*ANNOUNCEMENT 1* Three years ago I was sitting around my apartment eagerly awaiting the next day’s first Occupy Omaha meeting. Although I had been facing my own tribulations of the loss of my job and home, as well as recently overcoming an increasingly out of control drug habit of prescription pills and heroin, I watched as many of my generation did at the unfolding, unheard of phenomenon of Occupy Wall Street. Originally I had not given it much thought when I first heard about it. Even before OWS the topics of unchecked financial influence over politics, unemployment, wage stagnation, and police brutality were widely discussed. Of all these issues being pushed by this new OWS I’ll always remember the two occurrences that compelled me to become involved in Occupy in the first place. During some OWS march the NYPD “kettled” (essentially circled in a net unable to leave) a small group of female protestors who were sitting on the ground unarmed were maced directly in the face; the nozzles being less than an arm’s length away. The girls sat screaming unable to see while wondering what they did that warranted such a response. I was immediately angry that a group of people who were so clearly not a threat to anyone’s immediate health would be treated so brutally, but also so publicly. Those cops knew people were watching and they still felt bold enough to act that way. In the coming days the NYPD staged events that led to the simultaneous arrests of over 700 people. I was shocked that any police department would be able to detain over 700 Americans and not have it go unnoticed or unquestioned. It is no secret that I have had many negative encounters with a number of police departments and my opinions on law enforcement reflects my experiences with them. The day of the first Occupy Omaha meeting we shared what issues brought us there. After the meeting I was approached by others who had similar thoughts on the police and was invited the next day to an anti-police brutality rally around a man who had recently been assaulted by OPD at Creighton Hospital. I had not heard about that particular incident until that rally. As Occupy Omaha progressed I made it a point to see that issues of police brutality and misconduct in Omaha would not be ignored, but more importantly, that they be actively addressed and prevented in the future. When I felt it was time for me to leave Occupy Omaha I took some time to plan for other ways to engage the public and our problem-makers. Within months after leaving OO I would witness another video of police brutality, not in New York, but within a short distance of my home; the OPD assault on the Johnson Family near 33rd and Seward. I didn’t know where it would go or how the people would respond but I knew for this issue to finally come to a head that we would have to take unprecedented action against the City of Omaha and the Omaha Police Department. Hours after the attack on the Johnson Family on March 22nd, 2013 I started FTP Omaha. While originally starting with the purpose of bringing accountability to OPD we began to get other requests from the people to help with a plethora of issues ranging from help with unsolved murders, to recovering missing children, and getting excessive charges drop against innocent people. While much of what we did in regards to the police was very public many of our most successful and life-changing efforts will never be public. Those moments are for us and the families we’ve helped. There has been no experience in life like being part of a group like FTP Omaha. Through our efforts we were able to force the city to start to come to terms. Although neither is a perfect solution Omaha now has a review board and the police will soon have on-body cameras. These critiques will be handled in time. More importantly than the institutional change, people across Omaha are resisting police oppression in greater numbers. At the same time, the city continues to equip OPD with more tools and policies to use against the people of Omaha. There is still a greater fundamental shift that needs to occur to truly end not just the policies of brutality, but the very system that requires it to operate. For all our endeavors and successes it has not been without its own casualties. I have also made many mistakes along the way, mainly because of my own arrogance and unwillingness to ask for help in many areas. Once in Occupy I was accused of engaging in actions that would “get my kid killed by the police” or of outright being a cult leader. I have taken the direction and safety of all who have been a part of FTP or asked for our help very seriously. We deal with not just killers in our community but are also dealing with killers and abusers supposedly representing our community. I do believe FTP, as numerous other incarnations of citizen groups who organized against state/police oppression, has been targeted for suppression and entrapment, but I feel we were able to avoid going down a path from which there is no return in multiple terms. Although the personal government intrusions into my life will continue, this is not what compels me to this decision today. From this day forward I will no longer continue FTP Omaha. This is not an admission of defeat. As a result of FTP’s successes around police issues I have been personally asked to assist with a number of other just as worthy, but more pressing causes around Omaha, Nebraska, and nationally that require more of my time. While FTP has become dormant there are more people and organizations doing the work in the same spirit on the streets than last year when we began. These are not city backed efforts but truly from the ground up with their focus on people oriented solutions. We have kicked the door down and people are realizing they no longer have to live in fear of speaking or acting out against police violence and misconduct. Things are not perfect, but they are changing for the better. Although I will no longer continue the group FTP it will still be here as a resource for the people if the need ever arises. I still plan to assist with any effective local efforts to reduce both police and communal violence on a personal level. While FTP has been potent it was still ultimately just battling a symptom of a deeper rooted problem. I’ve always told people that whenever you protest you’ll never see the politician, the CEO, or decision maker first. You’ll ALWAYS see the police first no matter what your issue whether you’re for or against something. They are there to neutralize you: If you don’t know how to neutralize them just stay home and complain. The days of sign brigades are over. While police issues are the frontline of activism they are not the most critical to solving the problems of joblessness, poverty, and civic privatization. With ALL that is within me I thank all of you who have supported FTP’s efforts. You weren’t just supporting a group; you were also becoming active in standing up for yourselves. THAT is what we need; not just fashionable groups but people committed to facing our mutual problems head on together no matter how great the oppressor. Realize that though this particular entity is gone you all now have the collective knowledge on how to deal with or elude these problems when they happen to you. That is the difference maker. That is the change: Now how will you use it? D’Shawn L. Cunningham August 26, 2014
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:18:13 +0000