The New Abolitionist

Copwatch: Recording
Phoenix Program Hits the Streets
by Joel Olson, Phoenix

After a year and a half of planning, Phoenix Copwatch is up and running, with cameras rolling. What follows is a brief report on our activities.

We took a long time preparing before we began patrolling for a couple reasons: 1) weíre going up against an armed power of the state and 2) we didnít want to make a mistake and look foolish in front of the local community. In preparing for our patrols, we talked to community members, studied the laws, devised strategies, practiced mock copwatches, held training sessions, and produced some propagaganda, including a pamphlet that explains who we are and why we watch cops as well as a ìbust cardî that lets people know the rights they have when dealing with the police.

We began regular patrols in February. On a typical patrol we carry a video camera, a still camera, tape recorders, and a copy of the Arizona state statutes. We also have a notetaker taking down notes of the situation and getting badge numbers, etc. Hereís a sample of some of our interventions:

The cops had a car with five Chicanos pulled over on a dark, dead-end street. We came up to the scene, announced our presence and started videotaping. When I shouted from across the street, ìWeíre from Copwatch. Weíre not cops or part of any law enforcement agency. Weíre just ordinary citizens who observe and videotape the police to prevent against police brutality and harassment,î the people in the car started clapping.
Cops had four young Chicano kids (at least three were 16) pulled over. They found a can of spraypaint in their car and were giving the kids a lecture about huffing paint when we got there. (We couldnít tell if the people had huffed anything but they didnít seem high at all). They then proceeded to search their whole car and called their parents. They let them go after a lecture and a promise that theyíd drive straight home.
Patrolling on foot in downtown Tempe (a college town next to Phoenix), we arrived at a scene in which 6-8 cops (including two on horse, two on bikes, and several from cars) and 3-4 private security had an older Black man and a young Chicano in cuffs. According to eyewitnesses the cops picked the Black man out of a crowd and arrested him for an unknown reason. The Chicano man was apparently getting beat up by two guys across the street when the cops ran up on the scene and maced and arrested the guy while the attackers got away! We videotaped the scene for about an hour, surrounded by a crowd of passersby. At first the security guards told people to move along, but once they saw us taping they changed their tune and said it was okay for people to stand and watch as long as they didnít block foot traffic. The response by passersby to our presence was typical: indifference by most, support from some youth, and disgust or outright anger by some white yuppies.

So far we havenít taken any arrests. This is good since an ex-cop we spoke with before beginning patrols told us, ìYouíre going to jail, and if you give the cops any trouble youíll go to the hospital first.î Instead, we have been treated with general indifference (minus a few wisecracks here and there) and have observed painfully courteous behavior toward the people they have pulled over. The police even act quite fatherly toward youth when on camera, especially the spray paint intervention mentioned above.

The most threatening reaction so far was in February. After the cops pulled over a minivan and made the youth inside walk home, we walked to our car, hoping to catch up with the kids and give them a ride. As we walked we realized one of the cops was following us. Every time we turned a corner, he was sitting in his car watching us. We had to circle two blocks before the cop finally gave up and we were able to get to our car unobserved.

If you would like more information about Phoenix Copwatch or starting up a Copwatch program in your town, contact us at P.O. Box 1543, Phoenix, AZ 85001, (602) 241-6353, joelo@asu.edu. For more information on copwatching go to www.policeabuse.com.