USAF Scrambles F-15 Fighters to Intercept Aircraft Stolen from SeaTac, WA

FBI and National Transportation Safety Board investigators plan to visit the crash site of a stolen Horizon Air passenger plane on Ketron Island near Steilacoom.

Horizon Air said a ground services employee boarded the plane at about 8 p.m. Friday [August 10, 2018] night and took off from Sea-Tac Airport. No passengers were on the plane.

Two F-15 jets were scrambled from the 142nd fighter squadron in Portland. As those jets closed on the Horizon turboprop about an hour into the flight, it nose dived and crashed.

During the hour-long flight, the plane turned upside down and dove toward Puget Sound as horrified witnesses watched from the ground. The plane pulled up just above the water. (KOMO 4 News, August 11, 2018)

A 29-year-old Horizon employee who stole an empty plane from Sea-Tac Airport communicated with air traffic control before crashing on Ketron Island in Pierce County, WA.  Cockpit audio was posted to the King 5 News web-site, August 11, 2018.
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Based on the radio traffic between the stolen aircraft an the tower at SeaTac some have suggested that the person who stole the plane was suicidal or at least mentally unstable. Perhaps he was, we don't really know and may never know for sure.

But if he was suffering from a mental or emotional problem, the chances that he would have been able to receive counseling and help as his problems progressed is slim. Working on a flight line at an airport is a job that requires government clearance (background checks and such).

While seeking help should never be an issue, it almost always is.  Counseling and treatment for mental / emotional concerns is too often NOT AVAILABLE for those who need it. 

 



Road Rage to Deadly Shooting: The Aubrey Bowlin Interview

On March 18, 2018, I wrote about Aubrey Bowlin being attacked on I-5, in Washington State, and being forced to use her firearm to defend herself. The Pierce Country prosecutor determined the Ms. Bowlin acted in self-defense and brought no charges against her.

Until now, Ms. Bowlin has not given a public interview concerning the events on that day.  On August 10, 2018 Ms. Bowlin gave an interview, Road Rage to Deadly Shooting: The Aubrey Bowlin Interview, to Squid Tips. Her interview is available on YouTube.

The interview is well done, explaining not only what happened during the incident, but the health and financial issues faced by Ms. Bowlin in the months that followed.

My blog post from March 2018 is here.

Facebook Bans Conservative Political Ad

According to the San Francisco Chronicle (August 7, 2018) Facebook is banning conservative political ads.

Facebook banned a California Republican House candidate’s biographical ad because of content the online platform deemed “shocking” and “sensational.” The content in question was footage of the 1970s Cambodian genocide that the parents of Central Valley congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng survived. Heng, who is running against Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, opened the ad with black-and-white photos of the Cambodian genocide under the Pol Pot regime of the 1970s, then explained how her parents narrowly avoided death and later came to the U.S.

“We have big tech companies umpiring our elections. And they’re not the umpires,” said Michael Cornfield, a George Washington University professor and expert on social media. “This goes back to the problem that we haven’t made up our minds whether to treat them like a public utility or a private media company.”

It took five days for Facebook to change its mind on Heng’s ad. Cornfield wondered what would happen if a controversial video was posted “in the last 72 hours of the campaign and Facebook didn’t decide right away (about whether to remove or restore it). That might affect a close election. Do we want that?”
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Facebook's Plan to Partner With Banks Raises Privacy Concerns

According to an article in Fortune (August 6, 2018) Facebook has asked big banks to share their customers’ detailed financial records with it in an effort to offer new financial and commerce services through Facebook Messenger, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The social media network wants access to card transactions and checking account balances along with information about where its users shop, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
By helping friends and family do more than chat online, Facebook hopes to increase the amount of time that users spend with its Messenger app. Banks would get access to Facebook user information, in exchange for sharing their financial data.

Gennie Gebhart, a Researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties organization, told Fortune that this push to change user habits and increase their interactions with businesses through the Messenger app is dangerous for user privacy.
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Fugitive in 'Largest Ecoterrorism Investigation in US History' Captured

One of two remaining fugitives in a string of high-profile fires across the West that focused national attention on a group of environmental radicals has been apprehended and returned to the United States after 12 years on the run.

Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 50, of Seattle, Washington is facing several charges in Oregon, including conspiracy to commit arson, destruction of an energy facility and arson of a government building.

Authorities learned Dibee was traveling through Central America on his way to Russia, with a planned stop in Cuba. With the assistance of Cuban authorities, the FBI arranged for his detention before he boarded a plane bound for Russia.

In 2006, a federal grand jury in Oregon indicted Dibee and 11 conspirators as part of 'Operation BACKFIRE,' a long-running FBI domestic terrorism investigation, and the largest ecoterrorism investigation in U.S. history.

The conspirators, known as "The Family," have been linked to more than 40 criminal acts ranging from vandalism to arson between 1995 and 2001, causing more than $45 million in damages.
The group was based out of Eugene, Oregon.

One fugitive from "The Family" remains at large: Josephine Sunshine Overaker, an American citizen believed to be about 43 or 46 years old. Authorities say she fled to Europe in late 2001. Overaker faces 19 felony charges, including arson in the districts of Oregon, Washington and Colorado.

Authorities say Overaker speaks fluent Spanish and may seek employment as a firefighter, midwife, sheep tender or masseuse. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to her arrest. (KOMO 4 News, August 10, 2018)

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Cambridge Man Offered $500 ‘To Anyone Who Kills an ICE Agent’

According to WHDH 7 News Boston (August 9, 2018) A Cambridge man has been charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday with one count of use of interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat to injure another person for offering $500 cash for anyone who kills an ICE Agent.

Prior to the alarming tweet, Brandon J Ziobrowski (Age: 33) responded to a tweet from the ICE Field Office that asserted that agents put their “lives on the line to arrest criminal aliens,” by saying, “Thank you ICE for putting your lives on the line and hopefully dying I guess so there’s less of you.” Ziobrowski is also accused of sending other threatening tweets, including his desire to “slit” U.S. Sen. John McCain’s throat and claiming that “Guns should only be legal for shooting the police like the second amendment intended.”

Officials noted that Ziobrowski’s “communist, socialist and anarchist” tweets grew more violent and threatening as time passed. At one point, Lelling said the suspect tweeted “shooting a cop should get you a medal.”

Ziobrowski does not have a criminal background and investigators said they are not aware of anyone who may have reached out regarding the murder-for-hire tweet. His Twitter account was suspended after he was flagged by an analyst at the Department of Homeland Security.
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Regardless of how you may feel about the nation's current immigration policies, and regardless of how you may feel about the work being done by ICE, making threats to murder or hire others to murder ICE Agents is just plain wrong. It is a crime!

No doubt, Mr. Ziobrowski will claim that he posted the above comment in jest, or that he was making a political point, but that does not matter. Solicitation to murder is still solicitation to murder!

Watch Your Six

Stay Alert - Stay Safe

 

Shooting of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper on Route 33

(Video Link)

Northampton County prosecutors have released police dashcam video of Daniel K. Clary opening fire on two Pennsylvania state troopers, critically wounding one, during a traffic stop on Route 33 in November 2017.  (The Morning Call, August 9, 2018)

The video shows a routine traffic stop by state police that turned into a frantic gun battle along Route 33.

It captured the entire encounter between Clary and police, including the moments in which he opened fire, grievously wounding Cpl. Seth Kelly, who nearly died from gunshot wounds that included a severed femoral artery.

A melee between Clary and the troopers lasted one minute and six seconds. The gun battle that followed, just 41 seconds.

Before he ran to his car, grabbed a gun and opened fire, Clary and the troopers grappled on the ground, Clary trying to grab their service handguns and continuing to struggle even after he was repeatedly shocked with Tasers.

Clary tried to grab both troopers’ pistols, and succeeded in dislodging the ammunition magazine of Seiple’s. A spare firearm of Kelly’s fell to the ground at one point, which Seiple later picked up, disarmed and threw to the side.

Seiple used his Taser on Clary twice and punched him five times, according to trial testimony. Kelly tasered Clary five times, threw nine punches and kneed him once.

According to a state police expert who examined the video frame-by-frame, Clary and Seiple shot at each other simultaneously, as Clary pointed a handgun at police.

Clary fired all six of his gun’s bullets, Kelly fired 21 rounds and Seiple fired 20 rounds.

Clary, 22, of Chestnuthill Township, was wounded in the gunfight, driving himself to Easton Hospital with injuries that included a bullet lodged in his head.
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This is just one example of how quickly a "routine traffic stop" can turn deadly. Stay Alert. Stay Safe.

Portland Police Fired Grenades at Protesters Saturday: What Videos Show

According to Oregon Live (August 9, 2018) -- After hours of relative calm, the police response escalated when officers ordered those protesting the right-wing group Patriot Prayer near Southwest Naito Parkway and Columbia Street [in Portland] to disperse.

When demonstrators didn't immediately leave, riot police fired dozens of flash-bang grenades and other crowd-control munitions, such as pepper spray and rubber bullets.

At least three people struck by these weapons, described as non-lethal, were hospitalized. One of them suffered a traumatic brain injury, another third-degree chemical burns to her arm.

Police have said protesters had thrown a "chemical agent" and other objects at officers. Chief Danielle Outlaw this week said police didn't give orders for protesters to disperse or officers to use crowd-control munitions until after things were thrown at police.

Multiple counter-protesters and reporters, including those from Oregonian/OregonLive, didn't see that.

In the days since, our publication [Oregon Live] has reviewed hours of video footage from Saturday, with a focus on the build-up to its most contentious moment.

While no single video clip can provide a complete picture of the sprawling and chaotic scene, some offer a clearer, closer look. 

None appears to show projectiles thrown by counter-protesters prior to the use of riot control weapons by police. Two of them, in fact, appear to show both officers and counter-protesters relatively calm in the seconds leading up to the first shots.
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Too often when we see Internet video of "police misconduct" it is the last 45-seconds of a 15-minute encounter, filmed by one person, and narrated to show the police in the worst light possible.

In the case of Portland on August 4, 2018 there are multiple videos, taken from different angles, and taken by different sources - protesters, counter-protesters, and the press.

Did the Portland Police attempt to kill or injure Antifa protesters, as has been claimed in some posts? NO! Of course not, and such claims are completely inappropriate. Did the Portland Police fire munitions directly into a generally peaceful demonstration.... ? "Reporters covering the face-off—including those from the local Oregonian, The Guardian, and Willamette Week—say projectiles were thrown only after the police attacked the demonstration without provocation, and unedited footage and interviews with nearly 20 protesters near the front lines appears to support that."

A Study of Active Shooter Pre-Attack Behaviors

In 2017 there were 30 separate active shootings in the United States, the largest number ever recorded by the FBI during a one-year period.1 With so many attacks occurring, it can become easy to believe that nothing can stop an active shooter determined to commit violence. “The offender just snapped” and “There’s no way that anyone could have seen this coming” are common reactions that can fuel a collective sense of a “new normal,” one punctuated by a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Faced with so many tragedies, society routinely wrestles with a fundamental question: can anything be done to prevent attacks on our loved ones, our children, our schools, our churches, concerts, and communities?
 
The FBI conducted a study of pre-attack behaviors of active shooters in the United States between 2000 and 2013. The study found that:
 

• Active shooters take time to plan and prepare for the attack, with 77% of the subjects spending a week or longer planning their attack and 46% spending a week or longer actually preparing (procuring the means) for the attack.
• Active shooters were typically experiencing multiple stressors (an average of 3.6 separate stressors) in the year before they attacked.
• In those cases where the active shooter’s primary grievance could be identified, the most common grievances were related to an adverse interpersonal or employment action against the shooter (49%).
• In the majority of cases (64%) at least one of the victims was specifically targeted by the active shooter.

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As I stated when talking about the Las Vegas shooting: "While we tend to think of mental health consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, compassion fatigue and burnout as resulting from a specific traumatic event, these same things can result from prolonged exposure to a hostile and stress inducing work environment.  The harming effects of workplace (or other environmental) stress can result in an individual becoming psychologically injured after long-term abuse (problems that are drawn out over months, or even years)."

Mark Follman (2015) in his research for 'Mother Jones Magazine' found that mass shootings are planned and prepared for by the shooter over a period of time. These mass shooters don't just snap and go on a killing rampage. Follman stated “When the next shooting happens at a school, an office building, or a movie theater, the question will again be asked: "What made him snap?" But mass murder is not an impulsive crime. Virtually every one of these attacks, forensic investigations show, is a predatory crime, methodically planned and executed.”

When interpersonal or employment stressors are drawn out of long periods of time (months or years), and when counseling and support is not readily available for individuals experiencing multiple stressors, we create an environment with an increased likelihood of producing an active shooter.

We cannot blame others for the actions of an active shooter, the person doing the killing is the person at fault. What we can do however is look at morale and environment in our workplaces (and schools) to ensure that we are not maintaining an environment that creates a specific target for the active shooter (64%) or creates multiple stressors that starts a person planning an attack.

   

Russian Court Rules in Favor of FSB's Demands for Telegram's Encryption Keys

 

The Russian Supreme Court has upheld the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) right to demand encryption keys from Telegram, dealing the embattled messaging app another blow in its privacy battle with law enforcement.

The FSB has sought tools to break the app’s message encryption and unscramble private conversations since two suspects were accused of using the platform to coordinate the St. Petersburg metro bombings in April 2017. Telegram maintains that it has no access to users’ encryption keys and says the FSB’s demands are unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the keys to decode encrypted messages don’t fall under the private correspondence protections of the Russian constitution.

Children Found in New Mexico Compound Were Training for School Shootings

Court documents released this week are revealing new allegations in the discovery of emaciated children at a New Mexico compound — including that at least one of the kids was being trained to commit school shootings, and that an adult buried a long-missing child there.

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe, said authorities got a warrant to search the property last week after they received a message from what appeared to be someone inside the compound that said “we are starving and need food and water.”

Hogrefe said it had to be a search warrant and a tactical approach for our own safety because we had learned the occupants were most likely heavily armed and considered extremist of the Muslim belief.”  (Q13 News, August 8, 2018)
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Turkish Lawyers Seek Arrest of US Service Members on Incirlik Air Base

A group of pro-government lawyers in Turkey have filed charges against several U.S. officers associated with Incirlik Air Base, seeking their arrest for alleged ties to terrorist groups.

The accusations come amid increased tensions between the U.S. and Turkey, a NATO ally that has cracked down in recent years on political opposition, shut down media outlets and tightened control of the court system, according to international aid groups.

The lawyers are seeking a temporarily halt to all flights leaving the base and access to execute a search warrant, according to court papers filed last week.

The court papers accuse the American officers and NCOs cited of having connections to the Fethullah Terror Organization, and trying to “destroy the constitutional order” of Turkey.

(Stars and Stripes, August 8, 2018)
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Portland Woman Says She Was Burned by a Police Flashbang Grenade

 



According to The Guardian, August 6, 2018 - A woman who protested against a rightwing group rallying in Portland, Oregon, said she has been left with severe injuries to her arm and chest after being hit by a police “flash-bang” round.

Michelle Fawcett, 52, said she was about half a block from the front of the counter-protester gathering, as they opposed rightwing group Patriot Prayer’s rally, at about 2pm on Saturday when she was hit.

“I heard the most earth-shattering explosion,” she told the Guardian. “I felt struck in the chest, then the arm, and then a really intense and searing pain.”

When Fawcett, a documentary film-producer, later saw a doctor, she was told she had severe soft tissue injuries and third-degree chemical burns on her arm and chest. Fawcett shared with the Guardian photographs of her injuries and her doctor’s report that describes chemical burns.

On Sunday, Portland police said that their less-lethal weapons attacks were provoked by protesters’ “violent and assaultive behaviour” – in particular their use of projectiles. This has been disputed by protesters and journalists.

Live video from the news website Unicorn Riot appears to show projectiles flying only after the police move in to clear SW Columbia Street, where Fawcett was standing.

Other video from the event appears to show police directing their fire towards protesters on a flat trajectory, and moving in on journalists and others filming events from a sidewalk.

Fawcett said: “I didn’t see anybody doing anything, other than maybe some chanting. I wouldn’t have been having a casual conversation, as a non-violent middle-aged woman, if people had been throwing things nearby.”

“The point is that it was totally indiscriminate,” Fawcett said. “They fired, and clearly they had no idea what they were firing towards.”

On Sunday morning, Portland police said six kinds of “riot control agents and less-lethal impact munitions” had been fired into the crowd, including 40mm “impact rounds” whose diameter would be consistent Fawcett’s injuries.

(A similar wound on a different protester in Portland)

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I am not particularly a fan of Antifa, or BLM, or Proud Boys, any of these other groups that go out and protest in the streets. These protests turn public opinion against your group, and blur the message you are trying to get out. That being said all of these groups have a First Amendment right to peacefully assemble and protest is they choose to do so.

Police use of munitions of the type seen in Portland, fired into crowds of people demonstrating on a public street is I believe excessive. Riot control devices are intended to control riots. They should never be used to suppress political demonstrations.

In response to the multiple injuries of protesters: Portland Police Suspend Use of “Flash-Bang” Grenades After Reports That Several Protesters Were Severely Injured By the Weapons.

Police Chief Danielle Outlaw and Assistant Chief Ryan Lee say the Portland Police Bureau has suspended use of "flash-bang" grenades after reports that multiple people were severely injured as officers drove back a crowd of antifascist protesters on Aug. 4, 2018.

 

 

Taser Used on 11-year-old Girl Who Stole Food From a Kroger Store

CINCINNATI -- A police officer working an off-duty detail at a grocery store used a Taser on an 11-year-old girl Monday evening[August 6, 2018]. The officer was working a detail at the Kennard Avenue Kroger when his attention was brought to a girl who was involved in shoplifting food from the store.

The officer approached the girl who ignored the officer and walked away, ignoring commands to stop. The officer then deployed the Taser and struck the girl in the back. (KOMO 4 News, August 7, 2018)

"It hit my back real fast and then I stopped, then I fell and I was shaking and I couldn't really breathe," the girl, Donesha Gowdy, told NBC News in an interview alongside her mother. "It's just like you're passing out but you're shaking."

The fourth-grader said that she did not try to fight the officer and that she was not aggressive toward him.
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CPD procedures on use of force state, "The TASER may be deployed on a suspect actively resisting arrest when there is probable cause to arrest the suspect, or to defend one’s self or another from active aggression."

The procedure also notes that officers should consider the severity of the crime, the level of suspicion with respect to the fleeing suspect, the risk of danger to others and the potential risk of secondary injury to the suspect due to their surroundings before using a stun gun.

"An individual simply fleeing from an officer, absent additional justification, does not warrant the use of the TASER," CPD procedure states.
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There is likely more to this incident than is reflected in the initial reports in the press. What I want to point out here however is less the fact that a Cincinnati police officer deployed a Taser when maybe he should have used another option, but that this incident is reported in the Seattle, WA press.

This week we have also seen a 2015 YouTube video of an officer in Virginia Beach, using a Taser on a 17-year-old who refused to get out of a vehicle until his mother arrived at the scene of a traffic stop. [The officer claimed he detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. All marijuana charges were later dropped.]

With the ubiquitous nature of video cameras and 24/7 news reports, every use of force by a police officer has the potential to become national news.

DOD Prohibits GPS Enabled Devices

Deployed service members are going to have to ditch their “geolocation devices” in response to a new memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan.

This includes physical fitness aids, applications in phones that track locations, and other devices and apps that pinpoint and track the location of individuals.

“Effective immediately, Defense Department personnel are prohibited from using geolocation features and functionality on government and nongovernment-issued devices, applications and services while in locations designated as operational areas,” Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning III told Pentagon reporters today.

Deployed personnel are in “operational areas,” and commanders will make a determination on other areas where this policy may apply.

The market for these devices has exploded over the past few years, with many service members incorporating them into their workout routines. They use the devices and applications to track their pace, running routes, calories burned and more. These devices then store the information and upload it to central servers where it can be shared with third parties. That information can present enemies with information on military operations.

Using GPS Devices Pose Risk

“The rapidly evolving market of devices, applications and services with geolocation capabilities presents a significant risk to the Department of Defense personnel on and off duty, and to our military operations globally,” Manning said.

These Global Positioning System capabilities can expose personal information, locations, routines and numbers of DoD personnel. Their use in overseas locations “potentially create unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission,” Manning said.

Personal phones and other portable devices also contain apps that rely on GPS technology, and they will be affected. Commanders will be responsible for implementing the policy, and they will be allowed to make exceptions only after conducting a thorough risk assessment.

Security is at the heart of this guidance. DoD seeking a balanced way that allows for legitimate official and personal uses of geolocation technology that does not impact security.

Manning said the department will continue to study the risk associated with these devices and change the policy as needed.  (Joint Chiefs of Staff, August 8, 2018)

Understand Your Legal Rights When Dealing With Military Law Enforcement

Philip D. Cave is a military defense lawyer in Alexandria, VA, who has been practicing military law exclusively since 1979.  Mr. Cave has written an article "Your Rights" to help Service Members and military family members understand their legal rights when dealing with military law enforcement (NCIS, CID, OSI, CGIS, MP, SP MAA.).

Too often Service Members get their legal advice from a "barracks lawyer" instead of an actual attorney who understands military law. (https://www.court-martial.com/your-rights.html)

Reading Mr. Cave's article can help you understand and protect your legal rights. Unfortunately the links from the article to the Air Force FOIA page are broken, but the rest of the article is definitely worth reading.

 Professor Christopher Slobogin's paper "Deceit, Pretext, and Trickery: Investigative Lies By the Police" mentioned in the article can be found in the Oregon Law Review, 1997.  Although several years old, Professor Slobogin's article is also worth reading to help understand law enforcement interviews and interrogations.

James Duane, law professor at the Regent University School of Law, former criminal defense attorney, and Fifth Amendment expert also has an excellent video presentation on YouTube about dealing with the police. 

 

 

Of course you should always consult with an attorney directly who can review the specific facts involved in your case and advise you on the best courses of action. But to retain your rights you must first understand your rights.

  



Viewing Porn on Puyallup Public Library Computers Sparks Outrage

Some people in Puyallup, WA are using free library computers and internet to access pornographic videos and images with children nearby. The Puyallup Public Library said it’s against the law to view child pornography, but everything else is free rein. The library said they don’t allow illegal activity, but their policy, following the American Library Association’s recommendation on first amendment rights, allows patrons to view pornography at public computers with a privacy screen.

According to the National Conference of State Legislature’s website, more than 25 states have internet filtering laws that apply to schools and or libraries. Washington State is not one of them. Back in 2003, legislation was introduced in the State Senate that would require public libraries in Washington State to install internet filtering software to block sexually explicit material. The bill made it out the Senate, but died in the House.

Puyallup resident Elaine Smith, expressed concern about the ability to access pornography at the public library saying: “Children are allowed to look at stuff at the library, there’s no filters, there’s no age restrictions, there’s not anything. “So if they [children] know how to access that kind of information they can get it.”  (KOMO 4 News, August 3, 2018)
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Libraries have been advocates for a right to access information long before the digital age. Book banning and burning has been a national pastime for various sections of the population for decades, and libraries have always stood in the face of that, advocating in the belief that people have a right to read, learn, and access everything the world has to offer.

Filtering / censoring access to information in public libraries is always a bad idea. There's a slippery slope: if we start with pornography, where do we go from there? What's appropriate in the eyes of one person might be wildly offensive to someone else.

The ALA published a rep​ort investigating the use of filters and found they were disproportionately blocking out left-leaning views on issues such as gay marriage and abortion. LGBT community websites were often blocked and identified as "sexual" sites.

They also found that low-income individuals are more impacted by filters. If you're able to afford internet at home and aren't finding the information you need at school or the library because it's blocked out, the easy solution is to head home and Google it there. But for those whose only access point to the internet is at school or the public library, filters can choke out their ability to have the same access to information as their peers. Libraries in lower-income communities are also more likely to have filters because they lean on government funding and can't afford separate labs.

Now, as responsible adults, we should consider the affect of material we may be viewing on children around us. But, censorship of information in public libraries is never appropriate.

Berkeley Police Under Fire for Publishing Anti-fascist Activists' Names and Photos

Berkeley police have arrested more than a dozen anti-fascist activists and posted their names and photos on Twitter, raising concerns that the department was encouraging harassment and abuse.

Law enforcement’s unusual decision to immediately publicize the personal information and faces of arrested leftwing demonstrators on social media has sparked intense backlash. Critics have accused police of aiding the far right and endangering counter-protesters with “public shaming” and targeted arrests for alleged minor offenses.

Some said Berkeley’s decision to post mugshots was akin to the increasingly common rightwing tactic of “doxxing” anti-fascists, meaning publishing people’s private information online as part of an intimidation effort. By Monday morning, Fox News and other major publications had posted the photos and names. (The Guardian, August 6, 2018)
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Were the arrests of more than a dozen activists by the Berkeley police justified? Yes, they probably were, but maybe they weren't... this is something for the courts to decide. But until the courts have decided, until a person have been found guilty of having committed a crime, our system of justice says that that person is presumed to be innocent.

Being titled with an offense (being arrested) is not the same as being charged with an offense, and being charged with an offense isn't the same as being found guilty of having committed an offense.

Should the Berkeley police (or any government agency for that matter) publish non-conviction data (mug shots, identity) from police records on a public social media site?

 

ANTIFA Protestors Attack USMC Office

According to an August 6, 2018 article in the Tribunist, protests Sunday turned violent after a group of Antifa protestors smashed windows at a Marine Corps recruiting post. Some of the demonstrators hurled fireworks and flares at police. As the group continued their rampage, the Berkley Police noted that “an extremist element among a large group” attacked city vehicles. 21 were damaged. Many were set on fire. Others had their tires slashed. The group also set fires in dumpsters and trash bins. Three people were injured by what authorities are labeling “explosives.” The fireworks and flares were thrown at police and sheriff’s deputies, but no officers were hurt.

Antifa Homemade Grenades / Fireworks

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