Are Warren (MI) police employees envious of IRS employees?

October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 Pete Eyre 813 Views Austrian economics, copblocking, dale brown, detroit, film the police, garret ean, lysander spooner, Michigan, Pete Eyre, police accountability tour, threat management center, warren police department

A quick update about our time here in Detroit, the sixth stop of the Police Accountability Tour (http://copblock.org/tour) –

Today Garret and I rolled to Warren, MI (the third largest town, by population, in Michigan) where we spotted some police activity. We parked and documented the stop. In the 40min or so we were on the scene, two other stops happened within a few hundred feet.

To take a cue from 4409 – that’s some heavy road pirate activity.

In the first stop, one person was taken in a cruiser and his vehicle was towed. In the second stop, the driver was given a ransom note. In the third stop, both the driver and passenger were put in the back of a cruiser. We left before the stop concluded but it’s possible that that vehicle was also towed, as a second tow truck did appear on the scene just prior.

The highwayman takes solely upon himself the responsibility, danger, and crime of his own act. He does not pretend that he has any rightful claim to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit – Furthermore, having taken your money, he leaves you, as you wish him to do – He does not keep “protecting” you by commanding you to bow down and serve him; by requiring you to do this, and forbidding you to do that. – Lysander Spooner

What we were later told by our friend who grew up in Warren, that as less coin is coming into “City of Warren” coffers due to the housing bubble, police have stepped up their revenue generation activities of motorists.

Warren (MI) Police
(586) 574-4700
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/government/police-department

Here’s a short video playlist that includes some of the footage captured. Garret is also uploading some of his raw footage to Fr33manTVRaw (just look for the date “2013 10 30” in the title.

This video is a recap we captured afterward when in my Tahoe via Bambuser.com/Channel/CopBlock. It ends abruptly – what was cut off in the last 30sec were comments on 1) passersby were appreciative of us being out there filming. That includes a guy on a bicycle, a man pushing a stroller with his daughter, and many motorists who gave thumbs-up or the peace sign, and 2) that the police seemed somewhat nervous about us filming, as if it wasn’t the norm.

Here’s a video captured by Garret on his camera, in which you can hear a bit more about the stops from his perspective:

Today (Thursday, Oct. 31) we’re slated to pick up our bud Deo, who’s active with Greater Cleveland Cop Block [Facebook, YouTube], from the bus station, then connect with Dale Brown at the Threat Management Center. We’re looking forward to spend more time with Dale and his colleagues to learn a bit more about their operations and practices. We’ll definitely be capturing lots of video so will share some of what we take away via an edited video uploaded to YouTube.com/TheCopBlock.

More with the Threat Management Center

Police Accountability Tour’s First 24 Hours in Detroit by Garret Ean on Oct. 29, 2013
Dale Brown of Detroit-based Threat Management Center is On-Point by Pete Eyre on May 13, 2013
Frustrated, Detroit Residents Compete with Police by Pete Eyre on Feb. 08, 2012

As Garret noted on his post on Tuesday, we’re still hoping to connect with the folks active with the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. They’ve been active for a while and can bring a lot of knowledge to the table.

We’ll also continue to hit the streets and pursuing some other ideas and leads. Stay tuned!