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Posts tagged as “ACLU of Southern California”

Angelenos Take Center Stage at 1st Ever Politicon, Are Building a Movement to Stop Police Violence

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2015
black lives matter
Black Lives Matter Caravan For Justice: Saturday, October 10th, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Politicon, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Independence Hall (151)

Los Angeles, C.A. – What is being hailed as the first ever comic-con of politics and entertainment, Politicon is holding its inaugural convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend in the city with the largest, most militarized, and most violent policing forces in the nation. The lineup includes big names like Trevor Noah, James Carville, Newt Gingrich, and Ann Coulter – as well as Los Angeles based human rights activists, formerly incarcerated people, and the families of loved ones who have been killed by law enforcement. 

Los Angeles based organizations including Dignity and Power Now, Black Lives Matter LA, and the ACLU of Southern California will be joining the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in a Politicon event hosted and moderated by Tourè this Saturday in order to highlight how the families of the victims of police brutality are the ones leading the charge for change, introduce the key players, and encourage people to join the fight. This cumulative event also serves as the finale to the Caravan For Justice, a week-long statewide tour that has been guiding Californians on how to utilize the ACLU’s Mobile Justice app and rallying together those affected by state violence to take action.

“The people affected by state violence have always been leading this movement,” says Director of Health and Wellness Mark-Anthony Johnson of Dignity and Power Now. “This Saturday we’ll be center stage at Politicon, just as we’ve been center stage at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the police commission for years. We got civilian oversight of the sheriff’s department. We passed AB 953. We’re getting stronger and we’re not going anywhere.” 

For more information please visit dignityandpowernow.org.

article by Caravan for Justice via newsone.com

ACLU of California Launches Cellphone App to Preserve Videos of Police

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

A homeless man on skid row was shot to death last month during an altercation with Los Angeles police. Cellphone video captured the incident. (Los Angeles Police Department)
A homeless man on skid row was shot to death last month during an altercation with Los Angeles police. Cellphone video captured the incident. (Los Angeles Police Department)

Californians who use their cellphones to record police encounters with the public on video will be able to automatically transmit them directly to their local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union using a smartphone application launched Thursday.
By using the Mobile Justice CA app to send recordings to the ACLU, leaders of the organization said, people can ensure that video of potential police misconduct is preserved, even if their cellphone is tampered with or destroyed.

“We’re merging the power of technology with the power of the ACLU and the power of the people,” Hector Villagra, the executive director for the ACLU of Southern California, told reporters Thursday. “We are so proud to put an innovative new tool in people’s hands, empowering people to know, to assert and to protect their rights.”
Peter Bibring, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, told The Times that work on the app began before the recent national outcry over how police officers use force, particularly against black men. But, he said, the recent string of controversial police killings have shown the importance – and impact – of civilian-captured video.
“As we’ve seen in headlines over the previous few months, recordings by members of the public is a crucial check on police abuse,” Bibring said. “We’ve seen a number of examples of high-profile incidents of abuse and unlawful shootings or killings that never would have come to light if someone wouldn’t have pulled out their phone and taken video.”