These undercover cops have been mingling in the crowd almost on every march and they pretend to be protesters. The woman even carries a sign...
Secret police... he he not anymore. (article 1)
The police are allowed to do this, although it works against what they should be working for (bonding with community to elicit help or at least good mutual feelings). If the guy did something illegal, arresting him is fair game and probably appropriate.
HOWEVER, if this is an issue of the cops picking on protestors it's a different story. Here in Worcester, MA the cops do the same thing and are known for taking pictures of protestors undercover. This hurts the police by creating distrust, hurts me as a journalist because I am a guy with a few cameras and thus maybe a pig, and accomplishes nothing for the police. Having uniforms there standing out of the way in case things get ugly is the best way for them to do it, but they apparently don't realize that they are undermining themselves and everyone else.
It's actually necessary sometimes to infiltrate the crowd and gather intelligence and photos. There are elements within the crowd that are actually inciting riot. The standards to prosecute these crimes dictate the methodology for the gathering of evidence. As the ones that are committing the crimes of rioting or inciting riot are playing on crowd behavior, they are not the ones at the front appearing to cause the trouble. By infiltrating the crowd, they can be observed, identified and evidence gathered to prosecute their crimes.
This is an ongoing process. Sometimes arrests can be made during the event and many times the evidence gathered over several events will lead to the arrest and prosecution of these individuals.
The original poster doesn't seem to have implied that this is illegal or even wrong. Anyway, even if it is legal and right for the police to use undercover officers, it's a good idea for us to point them out whenever we can, just as it's a good idea to watch all types of cops, to report names and badge numbers if possible, and report on cops who regularly commit acts of brutality and injustice.
i was at the protest on thursday... at waterfront, after the fall back from the steel bridge, there was a man on an absurdly colored bike with earphones, talking on a cell phone about the crowd's movements... at the time i didn't think much of it. Later, when protesters were attempting (succesfully) to shut down I-5, there was an older balding man with earphones, talking on a cell phone about the crowd's movements... once again, i didn't think much of it until the riot cops showed up in about seven minutes. To me, their response time seemed extraordinary, and i began to think, "were there undercovers infiltrating the protest ranks at all times?"...
...any ideas?
You must assume that you are always being informed on and watched and listened to. A good portion of the incitement is from agents provocateurs. Trust is something that is political at that point. You are trying to win over the bad guys which is why non-violence works.
Worcester, MA