an opinion, but thank you for pointing it out.

iblis · Post by **iblis** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:15 pm

i think the zombies ate this thread.

fangirl17 · Post by **fangirl17** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:20 pm

http://www.pulsetc.com/image/2006/0802/ ... -wires.jpg

it was a goddamn radio!

Zombie Performance Artists Violated by Police

Zombie Performance Artists Violated by Police

Re: Zombie Performance Artists Violated by Police

heh

Re: heh