MovementDefenceCmtee

MovementDefenceCmtee, 7 months ago to random

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In light of mass Palestine🇸🇩 solidarity actions & heavy police surveillance at protests

We are re-sharing key slides on interactions with the police & know your rights if you are arrested!

MOST IMPORTANTLY

⚠️ If the police question you - you do not need to answer.

⚠️ If you are detained and questioned by the police, assume that anything you say will be used against you.

⚠️ You have the right to remain silent.

⚠️ If you are arrested you have the right to talk to a lawyer.

⚠️ The police and courts may try to pressure you to give up your rights - you do not need to agree to conditions & can fight conditions at a bail hearing.

This resource was created in partnership with The Community Justice Collective.

#LegalInformation #freeGaza #PolicePowers #LegalInfo #MovementDefence #LegalObservers
#PoliceDontKeepUsSafe

If the police stop you: The police can ask you general questions, and you can refuse to answer. You have the right to remain silent. You should try to get out of this interaction as quickly as possible. If you do talk, follow the word rule: never answer with more than 5 words. The police are trying to learn information from you that could put you or others in danger During COVID and under the emergency orders, the police can ask you for identifying information (name/DOB/address). You can just answer their questions - you do not need to give ID. Ask am I free to leave?" If yes, walk away. If not, the police have detained you.
If the police detain you: ▪︎ You will know if you are being detained if you are not free to go after asking police and are not (yet) being arrested charged with anything. ▪︎ The police want to gain information from you at this stage. Stay silent as best you can. This will give them less evidence and may lead to your release. The police may arrest you. ▪︎ When detained, the police can "frisk" you by patting you down outside your clothing. The police do not have the right to search you. ▪︎ If the police try to search you, loudly and clearly say "I do not consent to a search." This may not stop them from proceeding. Do not resist a search as this can escalate the situation and lead to charges.
If the police arrest you: ▪︎ You are now under police custody and cannot leave. The police will take you to a police station for further questioning. You have a right to remain silent, to know why the police arrested you, and to talk to a lawyer. ▪︎ The police will use anything you tell them against you and your fellow activists. Nothing you say while in police custody remains confidential. ▪︎ Everything you say can can be used as evidence. The police are allowed to lie and make false promises to try to collect more evidence. ▪︎ Police vehicles, stations, and cells are likely being recorded. Jail and station calls may also be recorded.

MovementDefenceCmtee, 11 months ago to acab

Wondering about the Movement Defence Committee of the Law Union of Ontario (MDC) and what we do? Today we look at out most visible team: Legal Observers.

Legal Observers are the eyes and ears of the off-site legal team. We are there to document abuse by the state against progressive protestors.

We operate from the understanding that police in Canada have been used to advance the colonial project and displace Indigenous communities from the beginning, and took on the role of criminalizing and exerting control over Black people once slavery was abolished.

Police exist to defend private property and our capitalist system.¹

We exist to document the gap between your rights in law and the actual behaviour of the police, with regard to those rights. Too often rights are breached in the moment and only corrected later — and without proper support, sometimes not at all.

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¹ "To Protect and to Serve", the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department since 1963, subsequently adopted by many other police forces, was the result of a marketing contest.

#LegalObserver #ACAB #PoliceDontKeepUsSafe

MDC Legal Observers: We recognize the inherent power dynamics between communities taking to the streets and armed police directed to control the streets. Police do not exist to protect us, so we observe to provide part of that protection and accountabilty. MovementDefence.org
What do LEGAL OBSERVERS do? • Watch the police. • Help de-escalate by increasing eyes on the police • Jail support in case of arrest • Share basic know your rights information • Support other legat observers MovementDefence.org
What DON'T Legal Observers do? Criminalize the protestors. We are there to watch the police, not the protestors. MovementDefence.org