Urban Warrior Documentary screening Dec 12, @ charm city art space

December 12, 8:00 PM

- Screening of Urban Warrior a Documentary about the increasing use of
military tactics by the police. From first person at the WTO protest at
Seattle to the swat team killing a Miami resident. This film has been moving
from town to town and is to strictly be shown for free to any one who would
like to see it. See description below.

- Discussion

- Potluck

@ Charm City Art Space - 1729 N Maryland Ave

for more info contact Matt Bidwell - bidwell-AT-speakeasy.net

Description: Within recent years, the formerly bright line
separating U.S. military operations from domestic
police work has become increasingly blurred. From
Waco, to the WTO protests, tactics once reserved for
wartime combat are being used in domestic law
enforcement operations with increasing frequency.

The United States has traditionally recognized a
separation of the roles and jurisdictions of its
police and military forces. The Posse Commitatus Act,
which provides much of the legal foundation for
military-police separation in America, has been
severely eroded by numerous executive orders and
congressional actions, opening the way for military
involvement in civilian law enforcement.

During the 1980s and 90s, the Pentagon began supplying
both military training and surplus military hardware
to domestic law enforcement agencies. Paramilitary
SWAT teams, utilizing urban combat tactics,
sub-machine guns, and armored personnel carriers, now
exist in 90% of American cities with a population of
50,000 or more.

In addition to providing weaponry and support, the
military has also become involved in domestic law
enforcement in an operational capacity. National
Guard troops have accompanied state and local police
on drug raids in many areas of the country. Delta
Force soldiers provided assistance to law enforcement
agencies at both Waco and the Seattle WTO protests,
and select army units were put on stand-by for use in
domestic counter-terrorism operations during the 2000
political conventions. Even prior to the 9-11
attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, high
level discussions were underway to redirect national
security policy to focus on ?Homeland Security?, with
think tanks like the Council on Foreign Relations
issuing policy papers urging that more resources be
devoted to the ?gray domain? between traditional law
enforcement and military jurisdictions. Since then,
new calls have been made to involve the military in
domestic affairs, and to further eliminate the
traditional fire walls that have long separated these
two entities.

Urban Warrior investigates the history of this trend
as it has evolved over the last three decades, and
examines case studies of militarized policing ranging
from the Seattle WTO protests, to the Elian Gonzalez
raid, to the SWAT team shooting of Miami resident
Richard Brown.