Police Departments Retaliate Against Organized "Cop Watch" Groups Across the US →

Must-read. Bless the cop watchers.

Cops Label Cop Watch Groups Domestic Terrorists

"Buehler told Truthout the APD is working with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fusion center to attempt to identify PSP as a sovereign citizens group to associate its members with domestic terrorism with state and federal authorities. DHS fusion centers are designed to gather, analyze and promote the sharing of intelligence information between federal and state agencies. (...)

Communities Benefiting From Cop Watch Patrols Resist Police Retaliation Against Watchers

In some major urban areas, rates of police harassment of individuals drop considerably after cop watchers take to the streets - and communities band together to defend cop watch patrols that experience police retaliation, say veteran cop watchers. (...)

Martín described an experience in Chicago in which he felt police unjustly retaliated against him after a local CopWatch group formed and began regularly patrolling Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. After the group became well-known by the Pilsen community, residents gathered around an officer who had detained Martín after a patrol one night in 2009, calling for his release. The officer let him go shortly after.

"When cop watchers are retaliated against, if the community is organized, if there is a strong relationship between cop watch patrols and the community, but most importantly, if the cop watchers are people of the community, that community has the power to push back against retaliation and prevent its escalation," Martín said. "Retaliation doesn't work if you stand together.""