Chattanooga Police on the Attack—Fight Against Police Brutality in Tennessee

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, Damon McGhee, and Mikail Musa Muhammad, affiliated with Black Autonomy/Copwatch, were arrested in May 1998 at a Chattanooga, Tennessee City Council Meeting for speaking in support of a civilian review board, following two recent police murders. Read the full report.

• Direct Action
• Southern Exposure Article
• Church Burnings in Chattanooga
• March Against Brutality in Chattanooga
• Chattanooga 8 & the ACLU
• Lorenzo Komboa Ervin: Biography & Writings
• Community Oversight

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin is a black American anarchist. He joined the Black Panther Party in the 1960's. When the US Government implemented a program to neutralize the Black Panther Party, through murder, frameups, drugs, etc, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin was a target of that program. He was indicted of firearm offenses and like other Black Panthers, was targeted for assassination. He learned of the shoot to kill orders and in self-defense hijacked a plane to Cuba, where other Black Panthers had travelled for political asylum. Read more.

Writing & Viewpoints by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin

• A Draft Proposal for an Anarchist Black Cross Network
• Class War in Michigan
• July 24, 1997 Press Conference / Being Deported from Australia
• Racism and the Death Penalty
• Attack on Black Liberation Radio
• The Changing Face of Europe: Racism, Immigration & the Coming Police State
• The Need for Black Autonomy / Interview with Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
• Prison, The New Slavery
• Police Death Squads in the United States
• Call for Direct Action Against the FCC and NAB
• The Ballot or the Bullet?
• It's Racism, Stupid / A look at racism in class war circles
• Anarchist vs. Marxist-Leninist Thought on the Organization of Society
• Authoritarian Leftists: Kill the Cop in Your Head (Black Autonomy Collective)

Chattanooga 3: Direct Action Suggestions

1. Write or e-mail letters of protest to the district attorney and the mayor demanding that the charges against the Chattannooga 3 be dismissed:
   • Bill Cox
     Hamilton County District Attorney
     City-County Courts Building
     601 Market Street, 3rd Floor
     Chattanooga, TN 37402
     Fax: 423-209-7401
     e-mail: BillCox@hcda.cps.k12.tn.us
   • Jon Kinsey
     Mayor of Chattanooga
     101 E. I I th Street
     Chattanooga, TN 37402-1403
     e-mail: mayor@mail.chattanooga.gov
2. Help obtain a pro-bono attorney with First Amendment or civil liberties expertise. (The court-appointed attorneys for Damon and Mikail lack experience with cases involving civil liberties. Lorenzo's attorney received a recent judicial appointment, and Lorenzo is being forced to represent himself. The Tennessee Civil Liberties Union has refused to take the case.)
3. Help secure a law professor or other person knowledgeable about civil liberties, who can testify as an expert witness.
4. Send contributions for the legal defense fund. This fight has not been easy or cheap for the Chattanooga 3. For nearly three years, this war has taken a toll on all involved. Contribute to the Chattanooga 3 Legal Defense Fund. Please make checks or money orders payable to BANCO (Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers, which Lorenzo and Damon founded in 1999), and mail them to P.O. Box 19962, Kalamazoo, MI 49019.
5. Get in touch. Email the Chattanooga 3 at jonina1@yahoo.com or kamboa@hotmail.com.
6. Let the Chattanooga Police Department know how you feel.
7. Flood travel agencies with email letters urging them to support the tourist boycott of Chattanooga organized by Ervin and Maxine Cousins, whose father was murdered by a Chattanooga police officer in 1983. For more information about Boycott Chattanooga!, visit the web site at http://maxine-j.tripod.com/policemurder.html.

Police the Police: Do-It-Yourself Community Power

Copwatch is a loose, informal network of organizations working to police the police. Everyone is Copwatch... the tools of police intimidation are founded on the ideas that individual citizens do not have a right to question the actions and policies of the armed forces that occupy their neighborhoods.

In fact, individuals have a right to photograph and videotape police activity and observe arrests, no matter how often a cop tells you to mind your own business or to go away. Please note that observers must maintain a reasonable distance, so if a cop tells you to go away, tell them you do not wish to interfere, just observe, and step back a bit. If a situation is getting sketchy, the key question to ask is "Am I free to go?" ... it is at this point that an officer must have legal justification for detaining you, otherwise you can and probably should go. If you are detained for observing, make sure to ask the officer why you are being detained, and if possible, repeat out loud for other witnesses or other videotape that is rolling. Hostility and resisting arrest will only work against you. It is important to say "I do not consent" to any actions that you believe are illegal or improper, but outright hostility at the time of detention/arrest will only get your ass kicked.

Direct Action: Know Your Rights | COPSwatch | Database of Abusive Police | Controlling the Police | Police Complaint Center | We Got the Camera

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