Comments on: Police Bloody & Arrest Field Workers Filming Bison Haze On Public Lands

By: Ralph Maughan

Ralph Maughan — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:34:16 +0000

One of the main reasons I keep blogging about bison, and have done so since 1996, is that the whole operation is based on a lie about bison being a significant danger to passing brucellosis to cattle. If you go to Wyoming, the whole thing is reversed, and they are lax about brucellosis because they don’t want to close the elk feeding grounds that perpetuate it.

The Montana Department of Livestock and its collaborators’ continual lying bothers me as much as the artificial confinement of bison to Yellowstone.

Every agency that gets touched by this continuing operation gets tarnished by it. My view is that the real motivation of the entire thing is to show Americans and local people, many of whom are beginning to get restive, just who is in charge. In such circumstances, police overreaction, both unintentional and planned, is a likely outcome.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:17:52 +0000

It’s been a while since I have posted, and it sadens me to read this story. It sickens me actually. Government abuse isn’t limited to one race or religion, or sexual preference…. it is simply used to benefit what ever group paid for it. A lot of police officers are goo d men/women, who, like soldiers, put themselves in harms way to protect people’s safety and rights. Some, however, are ego- maniacs and paranoid. I would love to know what legal action is going to be taken against these officers… is the ACLU involved? I may have missed that info, as I read this post while in a vehicle-??? I know that I support everyone’s right to vote, protest and have an opinion. When these rights are violated, we allsuffer, regardless of wether or not we agree with the person who was wrongfully and illegally mistreated. Who is paying to fix the protester’s head? Recently the courts in Colorado found that police having lists of profiles on citizens was unconstitutional, those people have sued for damages, and the court ordered the files to be destroyed. As of several months later, the Denver Police had still not completely complied with the orders….(My recollection of news reports…don’t quote me.) This is just another case were some facets of the law are held above it. I say the men who’s rights were violated should take legal action, and publicize the heck out of the illegal behavior of those involved.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 13 May 2007 19:14:13 +0000

Someone shpuld post a video of the police’s response to the VT and Columbine shooters as a comparison. In those two instances the heavily armed and armored officers did nothing other than hide behind trees and and point guns at innocent students who were trying to get away from the shooters.

These officers have no trouble beating up on people who are peacefully demonstrating, as they have no trouble doing to anyone at any anti-war rally or political protest.

By: Buffaloed

Buffaloed — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:44:29 +0000

First, there seems to be some real confusion here about what happened. There were two people arrested in this incident. The first person was arrested for asking that the police do more to warn traffic about the impending stampede of buffalo crossing the busy highway. The second person, Dan Brister who is photographed on the ground, was trying to document the first arrest when he was given a very vague order so he backed away from the police to a safe distance when he was suddenly pushed, or “assisted to the ground” where he hit his head and received a wound which needed 3 staples to close. During this arrest the alleged incident with the window occured presumably in response to seeing the cops beating up his friend. If the window was broken then I agree that it was unfortunate, however it was possibly understandable under the circumstances. With the total injustice of the situation I think that many would, if panicked in the same way, react similarly. It’s not justified but when someone you love and respect is being thrown to the ground and injured by big thugs like these I would like to see your reaction.

I think these arrests were illegal and unjustified. Most of these types of cases are thrown out just hours before they go to trial because it is known that the charges are bogus. This has been the tactic used by law enforcement for years with BFC and it is intended to get people out of the field so that there are fewer to document their crimes. I think that the window incident will be prosecuted but the other charges will be thrown out.

By: mikarooni

mikarooni — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:15:44 +0000

I certainly do not approve of kicking patrol car windows. It’s not legal and it’s a badly counterproductive strategy even when it might be otherwise understandable due to the emotional duress caused by the events. This situation is not good at all; I do not believe that we can assume, given the realities in place, that wrongdoing in the officers’ handling of the events can be legally proven; but, I also believe that the whole sequence of events needs to be fully investigated to ascertain the level of traumatic stress to which this young man was exposed in the process of his progressing to what seems to have been a case of temporary insanity due to intense handling and a situation that eventually drove him, justified or not, to fear for his own safety and to panic at his uncertainty about what the officers were going to do next. In any case, the leadership of BFC absolutely must face the gravity of these events. The truth is that not all publicity is good publicity. BFC needs to try to provide whatever support is appropriate and possible for this impacted young man, but also to realistically assess the emotional state of their field crew and, regardless of their perceived needs in the field, rotate out this fellow and others who seem too highly stressed. Individuals who are so traumatized that they risk losing control must be rested out of the stressful field activities, for their own good and the good of the effort, to enable them to get recentered and recover their ability to stay cold (and perfectly within the proper legal groundrules) under pressure.

By: barb in west yellowstone

barb in west yellowstone — Sun, 13 May 2007 16:29:04 +0000

kim and elkhunter,

if you read the text of the press release, the volunteer who sustained the head injury after being tackled by MHP officer Shane Cox was documenting the arrest of the first volunteer.

and do look at the video from 5/1 on BFC’s website to see this same officer just to get an idea of what these dedicated volunteers put up with from Cox and other agency personnel implementing the MISMANAGEMENT PLAN.

By: elkhunter

elkhunter — Sun, 13 May 2007 04:22:28 +0000

I agree with Kim, if you want respect and want your side to be heard, you dont kick the window out of a Highway Patrol Car. It just makes you out to look like a crazy person, and I am sure there were things that he was doing before his arrest that made the officers act they way they did, I dont think that he just walked up to them and they threw him to the ground, i would take his later action of kicking the window out to assume how he was acting towards them from the beginning.

By: kim

kim — Sat, 12 May 2007 15:10:37 +0000

want to clear up one sentence in prior post, as to blogging authors,, not picking on anyone specific, or anyone here,,

By: kim

kim — Sat, 12 May 2007 15:09:00 +0000

kt, i dont pretend to have the dedication of those people,, howver,, when, and if,, they show windows were kicked out of law enforcement vehicles,,,, it diminishes the cause,,if you will RE READ my post,, i am for there efforts,, but if they do it in destructive manner,, they will be self defeating,,,,,

newspapers print unreliable information,, and i would dare guess,,so do blogging authors,, so unless “facts” come out,, its gonna be who do ya believe,, that simple

By: be

be — Sat, 12 May 2007 04:43:47 +0000

“the guy on the ground looks kinda crazy”

it’s probably a good thing there aren’t any pictures of me floating out there ask anyone that knows me ~

i have met the chap – and my experience of him was that he was a reasonable and good-faith advocate. it perplexes me.