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Pandemic Template
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2020-05-28
Covid 19- The First Wave
Schools were shut down, business were closing. My parents stood outside my living room waving as they dropped off Easter baskets for my children. The monotonous routine of my husband coming home from his shift as a police officer and bagging his uniform in a garbage bag in the garage so I could immediately wash them for fear he had brought home Covid. Two months passed of this until that dreadful day when neither of us could smell or taste anything. He had brought home Covid. At first, it felt just like a cold with the exception of the loss of taste and smell. But a few days into our positive results, my husband's symptoms became more severe. He began having trouble breathing at night. We had medicines and took precautions to get him through those nights. I was scared because we had two young children at home and they began to show signs of Covid as well. I didn't feel like I had anywhere to turn. In the beginning, you were told only to come to an ER if it was absolutely necessary and even then, the people who were checking into the hospitals were not checking out. It felt like a death trap to bring in my husband. Days passed and symptoms improved. We were lucky, it had passed. We had long-lasting effects when it came to rapid heart rates and regaining our taste and smell, but feel very lucky we eventually recovered. -
August 30th, 2020
Mayor DeBlasio visits Staten Island
Former Mayor Bill DeBlasio visiting Staten Island Branch of the New York City Police Department -
August 24, 2020
Co-Vid car stops in Staten Island
Co-Vid car stops in Staten Island Sheriff advised me that they have a combination of 10 cars, a mix of TLC and Sheriff cars.They are staging by the entrance of the Outerbridge crossing administration bldg near page Ave. Steve white 8/6/20 -
2020-03-24
Mental Breakdown
My sister, Heidi, passed away in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2020. I wasn’t allowed to be with her when she died. My sister was my best friend. I was so lost. Her children, Significant other, my mother, her best friend, and I couldn’t have a funeral for her because of the rules put into place for Covid. So, we could not have a memorial for her till and year and four months later. At the same time, everything began to shut down. My husband works for the NYPD; I was terrified of him getting sick and losing him. Every day after he left for work, I would fall on the floor and break down in tears. I live next to a nursing home facility on Beach 119th St. in Rockaway Park. At this time, I would stare out my windows to look at the ocean to try to calm myself. For weeks, I would see out the right side of my windows and the ambulances and medical examiner vans showing up non-stop to the nursing home for ten days. Bodies were being taken out morning, noon, and night. The flashing red lights signaled that my mental health was in danger. I felt myself crashing many times. I was devasted. To this day, I carry so much internal trauma, I don’t know if I’ll ever recover. I hate this world and the cruel people in it. People have become so ugly because of Covid. I doubt I’ll ever be able to escape the mental anguish that lives in my soul... -
2022-05-26
From COVID-19 to shootings: Is mass death now tolerated in America?
This is a news story from The Associated Press. Just recently, there have been over one million COVID deaths recorded in the United States. The author of this piece asks if Americans have just begun to tolerate mass death. Racial and social inequalities are also cited, where the author claims that those of certain backgrounds are more likely to die sooner or more violently. The COVID deaths are then related to the recent shooting deaths, such as in Buffalo and in Texas. While the gun violence deaths are lower than the COVID deaths, the author uses this to show that little is being done for either to help lessen the amount of deaths. I don't agree with the author completely on this due to dying from COVID being very different from dying from a mass shooter. With COVID, people could pass it along unknowingly and get someone infected, as it is an asymptomatic spread. With a mass shooter, it is much less predictable and far more sudden. From what I have seen on my social media, I did not see anyone I follow really mark the 1,000,000 COVID death milestone, but many have expressed outrage over both the Buffalo and Texas shootings. I don't think the question should be whether Americans accept mass death or not, but of methods of prevention. Obviously, gun ownership won't solve all problems. The police that had guns were waiting outside the school as the shooter was slaughtering kids and adults. Though, one man with a gun, a border patrol agent, is who finally shot the mass shooter and killed him. This is more of a question of character, as well as how competent police forces are in these scenarios. I do not think the author made a fair comparison because protecting yourself from COVID to prevent death would be an entirely different process than protecting yourself from a mass shooter. While the goal of preserving life is the same, the methods differ. Outrage isn't an issue because I have seen people upset over death from COVID and mass shootings. The main problem I see is that people have trouble coming together on a solution. -
2022-04-19
Pride month events return with new mission to uplift people of color, trans civil rights
This is a news story from USA Today by Bill Keveney. Pride parades will be returning to full-scale since 2019. With the events that happened during COVID, some changes have been made in how it is celebrated. For 2022, more people of color and trans people have been added to leadership positions. Participation is also going to be more accessible for disabled and low-income as well, by making some events online for easier access. Police brutality will also be addressed due to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Seattle Pride has banned police from Pride. Along with this, there is also the theme of speaking out against the anti-LGBTQ legislation that is happening across the United States. -
2022-05-13
INDY PRIDE FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS HOPE TO RECLAIM CROWDS AFTER COVID
This is a news story from WIBC by Chris Davis. According to the article, the Indy Pride Festival will be back after a two year hiatus due to COVID. The event will be held Indianapolis. Since the hiatus, some changes have been made. Cops at Pride will be in softer uniforms to make them more approachable. This will include shorts instead of the standard pants. There will also be police on bicycle patrol during the event. Shelly Snider, an executive director of the parade, says that the goal is to help queer people feel safe from major incident, but understands the rough relationship queer people in the past have had with the police force in general. -
2022-04-13
700 Chicago officers are refusing the city’s vaccine mandate without consequence
This is a news story from WBEZ Chicago by Patrick Smith. This story is about 700 police officers in Chicago refusing to comply with the vaccine mandates. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised that officers refusing to abide by the mandate will face consequences by being placed on a no-pay status. Figures from the Chicago Police Department show that almost no officers have faced consequences for refusing vaccination. In total, the number of unvaccinated cops in Chicago is 2,110. -
2021-10-14
Smell of Covid in Carolina
This story of the pandemic deals with the sense of smell and how it relates to my experiences while working as a security guard at a local college. -
2021-01-11
My Dad...The first EPPD officer to die from Covid-19
After a month of battling Covid-19, my father passed away due to complications caused by the virus. He was due to retire in January 2021. He worked for the El Paso Police Department for 23.5 years. His passing hit us all hard and it was unexpected as the doctors had told us several days before that he would make it. Then he took a turn for the worst. When his co-workers asked what did he look forward to in his retirement, he said spending time with his family and his granddaughter. We still miss him to this day, especially as the holidays approach. -
2021-10-04
Show me the money
Working in law enforcement the past few years has been tough. So tough that many are reconsidering the career and either leaving or just not applying in the first place. So many agencies, including my own are now offering hiring incentives... and each agency is trying to offer better than the others to entice people to hire on. It has turned into an incentive frenzy... -
2021-09-17
Sobering Statistics
Once again, Covid-19 tops the list for Law Enforcement In Line of Duty Deaths, just as it did last year. Now, more than ever, Law Enforcement needs our support and assistance! -
2020-05
Remembering NYC 2020
These photographs taken from April-June 2020 capture New Yorkers interacting with the empty stress of the city during COVID-19. The first image displays an off duty fireman walking down vacant 5th Avenue, apparently in tribute. His body position highlights the stress, grief, determination, and exhaustion experienced by so many New York frontline workers. The next image was taken of the once bustling streets of SOHO. In this photograph, an older man appears exhilarated during a moment out of quarantine. Getting some fresh air, he turned up his car radio and bellowed out the lyrics of “New York, New York”, the anthem for New Yorkers. The third image captures young cyclists riding, practicing tricks, and laughing. The final snap is of two jazz musicians near the entrance to Central Park, a spot they often inhabited pre-pandemic. They played exactly as they once did, only masked this time. As a twenty year old who would normally be thrilled to spend the summer at home, surrounded by the lively energy of NYC, I was determined to find a way to interact with my city in a creative and safe way. After completing many projects from home (such as making filter masks for medical staff and collecting supplies for donation), I decided to use my knowledge of and passion for photography to capture fellow New Yorkers doing their part to help lower the spread of COVID and to find moments of camaraderie to fuel their, and others’, fight against this virus. In turn, the act of getting in my car and driving throughout the city, equipped with my Canon Rebel 55mm was my way of finding a measure of peace, purpose, joy, and meaning during the six long months in quarantine in New York City. -
2020-07-22
Chile wants Covid-19 sniffer dogs to help reopen public spaces
Police dogs in Chile are being trained to sniff out Covid-19 in humans, with hopes that they will facilitate the reopening of busy public spaces including malls, sports centers, bus terminals and airports this fall. The so-called "bio-detector" dogs are expected to complete training by mid-September and will be deployed to places with high concentrations of people, according to the Chilean police. -
2021-07-14
California woman first to face federal charges over fake COVID immunizations, vaccination cards
A homeopathic doctor in California became the first person in the United States to face federal charges over fake COVID-19 immunizations and falsified coronavirus vaccine cards. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters, the Department of Justice said in a press release. "This defendant allegedly defrauded and endangered the public by preying on fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-authorized vaccinations, while also peddling fake treatments that put people’s lives at risk. Even worse, the defendant allegedly created counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards and instructed her customers to falsely mark that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to circumvent efforts to contain the spread of the disease," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. -
2020-05
Masked Visitors
How has Covid-19 changed your daily life? My husband and I moved here in 2014 so I could volunteer with the city archaeologist, Carl Halbirt, and I have been doing that most every day since then. We have two new archaeologists now, but volunteers aren’t allowed until the virus social distancing is lifted. In November my husband died and after a short hiatus from volunteering I started again. Now, I am in my house with my dog every day. I miss being with people. Even our church is doing online services now. On Easter the priest printed large photos of many of our congregation and taped them to the pews, so it looks like we were in church. I saw myself, and right where I usually sit! How is your neighborhood and/or social circle responding to the crisis? My neighbors are all staying home like I am except for a few Flagler students who went to their parents homes. Some are furloughed, others are working from home. Since I’m retired, I’m just missing my volunteer work. Several of my friends and I have a group text several times a week so we can keep up with each other. My Community Hospice social worker is staying in touch with each of our grief support group members by phone, and several of us have exchanged phone numbers so we talk occasionally. The Tolomato Cemetery group is planning a Zoom visit on the third Saturday, which is the day we have the cemetery open for visitors. It will be my first Zoom conversation. I’m looking forward to that. My church, St. Cyprian’s is open each day for individual prayer and the commons and labyrinth are open as well for anyone who wants to pray or just sit in a peaceful place. How has Covid impacted your perspective of St. Augustine? I am happy that our city leaders have been proactive in closing so many businesses. I feel so sorry for the small business owners and workers who have lost their jobs, and I hope when the danger has passed we can get to a new normal. I don’t thing everything will be the same. I am hopeful the city will be able to help the businesses and workers with tax relief or some other means. I am proud of the way the police and firefighters are connecting with us by social media. How has Covid-19 impacted your use of social media? I’ve used it much more to keep up with friends near and far. I have also been using FaceTime with my daughter and son who live in other cities. I’ve been using Shipt to order my groceries for delivery to my house. What practices have you implemented to mitigate the impact of social distancing on your mental health? I’ve tried to make a small list of things I want to accomplish each day, but if I don’t finish it, I don’t beat myself up about it. It helps to keep me from sitting around watching mind numbing Hallmark movies. I’ve tried to walk most evenings around my neighborhood, just to be outside. I am reading books and doing jigsaw puzzles as well. I’ve cleaned/organized several cedar chests and drawers and I am working on bookshelves now. I am also writing a Corona Virus Journal describing my feelings (and there have so many emotional times during this quarantine) and making note of things I’m doing and friends I am talking with. It’s on my computer and I have no idea what I will do with it, but maybe my children will read it someday and maybe I will too. -
2021-04-26
Image Submission for LE Collection Call
[1] This copyright-free image, courtesy of pexels.com, shows Corporal S. Brantley from the Wheeling (West Virginia) Police Department monitoring a protest. [2] This copyright-free image, courtesy of pexels.com, shows officers from the New York City Police Department, some of whom wear COVID face masks, beneath scaffolding on a sidewalk. -
2021-04-21
James Rayroux's JOTPY Portfolio
--Reflections on the Pandemic Archive-- Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products. I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself. My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive. Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it. A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037 Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products. Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular. James Rayroux 22 April 2021 -
2021
Policing Isn't Broken — It Was Designed This Way
Our policing institutions were designed to exert control over Black people. We need to limit the role, responsibilities, power, and funding of police so interactions that lead to the death of Black people don't happen in the first place. -
2021
Rep. Demings on exchange: Let's stop playing these political games
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., discusses an exchange at Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing on a hate crimes bill with Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. -
2021-04-20
JOTPY Exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics" by James Rayroux
While working as a curatorial intern on ASU's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' COVID-19 archive, I created this exhibit on the pandemic experience within the state. In addition to obvious, overarching realities such as socioeconomic status and immediate access to healthcare systems, I initially believed one of the greatest deciding factors that determined one's experience in Arizona was an individual's residence in either predominantly urban or rural environments. The proposed exhibit had been originally titled "A Tale of Two Arizonas" to pay respect to Charles Dickens and the differing realities experienced here. To test my proposed hypothesis, I went about finding data, stories, and submissions that substantiated or disputed my premise. Within a short time, I had identified four distinct environmental drivers of personal pandemic experiences; to me, that indicated the existence of many more I hadn't yet found or had overlooked along the way. My evidence suggested a minimum of four pandemic locales: Urban, Rural, Border, and Tribal within the State of Arizona and its fifteen counties. The recorded health data and personal experiences demonstrated the naivete of my initial hypothesis, and I retitled the exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics." The Exhibit Background section illustrates the vast dichotomies within Arizona in terms of population density and access to healthcare facilities. Given the virus's respiratory nature, these factors seemed especially relevant to driving diverse local experiences. I chose to include a flyer from the Coconino County Health and Human Services' "Face It! Masks Save Lives" campaign. The flyer included a specific line to "Stay Home When Sick" that seemed to illustrate a different public health paradigm than the broader "stay home" orders from Maricopa and Pima county. This section also features an image of Sedona's red rocks and a portion of The Wave to remind visitors of the wide-open rural areas accessible to all, as well as those with cultural significance to the Native American tribes and limited access to the general public. The next section asks a short, five-question survey in which visitors may participate. The Silver Linings piece features a short audio clip of a father and husband discussing some unexpected benefits of the pandemic. Visitors may explore additional Silver Linings stories and submit their own experience. The Tséhootsooí Medical Center piece seeks to illustrate the different pandemic experience on the state's tribal lands. I hoped to inspire some relevant emotional turmoil for the visitors through the piece's visual presentation. I wanted to create a series of waves with quotes from the medical center's healthcare workers. I hoped visitors' attention would be drawn to the large, bolded key words, and that they would first experience the segments out of sequence because of that. After potentially feeling a sense of chaos, they might settle themselves into a deliberate reading of the texts and find their own order within the experiences provided here. This piece allows further exploration of Native submissions and topics, a review of an additional related news article, and a submission prompt that invites visitors to offer guidance to hospital managers. The next piece illustrates the differences between mask mandates in communities across Arizona. In addition to hearing an audio clip of interviews with mayors and a public health official, visitors can explore additional submissions related to mask mandates and submit their thoughts on statewide mandates. The Arizona Department of Health Services provides zip-code specific infection data on its website, and the wide array of known case infections therein further illustrates potential dichotomies across the state. In working to include and represent this data in a consumable way, I encountered inconsistencies with tribal data. The nation's Indian tribes are overseen by Indian Health Services, a federal public health agency, and it does not collect or report data in the same manner as the State of Arizona or its counties. At first glance, the data would seem to suggest that tribal areas had less severe pandemic experiences than the rural and urban areas, which was not objectively true. I wanted to offer the unedited data to visitors, allow them to drawn their own conclusions, and invite them to offer their thoughts on what potential misunderstandings might emanate from these reporting differences. Visitors may also choose to review the foundational data from this piece, as well. I used the following two sections to offer submission prompts about the visitor's overall pandemic experience as a function of their location, as well as what they might have done if placed in charge of their city, county, or state during this pandemic. A diverse Search section allows visitors to explore additional topics of interest to them. 23 hyperlinks offer pre-defined search parameters. An Advanced Search link allows self-defined research, and a Join The Staff link connects visitors with opportunities to work within the JOTPY archive. A final section asks visitors to provide feedback on the exhibit, its content, and the pandemic in general. Both surveys within the exhibit will display overall results to visitors who participate in them. Through this process, I found incredible amounts and diversity of data outside the archive that spoke to these generally localized experiences, but not that much yet within the archive explained what Arizonans had experienced outside the state's urban environments. I created a call for submissions and delivered it to fifty rural entities that might help support the effort to collect and preserve more rural Arizona stories. Between all the local libraries, historical societies, museums, small-town mayors, and county health officials to whom I asked for help, I am optimistic the archive will better represent all Arizonans in the coming months and years. Despite the exhibit having been created, I ensured its internal search features would include future submissions and allow the exhibit to remain relevant long after its release. -
2021-04-20
Images and Audio from "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics" Exhibit
During March and April 2021, I created an online exhibit from content within Arizona State University's "A Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Entitled "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics," the digital exhibit contained images previously submitted to the archive, along with several copyright-free images I found on pexels.com. I have attached all these images. Listed by their order of appearance within the exhibit, their sources are as follows: 1- "Face It" Campaign flyer: Coconino County Health & Human Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 ) 2- Red Rocks, Sedona: Courtesy of Gregory Whitcoe via Pexels.com 3- Online Learning: Courtesy of August de Richelieu via Pexels.com 4- Tséhootsooí Medical Center staff: Courtesy of FDIHB Marketing Department and Navajo Times newspaper ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/41189 ) 5- Arizona's Mask Mandate Map: created by Sarandon Raboin ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/26267 ) 6- Arizona COVID-19 Infection Zip Code Map: Courtesy of Arizona Department of Health Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42035 ) 7- Woman Shopping: Courtesy of Anna Shvets via Pexels.com 8- Woman on Rural Arizona Road: Courtesy of Taryn Elliot via Pexels.com 9- Masked Woman in Crowd: Courtesy of Redrecords via Pexels.com 10- The Wave: Courtesy of Flickr via Pexels.com (this image is found only in the PDF submission of the exhibit, not in the public-facing exhibit itself due to document formatting technicalities - the PDF version can be found at https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 ) -
2021-04-15
Daunte Wright's mom says she 'wants 100% accountability' in wake of officer's arrest
The mother of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man shot dead by a Minnesota police officer at a traffic stop, said she "wants 100% accountability" in the wake of the officer's arrest. "If that even happens, we're still going to bury our son," Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said at a Thursday news conference. "We're still never going to be able to see our baby boy." -
2021-04-17
Police clash With protesters during Adam Toledo demonstrations
Police in Chicago, Illinois, clash with protesters during demonstrations for 13-year-old Adam Toledo following the release of the police body camera footage. -
2021-04-17
Police clash with Adam Toledo protesters in Logan Square following peaceful march
The march was largely peaceful, but as it came to an end around 10 p.m., a small group of protesters still lingering in the streets began scuffling with police. -
2021-03-26
Black Lawmaker Arrested For Knocking On Governor’s Office Door
State troopers arrested a Georgia lawmaker who was knocking on Gov. Brian Kemp’s office door, in protest of the closed-door signing of a bill that would restrict voter access. Critics, including Rep. Park Cannon, say the new laws will disenfranchise Black and Democratic voters. “I am not the first Georgian to be arrested for fighting voter suppression. I’d love to say I’m the last, but we know that isn’t true.” -
2021-04-09
That time we closed down Figueroa street in protest fighting injustices to the people!
#TBT That time we closed down Figueroa street in protest fighting injustices to the people! - If you saw my recent IG story where the police violated the rights of a black Deaf woman, this is a reminder we need to keep standing up, speaking up for our rights to be treated as a human being. I can not tolerate a world where those with power prey on those who understand thier power. - When I say Black Lives Matter this what I stand for everything else you see is just noise and will push away because all I know is Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. - Stand with Me. Let's do our part to shape a better world. Power to the People all the time.✊🏿 - 📷 Gratitude @aanaconda -
2021-04-09
Water Protectors Blocade Enbridge Office Demanding #StopLine3!
Water Protectors Blockade Enbridge Office Demanding #StopLine3! This morning, 11 water protectors locked to one another in front of all entrances to Enbridge’s Bemidji, MN, office, protesting the company bulldozing through Minnesota wetlands, watersheds and Anishinaabe treaty territory as lawsuits led by three Ojibwe tribes opposed to Line 3 remain pending. The Enbridge office sits in Beltrami County, one of the top-billing counties to the “Public Safety Escrow Trust” funded by Enbridge and overseen by Minnesota to pay police for all costs associated with Line 3 protests. Much of Northern Minnesota has heavily militarized, purchasing riot gear, less lethal weapons and ammunition, etc. Law enforcement along the proposed route have billed thousands of hours of “overtime” to Enbridge, with Cass County alone billing 7,500 hours to the Enbridge escrow account in 3 months. Indigenous people and local residents have reported heavy surveillance, targeted pullovers and harassment by law enforcement in connection with Line 3 resistance. Water Protector Khalea said, “During Ferguson so many people came out and supported us, and I want to keep doing that... I am here for the liberation of all oppressed people, for the earth, for the liberation of all of our people, I am here to stand with Mother Earth and to protect the water and the wild rice and to stand with my Indigenous friends and loved ones as we all fight this collectively, we are all opposing these systems of oppression.” Water Protector Alex said, “This is part of my responsibility as someone who is a guest on this land and as someone who faces the impacts of climate change. Enbridge lies.” Water Protector Ishmaiah said, “I have spent the last several years fighting for the liberation in St. Louis, specifically Black St. Louis, and I see this as expanding and having a more holistic approach to what that fight can look like, because this land and this water touches us, and I think without that connection, grounding myself in the land and the water, doing solidarity with my Indigenous family, we can sometimes forget about the universal struggles around us.” -
2021-03-10
Op/Ed: How to get officers back up to speed in a post-COVID world
In this article, retired California Highway Patrol Lieutenant, attorney, and professional risk manager Gordon Graham discusses the factors police agencies should be considering and planning for as we hope to soon begin transitioning to a post-COVID/post-pandemic world. Among these are traditional and analogous considerations agencies have long dealt with, such as the return of employees from extended military assignments or recovery from injuries. Many of the finely honed skills that helped keep officers and the public safe prior to February 2020 will have eroded from a lack of use, and it will be incumbent upon agencies and officers alike to undertake these returns to normalcy with serious and deliberate caution. -
2021-04-05
Online Article: ‘Burned out’: Portland cops leave scathing exit interviews
This article from Oregon Live/The Oregonian was picked up by Police1, and it discusses a number of exit interviews that retiring and resigning Portland Police Bureau officers, detectives, and administrators left during the past year. Of particular interest is the section that discusses the story of Jaykary Jackson: "Young officers of color have left, including Jaykary Jackson, who went to Boise, and Elise Temple, who was one of the Police Bureau’s recruiters. Temple declined to comment on the record. Jackson didn’t respond to messages but he was one of the officers who spoke out last summer about being on the front line of racial justice protests as an officer with the Rapid Response Team. A graduate of Portland State University who joined the Police Bureau after working for Nike for 10 years, he said then that he became a cop because he “wanted to make the most out of my life by helping others.” He also was following in the footsteps of his father and aunt. But Jackson said he was disgusted by the hatred he and other officers faced while standing on the police lines. He got hit by an explosive one night, felt tingling in his fingertips and heat from the device, and got berated by young white protesters. Often when he tried to talk to someone of color at the protests, he said, “Someone white comes up and blocks them and tells them not to talk.” Or yells, “Eff the police ... don’t talk to him.” He left shortly after he was named to be a new community engagement officer." The article illustrates the additional concerns that officers in major cities and law enforcement agencies face, especially when their civilian oversight overwhelmingly seeks to placate protests with emotional vindication in lieu of reasoned, rational, and planned reforms. -
2021-04-05
Online Article: Law enforcement officers need to be proactive in self-care to ensure they are resilient in the midst of loss and trauma
This article discusses guidance for law enforcement professionals to adopt better self-care practices through this pandemic and the increased volume of vicarious trauma, depression, anxiety, and suffering prevalent in our societies. The author specifically addresses the problem of police suicide, which is often committed at similar rates to military combat veterans. While the article's content helps officers potentially deal with the difficulties of their calling, it might also help the public better recognize the darker and unwelcome realities of police work. -
2021-01-15
Retired Oakland cop attended US Capitol riot, OPD internal affairs investigation underway
A former Oakland police officer has received a visit from the FBI. Jurell Snyder tells the ABC7 I-Team, agents interviewed him about attending last week's Trump rally that led to the assault on the Capitol, and about his social media posts promoting conspiracy theories. Some current Oakland police officers liked and commented on Snyder's posts, and now, the department is investigating those officers. -
2021-01-16
Guard troops deployed throughout downtown Sacramento in advance of expected violence
California National Guard troops were deployed throughout downtown Sacramento early Saturday in advance of expected protests and violence that the FBI warns could last through Inauguration Day. At the state Capitol — which is expected to be the site of protests Sunday and Wednesday as well as unrest between supporters of President Trump and antifacist groups — armed soldiers, Guard trucks and armored Humvees were stationed on streets around the building. Soliders and vehicles were positioned around other buildings, including the federal courthouse and the Superior Court building, as well as the Leland Stanford Mansion and buildings along Capitol Mall. -
2021-03-12
Long-term Vaccine Effect Research Project
This article is about the Healthcare Worker Exposure Response and Outcomes (HERO) research project. They are trying to understand the long-term effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. The population that they are using is first-responders, who were among the first group to receive the vaccine in most states. The project plans to conduct periodic surveys over a 2 year period. Since this vaccine was produced in record time, and especially the lack of available data to the long term effects, it is an important project. The project also surveys the first responders regarding their mental health during the pandemic. It includes fire fighters, EMS providers, and law enforcement. -
2021-03-29
Bisbee (AZ) Mayor Ken Budge Lifts Mask Mandate
This March 29, 2021, episode of The Daily Chirp podcast from the Douglas Herald discusses Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge's recent retraction of mask mandates in that community -
2021-03-29
Senior Border Patrol officer says border migrant flow will only worsen
"Senior officer says border migrant flow will only worsen" By Lyda Longa, lyda.longa@myheraldreview.com, Mar 29, 2021 The situation with undocumented migrants flocking to the Southwest border of the United States from Mexico is only going to worsen, a senior Border Patrol agent warned Friday. The agent, who spoke to various media outlets during a conference call, said at least 380,000 undocumented people had been apprehended at the Southwest border in February and the numbers would be higher for March and beyond. The agent spoke on background with the agreement that media would not reveal his name. “I fully expect to see the numbers increase as we go into the summer months,” the senior agent said, concerning migrant crossings. In Cochise County that warning has begun to bear out near Douglas and in Willcox, where the already stretched-thin Border Patrol is arresting more single adults attempting to slip into the country or taking in and processing children who are flocking to the border unaccompanied. Douglas Mayor Donald Huish said Friday the latest information he received this week from Border Patrol agents at the station just outside Douglas is that they’re confronting and repatriating about 100 single adults daily who are trying to slip in illegally. “They are getting closer and closer to town,” Huish said. What concerns Huish even more is that Border Patrol agents from the Douglas station are being pulled out to help in busier areas such as Yuma and Tucson. “They’re siphoning them off to the western part of the state and leaving us with a skeleton crew,” Huish said. In Willcox, Mayor Mike Laws said he was told two weeks ago by the Border Patrol there were 54 unaccompanied children at the Border Patrol station. “That was two weeks go. Who knows now?” Laws said. “The station can only hold up to 81.” Laws said he was told by Border Patrol that a “third party” has been arriving at the facility and taking 10 to 20 children to Phoenix by via bus. The mayor said he does not know how often the transportation comes or who the third party is. “We have not seen anyone (undocumented migrants) running the streets so far,” Laws said. “All we have is the youths, but we don’t see them either.” Laws and Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller said citizens in their respective communities would gladly help the undocumented migrants but there aren’t enough resources available to do so. Laws, Mueller and other mayors in Cochise County signed a letter recently asking the federal government for help with the matter. Last week, the town of Gila Bend, which has a population of about 2,000, declared an emergency after Border Patrol agents dropped off a group of migrant families with children in a park. Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs told reporters he and his wife ended up using loaned vans to drive the families to the Phoenix Welcome Center so they would have a safe place to stay. Riggs said Border Patrol agents told him to expect more of the same. Mueller said there have been no such issues in Sierra Vista, but he is worried that the municipality, if hit with something similar to what happened in Gila Bend, would have no resources to offer. Last week Arizona senators Kyrsten Synema and Mark Kelly announced they’ve been pushing for more federal resources to help Arizona cities with a sudden influx of undocumented migrants. The senators helped secure at least $110 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as reimbursement to cities that assist migrants left within their jurisdictions. Also last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Florida Senator Rick Scott — who sits on the Homeland Security Committee — called on President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to visit the Southwest border. Ducey and Scott, accompanied by a handful of law enforcement and other elected officials, had toured a portion of the border near Douglas. At his first press conference on Thursday since taking office in January, Biden said he would come to the border soon, but thought a visit now would deflect attention from the issue at hand. The senior Border Patrol agent who spoke Friday, meanwhile, said 300 Border Patrol agents who work along the northern border of the U.S. have been “mandated” to the Southwest border to assist with the influx of migrants. He said about 2,000 family units out of the 6,000 who are trying to cross daily are being processed in Texas by the Border Patrol. The agent revealed that unaccompanied children are being kept in Border Patrol facilities longer than the 72 hours established by law because too many are showing up and agents are overwhelmed. “They’re keeping them a few days, sometimes up to a week,” the senior agent said. Once an unaccompanied child is encountered, Border Patrol contacts the Department of Health and Human Services. The latter makes arrangements for the migrant children to be taken by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The agent also mentioned an increase in the criminal element among undocumented migrants. “The threats we see are significant,” the senior agent said. “We have seen criminal (undocumented migrants).” Additionally, he said that COVID testing for migrants is only being done in facilities in Del Rio, Texas, and soon in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Other than that, testing is being undertaken by non-governmental agencies that are helping the migrants and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials. He said it was probable that some migrants with COVID-19 may have been released into communities. -
2021-03-11
Asian Americans Experience 'Far More' Hate Incidents Than Numbers Indicate
Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition aimed at addressing anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic, received more than 2,800 firsthand reports of anti-Asian hate, including physical and verbal assaults, between March 19 and Dec. 31, 2020. However, as this article explains, many more go unreported due to obstacles such as cultural and language barriers and a distrust of law enforcement. The article also argues that the surge in assaults are partially rooted in the anti-Asian rhetoric of the previous presidential administration throughout the pandemic. -
2021-02-24
Rate of Coronavirus Cases Among LAPD Officers Plummeting; Mass Vaccination Slated to Begin Next Week
This article discusses the decline in COVID-19 infection rates among LAPD employees and personnel as their vaccination rates increase. This expected correlation demonstrates the efficacy of the early vaccines despite ongoing concerns at that time about an increasing frequently and number of viral variants across the United States. Additionally, the article addresses concerns of officers who choose not to get vaccinated. At the time of this article, 8 LAPD employees had died from COVID-19 complications and, at one point, more than 20 were testing positive with new infections each day. Those infections have dwindled to about 30 per week, and are likely also a reflection of vaccination among the general population as well as among police officers. -
2021-02-02
Southern NM County Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine for First Responders Including Sheriff's Deputies
This article discusses a recent mandate from the Dona Ana County government, which is seated in Las Cruces, New Mexico, that orders all its first responders to submit to vaccination. To my knowledge, this is the first such mandate in the United States, and it illuminates the relative lack of control first responders have over their lives once they enter their respective profession. The order is likely to be contested, particularly when such requirements have not historically been a condition on employment, The order reads in part, "Being vaccinated is a requirement and a condition of on-going employment with the County due to the significant health and safety risks posed by contracting or spreading COVID-19." The order applies to all paid personnel in the county's law enforcement, fire, detention, and medical professions. -
2021-03-24
COVID-19 Claims Life of Trailblazing Bourne Police Lieutenant, Cancer Survivor
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect law enforcement personnel far more than all other job hazards. The SARS-CoV-2 virus killed more American police officers and law enforcement personnel in 2020 than any other cause of death, and that trend appears to continue in 2021. Unlike most other essential workers, law enforcement professionals cannot reliably keep social distance or avoid personal contact with the public and their colleagues. Additionally, they are unable to seek reasonable accommodations that would allow them to do so, and their failure to fulfill their duties and sworn obligations is often grounds for dismissal and decertification. -
2021-03-22
Activists are Showing Solidarity for Victims of Police Violence
As the Derek Chauvin murder trial is underway, outside the courthouse activists are showing solidarity for victims of police violence by placing 'locks for love ones lost' on fences and barbed wire. For the second week, National Guardsman and Minn. State Police removed these locks. Through Friday, there are six people of color and seven white people among the 13 jurors chosen for the trial. There are two remaining jurors to be selected. -
2020-05-27
Community Solidarity Creates Resiliency
Community solidarity creates resiliency. Fed up and want to get involved? Follow these local orgs for updates and latest actions: @blackvisionscollective, @reclaimtheblock, @mpd_150, @mnfreedomfund -
2021-03-10
Justice for Angelo Quinto
Tonight AAPIWL joined Angelo Quinto's family + community, the incredible organizers of @justiceforangeloquinto, Civil Rights Attorney @johnburrislawfirm , the mother of Oscar Grant- Rev. Wanda Johnson, @justice4steventaylor grandmother, @robbonta, Cat Brooks @antipoliceterrorproject, Antioch's elected officials, and hundreds of community members from all over the Bay Area to celebrate Angelo's 31st birthday. Tonight we all learned that Angelo was well loved by his family in Antioch and in the Philippines. His family talked about how amazing and special he was, and they were proud that he wanted to pursue his passions in art. We learned more about the powerful community that will continue to support the Quinto family in their fight for Angelo. Thank you again to the organizers for this beautiful celebration and vigil, for uplifting Angelo and his family, the call for solidarity, the need for mental health resources, demanding the end of police violence and the need for accountability for Angelo and the countless men who were also murdered by the Antioch Police Department while having a mental health crisis. We will continue to fight with you all. #JusticeForAngeloQuinto #JusticeForAngeloJusticeForAll #AAPIWomenLead #InSolidarity #StopAAPIHate -
2020-12-29
FOX 35 takes a look at the past year as we get closer to 2021.
FOX 35 takes a look at the past year as we get closer to 2021. -
2021-03-17
Heavy hearted and defeated
The rise of anti-Asian crimes has been a focal point of my predominantly Asian and Latinx community, and has increased to a point where our local police are trying to send out messages of reassurance and solidarity. But this isn’t something that comes out of nowhere. It has been bubbling under the surface as long as Asian Americans have lived in this country. The Chinese Exclusion Act, barring Asian citizenship, miscegenation laws, land laws, internment camps, the murder of Vincent Chin, hate crimes against Southeast Asian refugees, the stereotypes, the cheap sitcom jokes and potshots, the dual embrace and distaste of the so-called “model minority.” A year ago, as COVID-19 began to infect our everyday life even prior to shutdown, many of my students recounted racism they faced at the grocery store or other public places, as Asians were made the scapegoat of the pandemic. This racism was not happening in the Midwest, it was happening in diverse Southern California. How many times this year have I had the conversation with students, family, and friends about the otherness that is associated with being Asian in America? As half of an interracial marriage with an Asian partner, I have seen first hand the comments. Going to Disney World and having my husband joke that he had seen one and a half Asians that week, himself and my daughter - and seeing the stares. Comments from Disney World or airport employees who stared at us and said in a off putting tone, “you must be from California or Hawai’i,” to which I shot back with “why, because we’re so happy and relaxed?” They didn’t crack a smile. Or my husband’s best friend, who in medical residency in Kansas City was approached in a Panera Bread with a man saying “whaaa, you want to fight Bruce Lee” and being asked by his medical resident roommates to translate Ninja Warrior for them because he “knows Chinese” (he’s third generation Japanese American). The friend in grad school in Michigan who, while walking down the street, was met by women who held the corners of their eyes and chanted “ching chong, ching chong.” Never once has anyone repeated the question “where are you from” when I tell someone I am from California. My Asian American husband is always asked at least twice. Also from California, when he responds to the simple question of where is he from with “California,”there is always the tone change and the slowed down, “No, where are you FROM?” Because the underlying, uncomfortable reality is that apparently if you’re Asian, you can’t be “from” America. Your identity is forever a hyphen. But this was not part of the public conscience until recently. With the rhetoric of leadership that continually blamed China for COVID-19, using ethnically offensive names, the acts of racism my students were experiencing in March have evolved into full fledged violence and crime, peaking yesterday with a shooting. Here we are in another moment when COVID-19 has uncovered the ugliness that lies beneath the surface in a country that calls itself a democracy. A country where the police spokesperson tried to explain away the targeted murder of eight Asian women yesterday by saying the Caucasian male shooter was having a “bad day.” No justice, no peace sounds hollow when you wonder if there ever will be either. -
2020-07-18
Police in the U. S. killed three people per day in 2019, for a total of nearly 1,100 deaths
Police in the U. S. killed three people per day in 2019, for a total of nearly 1,100 deaths. Those numbers are far higher than in other western countries. In England and Wales, three people were shot and killed by police last year. Roughly as many people were killed over the past decade in those countries as were killed by police in the U.S. in an average week (19). Despite the large number of police killings every year, police are almost never charged for excessive force. Between 2013 and 2019, 99% of killings resulted in no charges, according to Mapping Police Violence. -
2020-07-20
Photos from Justice for Womxn Lost To State Violence protest
"Most rape and assault is never reported to law enforcement in the first place. Of the cases that are, less than 1 percent are referred to prosecutors, and even fewer result in convictions. There are currently hundreds of ongoing lawsuits against police departments across the country, alleging a culture of institutionalized negligence, antipathy, and outright hostility toward survivors. Beyond the structural violence endemic to policing, police themselves are four times more likely than the average person to be domestic abusers. These things are often framed as proof that policing is “broken,” but that again accepts the premise of the police on their own terms. Gender-based violence enabled by and within the criminal legal system is by design, and it is inseparable from the way that “crime” itself is construed: racialized, atomized, and alienated from broader social problems. Far from being protected, it’s under the guise of “fighting crime” that Black women, trans women, indigenous, undocumented, and poor women have been subjected to a system of violent policing that continually exposes them to gender-based harm at the same time as it hems them into the margins of society. This system is self-protecting—it conspires to conceal the means through which it reproduces and justifies itself, making it difficult to imagine an alternative." - Isabel Cristo, The New Republic Photos from Justice for Womxn Lost To State Violence protest, July 18, 2020 -
2020-08-05
Justice for Travis Jordan
“I expected an ambulance to come and convince him to get treatment at the hospital,” Tarin Vang said after calling 311 requesting a wellness check for her boyfriend, Travis Jordan. “I thought someone could come to save his life, calm him down and take him somewhere safe where he could get into a better frame of mind. I thought they would send someone who could help him come back to his senses.” Two police officers with less than 11 months of experience responded to her call, MPD Officers Ryan Keyes and Neal Walsh. After following the officers request to leave his home, a complying and dispirited Travis was shot 8 times by officers. Travis Jordan should still be alive today. Travis' family is demanding: Travis’ case be REOPENED along with all other cases related to police violence. Officers Neal Walsh and Ryan Keyes to be charged and prosecuted for the murder of Travis Jordan. For his belongings to be given back to the family. Mike Freeman refuses to give back Travis’ notebook and black leather bracelet even though the case is closed. This is ILLEGAL. Mental health professionals to be first responders on scene during a mental health crisis, NOT the police. Visit 'Justice for Travis Jordan' on Facebook to support the family and learn more. Photos from Justice for Travis Jordan - 38th Birthday Protest - July 31, 2020 -
2020-08-06
"Joy is an act of resistance." - Toi Derricotte, Poet
"Joy is an act of resistance." - Toi Derricotte, Poet Photos from Emergency Response - Calling Woodbury on the Carpet, July 30, 2020 -
2020-08-13
Demand Real Change from Minnesota Senate
Five weeks after Gov. Waltz called a special session to pass police reform, protestors gathered outside the Minnesota Senate demanding swifter and more comprehensive legislation from elected officials. On July 24, a couple days after this protest, Gov. Waltz signed a bill that would prohibit the use of chokeholds and warrior style training. Both of these items were already banned in Minneapolis, respectively in June 2020 and April 2019. The state legislation established a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force and requires excessive force incident reports. The bill fell far short of the transformational change demanded after the murder of George Floyd and represented 'low-hanging fruit' for reform policies. President Michelle Gross of the Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) shared, “It doesn’t do anything substantial to end violent policing. The legislators, frankly, are frightened of the law enforcement lobby.” The bill ignored CUAPB's recommendations such as lengthening the statute of limitations for wrongful death and civil rights violation lawsuits, community participation in collective bargaining agreements with police unions, and requiring police release body camera footage to families of victims within 48 hours. Photos from Demand Real Change from Minnesota Senate!, July 17, 2020