Tuesday 31 March 2015

CopBlocking the Indianapolis Police (VIDEOS)




Last weekend – March 21st & 22nd – I traveled from Cleveland, OH to Indianapolis, IN for a CopBlock focused weekend. However before we get into that, let me explain how I met Pete Sandage, who manages Bulletproof and the Fool (Chris Johnson and Keith Ellerbee), a popular hip-hop group in Indianapolis. It starts with this video that Pete sent via CopBlock.org’s submission tab that I just so happened to edit/publish. I had a few follow up questions for Pete, so I reached out to him for additional comment. That led to us connecting via email and then via our social networks, where I had asked my Facebook friends if anyone could help with a photoshoot for the new CopBlock gear. Pete said he could and the ball was set in motion for CopBlocking Indianapolis.


IMG_0348IMG_0348IMG_0348Friday was Taco Night at Chris’s house and not only were the tacos the bomb but, we got some awesome shots of the new CopBlock gear (seriously, check it out here). A special thanks to Ashley, Gracie, Libby, Laura and even Brett Perry, one of the original CopBlock contributors, for coming out and helping with this project.  An additional thanks to Keith and Rick for providing their skills, gear and time as the photographers. It was a blast too, as you can see from my photo bomb picture from that evening.


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IMG_0130IMG_0130Saturday was another busy day, but I did find a few hours to sneak in a tattoo session with Adam, owner of Mystic Images Tattoo and, a believer that “Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights.” Adam also posted one of the coolest signs I’ve ever seen in a business. It reads, “WARNING: There is nothing here worth dying for.” This sign and the statement from Chief Hite – to come later that evening – highlights the importance of responsibility when it comes to freedom. Adam relies on his own actions, taking the responsibility out of the hands of the police, when it comes to protecting his life or property. Even just posting this sign, as well as having cameras and proper locks, probably helps deter criminals and I’d even argue that the sign is more effective than a police officer, but I’ll spare you that for now. The point is, with freedom comes responsibility.

On Saturday night about six of us met up just outside of Indianapolis and convoyed into the city. We decided to walk the bar area considering we had a smaller group, it was Saturday night and the police are known to use pepper balls to clear the bar crowds. On our first pass around the area we planned to cover over the course of the evening, we encountered Richard Hite, the chief of police, and had a short discussion (video below) about victimless crimes, policing ourselves, and filming the police.



After watching the video, I wish I’d asked the chief to elaborate on his responses/statements. Maybe asking more about how he envisions people policing themselves or if there’s any law he wouldn’t (or wouldn’t order those under him to) enforce? I know I mentioned discretion, but I let him pass that off to easily. Maybe I’m just a little rusty, since I haven’t done on the street CopBlocking – other than the spontaneous opportunity -  in almost two years? It was also early in the night, too. So I was eager to keep moving, to familiarize myself with the area.


Have you ever seen a bigger CopSucker than the guy that came out to the chief in this video? “You guys [the police] are the reason this world is the way it is” he proclaims. Yet, he doesn’t mention what’s so great and how the police play a role in making that happen? I wish I wasn’t in shock and had asked him more questions too.  What could he have said? That the police keep him (us) safe? That they have a tough job? They’re just doing their jobs? All of these can easily be debunked. So it might have been interesting to inquire about what he’s so proud of when it comes to police. Sadly, this wasn’t the only CopSucker we ran into that night. You can see them both in the overarching video at the top of this post. I’ve been thinking of a video I could do about CopSuckers, or possible a contest, so I’ll be discussing this more in the future.


The night continued on as most CopBlocking adventures do, plenty of walking, some interactions with bystanders who were curious about our cameras and the usual sarcastic cop(s) with CopSucker supporters. Yet, I’d have to hand it to the Indianapolis Police Department for this evening, in particular. There were a few snarky cops, but for the most part, they kept it cool. At one point, about four or five officers took off running down an alley and though “The Fool” sniffed out that the police were attempting to punk us, I went down the alleyway after them anyways. It was a weak attempt at a prank, but I’d rather see the police trolling CopBlockers than harassing people for victimless crimes. It also lightened the mood a bit between us and a few of the officers, one even talked to us for almost 20 minutes as the night winded down – see video below.



This was the end of the evening for us. As those who came out to the bar/club scene headed home, the police kept their pepper balls in their guns and we kept the cameras rolling. It appears everyone did their jobs tonight (LOL). I want to give a shout out to BulletProof and the Fool (check out their “Call the Cops” video below) again for hosting me and Indiana CopBlock for the on the ground knowledge. If you’re within 10 hours of Cleveland and want to do some CopBlocking, contact me here. I’m hoping to travel to at least one place a month to CopBlock with folks.



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Source Article from http://www.copblock.org/118021/copblocking-indianapolis/


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