George Floyd's Houston burial was largely peaceful, but law enforcement came prepared for chaos

Though June feels like decades ago in today’s political climate, a new report from VICE shows some absolutely stunning details about what local and federal authorities were apparently prepared to do in case chaos or unrest broke out while people gathered outside of Houston, Texas, to mourn George Floyd, the unarmed Black man killed by police when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. VICE’s report uses documents provided to the news outlet by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which were obtained by a public records request. PowerPoint slides reportedly go over how both local and federal law enforcement readied for Floyd’s burial, and it’s a doozy.

VICE reports that according to planning records, six “sniper teams” were authorized to “open fire” from their positions on rooftops if chaos broke out on June 9, the day mourners came to watch Floyd be put to rest in the Houston suburb of Pearland, Texas. The records also reportedly stated that “overwatch units” were used to keep an eye on the crowd. Given that the nation was then—and still is—protesting and demonstrating against police brutality and for Black lives, the notion that officials were ready to meet potential unrest with such force is particularly chilling. The burial was by and large peaceful in the end, though records reportedly show officials were preparing for both civil unrest and potential attacks on the burial.

Cancel Trump's voter suppression by signing up to become a poll worker at a voting location in your area with Power the Polls.

According to VICE, the city of Pearland shouldered more than $326,000 for Floyd’s burial. Most of that money went to overtime pay for police officers, though that number doesn’t include the cost of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and FBI agents, which federal taxes went to. CBP? Yes, CBP was apparently invited to the city as well. Joshua Lee, the spokesperson for the city of Pearland, told VICE in a statement that the Pearland police department “initiated” CBP’s presence by request.

VICE reports that according to rules included in the documents, CBP was “ready to deploy” for a number of reasons if gatherings turned out less than peaceful. For example, “aggressive” language from demonstrators, throwing water bottles (even empty ones), or tossing bricks. If demonstrators displayed aggressive behavior that officers felt could lead to imminent harm, the documents state that “deadly force” was authorized at “anytime.” Members of the National Guard were also ready as the “last line of defense.”

The Floyd family’s attorney and civil rights hero, Ben Crump, told the news outlet the Floyd family did not know about the sniper units or CBP agents.

Lee told VICE the point of all of this personnel was to ensure a “safe environment” for the service. “Just because nothing happened doesn’t mean there weren’t credible threats, we plan for a variety of potential outcomes to be as prepared as possible,” he told the outlet. Lee also told the outlet the snipers and related security were also brought on in case of “anticipated protests from Second Amendment groups” or counter-protests to them.

The bigger picture, of course, is there absolutely no shortage of conservative hysteria surrounding protests or public gatherings. Demonstrations have by and large been peaceful, but if you judged incidents by the rate at which Donald Trump and some Republicans talk about “antifa,” you’d believe the streets were full of pure, violent anarchy. In fact, as Daily Kos has covered, in cities like Portland, Oregon, where federal troops arrived on the scene, utter fear, confusion, and violence sprang up. Right-wing media also spreads many kernels of truth into bigger stories, suggesting there is far more violence and danger than there is in reality. We also know that thousands of people at largely peaceful demonstrations have been arrested. 

from Daily Kos https://ift.tt/33jqSCY