Police caught on tape trying to recruit Plane Stupid protester as spy

·Climate change activist taped men who offered cash for information about group's members and activities.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/24/strathclyde-police-plane-stupid-recruit-spy
[Juliana Napier, Tilly Gifford and Dan Glass with some of the recording equipment they used.]

Undercover police are running a network of hundreds of informants inside protest organisations who secretly feed them intelligence in return for cash, according to evidence handed to the Guardian.

They claim to have infiltrated a number of environmental groups and said they are receiving information about leaders, tactics and plans of future demonstrations.

The dramatic disclosures are revealed in almost three hours of secretly recorded discussions between covert officers claiming to be from Strathclyde police, and an activist from the protest group Plane Stupid, whom the officers attempted to recruit as a paid spy after she had been released on bail following a demonstration at Aberdeen airport last month.

Read more...

[To find the downloadable recordings, click underneath; and if you go straight to the transcripts, you'll read things like,]

'We don't discuss money, we don't discuss salaries.'

Police delete London tourists' photos 'to prevent terrorism'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/16/police-delete-tourist-photos

Austrian tourist Klaus Matza and his son who were banned from taking pictures of buses in Walthamstow.

Like most visitors to London, Klaus Matzka and his teenage son Loris took several photographs of some of the city's sights, including the famous red double-decker buses. More unusually perhaps, they also took pictures of the Vauxhall bus station, which Matzka regards as "modern sculpture".

But the tourists have said they had to return home to Vienna without their holiday pictures after two policemen forced them to delete the photographs from their cameras in the name of preventing terrorism. [!!!!!]

Matkza, a 69-year-old retired television cameraman with a taste for modern architecture, was told that photographing anything to do with transport was "strictly forbidden". The policemen also recorded the pair's details, including passport numbers and hotel addresses.

Read more...

[ADDENDUM!]

Man Detained As Terror Suspect For Photographing Police Car

·Chairman of park society wanted to document police misconduct, but was told he had breached Section 44 of the Terrorism Act.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/man-detained-as-terror-suspect-for-photographing-police-car.html

Despite police claiming that an ambiguous section of the UK Counter Terrorism Act of 2008 would not outlaw taking photographs or film of police, a man was detained as a terror suspect this week simply for taking a photograph of a police car in order to document police misconduct.

62-year-old Malcolm Sleath, who is chairman of his local park society, saw a police car driving erratically down a North London park footpath, despite the fact that by law police are supposed to investigate on foot in such circumstances.

He began filming the police car to document the misconduct so that he could later present it to the chief sergeant.

Sleath was subsequently approached by the two officers in the car and was told he was being detained because he had breached Section 44 of the Terrorism Act.

Read more...

Riot Police Attack Peaceful Protesters At G-20 Climate Camp (Vid)

Riot police use shields and batons in unprovoked attack on peaceful protesters. It took place at the Climate Camp on Bishopsgate in the City of London during the first day of the G20 protests.

Blogger claims police search of home was a threat

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/03/19/20090319copsblog0319.html

Police officers accused of drunken driving. A female officer's alleged promiscuity and infidelity. A commander whose critics labeled his son a child molester.

Jeff Pataky said he uses negative complaints and anonymous tips to fuel his blogging crusade against Phoenix police. A headline on his Web site suggests rewards would be provided for "dirt" on police indiscretions.

Pataky, a former software sales and marketing executive who now focuses his energy shoveling content on www.badphoenixcops.com, said he believes his online criticism of the department - along with past criticisms of police investigations - led officers to serve a search warrant at his home last week.

Police officials said Wednesday that a Phoenix detective prompted the investigation after complaining about harassment, though they declined further comment.

Pataky said he felt the investigation was a response to a lawsuit he filed on Monday in U.S. District Court saying he was maliciously prosecuted by police in 2007 after his ex-wife accused him of harassment, a case later dropped. In his lawsuit he's asking for an unspecified amount for damages. City officials declined to comment on pending litigation.

Pataky's blog is known in law-enforcement circles for its off-color language that, according to the blogger, is aimed at Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris, Maricopa County Andrew Thomas and other public officials.

[The blog in question is: http://badphoenixcops.blogspot.com/.....From INPhobe, we salute you. Keep it up!!!]

Read more...