There is a man in our community who is being harrassed by the police,

[pennylane100]

every made up charge has been dismissed in court and there is not outstanding warrants, charges or anything against him.
however, he was called by the housing commission, went to a meeting which started without him although he was not late.

The cops have pulled him over, searched him without permission and drive by his house and check the perimeter at night with a flashlight, scaring him. He has not led a perfect life, but then neither have I.The only difference is that I was never hassled.

He was called to a housing commission meeting, with no charges of any kind against him except the details of the police resentment charges which were all dropped. At the meeting, he had a folder of rebuttals to any problems that they may bring up.. However, the person chairing the meeting, a member of the city managers office said there was no need for that, they had all the info they needed, possibly supplied by one of his harassers, a city policeman who had taken it upon himself to attend the meeting. They informed him seven days later. by mail, that he had lost his section eight allowances.

He is a neighbor of my daughters, a very nice African American and when she offered him a ride to the store as she saw him walk down the street, a cop car came up and stopped her because her license plates had expired. After sitting in my daughters car for more than 30 minutes while they dealt with my daughters expired tags. he got tired of waiting and decided to walk home. The cops left my daughter and her expired tags. chased after him and eventually hand cuffed him for a couple of hours with any charges an eventual let him go, but have continued to hassle him.

He is very well read on rights and the many illegal activities of the police, but I wondered if anyone had any more ideas. He has contacted a legal aid group and has been able to get an hour consultation at a very reasonable cost but I wondered
there were more ideas any one could add.

[PumpkinAle]

1. That is terrible

I honestly don't know except may be contact the ACLU - https://www.aclu.org/ - they may have some ideas on how to proceed.

I wish you and him good luck.

[pennylane100]

4. Thanks, I did that,

they sent him to the legal aid group that helped him get the one hour consultation at a reduced cost.

[Downwinder]

2. Make videos and post on youtube.

[libodem]

3. Seems like it would make a good investigational journalism article

Wonder what Reverend Al would think or Rachel? Oh, Rolling Stone, your next award winning story is right here.

[kg4jxt]

5. police function as directed

Police respond to public opinion (as they perceive it) and political direction. When someone is harassed, I think it is generally not the police themselves who think of this (am I too naive?!). Anyway, if I perceived such a situation, I would attempt to make a non-confrontational appointment with the local police chief and during that brief meeting, I would a) thank the official for taking a few minutes, b) explain what I perceive as possible harassment, without naming any individuals - putting the matter forth specifically but identifying it as a hypothetical situation, c) ask what policies and laws might be applicable; as what the official's view point would be on such a hypothetical situation, and d) thank the official again.

This kind of low-key direct action marks you as a concerned, but not necessarily antagonistic, citizen. It also puts the official on notice that there are members of the community (one of whom has taken the time to step forward!) who are noticing a situation which the official either already knows or should know. If the police actions are truly groundless or based on mis-perceptions, then they are likely to be curtailed. If others in the community are expressing concerns against the individual being harassed, then at least there is now a counter-concern against which to weigh actions. We can express concern without being belligerent - that is ideally an AID to government.

[pennylane100]

6. Thanks for the suggestion.

I think that would be useful in stopping the police harassment but the person who held the meeting to determine whether the person should lose his eligibility for section 8 housing is a city official. As I see it, he will have to hire a lawyer to settle the matter.

I contacted the aclu who directed him to a lawyer who would give him an hour of his time for $40, He is a friend of my daughter's and I have only talked with him on the phone. He is doing all kinds of research into his rights and he is not going to go away quietly. However, I call him with any useful ideas of sites he should look at and he is very appreciative.

I am going to call him soon to see how his visit to the lawyer worked out.