Part of the police presence near 45th and Springfield on Saturday evening during a rally in Clark Park related to recent events in Ferguson, Mo. A small group of protesters, most of whom did not attend the rally, later clashed with police (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local).
A 20-year-old female, a Cedar Park resident, and 25-year-old male from New Windsor, New York were arrested Saturday evening after they threw balloons filled with paint at a police vehicle near 45th and Baltimore.
The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. when a group of young people exited Clark Park “A” onto Chester toward 45th Street following a rally focused on the events in Ferguson, Mo. The members of the group did not take part in the rally and arrived as it was dispersing.
The group walked north on 45th Street and overturned trashcans, according to police. Approximately 20 police vehicles were parked in the area at the time, many of them on 45th Street between Chester and Baltimore.
Police say 20-year-old Hannah Weaver of the 4700 block of Baltimore Ave. threw a balloon filled with purple paint at a police car patrolling the area as she walked north on 45th Street. An officer who was in the car apprehended Weaver after a brief foot chase and struggle.
Two other officers exited their vehicle and pursued a male protester, identified as 25-year-old Jordan Davis of New Windsor, NY, after he also threw paint-filled balloons at police vehicles. One officer “deployed his Taser with no effect”, according to the police report, and Davis was apprehended after a brief struggle.
Police say that they found numerous leaflets in Weaver’s bag titled “Hoods UP!” recommending that protesters wear scarves or bandanas to avoid detection during a demonstration.
The estimated damage to the police vehicles is approximately $5,000, according to police. It is unclear whether Weaver and Davis have been charged.
August 24th, 2014 at 12:16 pm
These wannabe anarchists tried to provoke a riot with the police on my very doorstep. I am mad as everyone else about what happened in Ferguson, but these people miss the point completely. And I want to say that the Philly Police were an example to police around the country about how to handle these kinds of losers. They didn’t take the bait even though these idiots were chanting “F… the police.” The police stayed calm and non threatening. They wore no riot gear. They were truly professional. F… these anarchists. They are losers. They lack any positive message. They were nothing but a bunch of trust fund Trotskyists half wits who sought to make their brilliant point through the medium of petty vandalism. F these people. If they ever come back again to my neighborhood they will have to worry about us citizens fighting them, not the police.
August 24th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
First world, trust fund anarchists. Sounds like the police did a good job.
August 24th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
I’m a pretty liberal guy, but these kids represented nothing but stupidity. I was at the corner by Milk & Honey when they came rushing down 45th and then down onto my block (4400 block of Baltimore). I was literally frightened they were about foolishly start a riot on my block that I’ve lived on for 8 or 9 years now. And these were 99% white faces I was seeing hiding behind their chic black bandanas. Not a one of them had probably ever interacted with the police before let alone been the victim of racial profiling or police brutality. They are lucky nothing worse happened. But I’m not trying to make an empty threat here when I saw that the people who live on my block won’t take that kind of shit again if they pull it. And yeah, I was very proud of our police. They were an example to the world. Totally professional.
August 24th, 2014 at 5:04 pm
As a mother and a teacher I have more than sympathy for these kids. I see every day how youth is impacted by traumatic events in our society and these riots in ferguson are no exception. Young people have demonstrated their anger and pain toward the police department all across the country. My students have told me following the events in ferguson that they don’t see the police changing their behavior without force. And after seeing so many stories in the news of police in Philadelphia and elsewhere using excessive force against unarmed teens – often inspired by racism – I’m finally tending to agree. Foolhardy as these kids my be, I believe their hearts are in the right place and they should be supported as much as possible. Their actions may be driven by emotion and anger, but it is justified anger, and they were acting in solidarity with the people in ferguson… Which I think is noble simply in itself.
August 24th, 2014 at 7:06 pm
@eveyruttheimer; the article makes pretty clear “The members of the group did not take part in the rally and arrived as it was dispersing.”
I’m pretty sure this was mean simply to provoke.
August 24th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
If there are not consequences, there will be no change. If it costs them $5000 dollars for those cars, well and good. Need so much more, so much more.
August 25th, 2014 at 9:34 am
@Eveyruttheimer, I don’t think these were your students. These were mostly white kids, most likely born and raised in the suburbs. And if you saw what they were attempting to do and you were still thinking they should be supported, I question your suitability as a role model.
@Jacob, if you think that meaningful change is going to come by petty vandalism you are in for a long wait. My heroes, MLK and Ghandi didn’t riot. They didn’t cover their faces. They didn’t yell “Fuck the Police”
and try and goad the police into a brutal police crack down. They stood strong and marched peacefully and if the police reacted with violence they courageously took it. These kids on the other hand were arrogant morons who tried to claim that our Police are exactly like the Ferguson police. And the police who followed them calmly demonstrated more how meaningless and stupid their “protest” was. But if you feel that writing “Fuck Cops” on the mail box at 45th and Larchwood where all of the little kids and sweet old ladies in our neighborhood can read it in anyway liberated you, well, enjoy your freedumb.
August 25th, 2014 at 9:38 am
What really gets me about these kids was in their mind our police were equal to the Ferguson police. So they were attempting to rile up the police and essentially bring armored cars, police in military gear and tear gas to our peaceful, multi-cultural, multi-generational neighborhood. They wanted a riot on my block. They wanted tear gas to seep into our homes. My neighbor is a 75 year old woman. If God forbid Philly police reacted like the amateurs in Ferguson my neighbor would likely have to hospitalized because of exposure to tear gas. Thank God our police are professionals. If you want to make change, it takes work. Not simple vandalism. It takes real organization. And it’s not sexy or fashionable. That’s why these particular anarchists contribute nothing, whereas our neighbors did gather peacefully earlier that day to discuss making real change. These kids probably didn’t want to show up there though because it wasn’t fashionable enough for their Anarchist Chic look.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:05 am
No, petty vandalism won’t be enough. Not nearly enough.
I’m not advocating anything. I’m saying what I believe to be true, that we are on a spiral to extinction. There are many testicles of this capitalist Empire of money and death, but they’re all connected, from the genocide in Gaza to Ferguson, from the way “professional cops” tailor their behavior to fit the complexion and income of those they are supposed to serve, to criminals who pay for disinformation about climate change so they can maximize their profits in the belief they can isolate themselves from the coming disasters, while the rest of us drown… or die of thirst after they’ve privitized our water, as they’ve been privatizing education so they alone will be able to afford more than job training.
We have to shut down the machinery of death. A message on a mailbox, a few trashcans in the street are far, far from enough. But it’s a start.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:53 am
Well that’s amusing. I spell checked a typo, and didn’t look closely enough. Though it’s certainly true that our patriarchal monster has many testicles, as well as many tentacles!
August 25th, 2014 at 1:12 pm
I’ve read a few articles, and saw a photo album, it all seems a tad ridiculous. I’d also mention that the crowd that attended the peaceful vigil was mostly white also, and those few who weren’t were older. From the looks of it, the disorganized kids looking to create chaos were younger, even younger kids who didn’t look white. Just understand it’s a generational gap thing, not simply race. Some of these kids don’t want to listen to us elders when we tell them they have to organize or get to the ballots. Brendan, also be aware that before any tear gas was used in Ferguson, there was a night where police had watched youth burn and loot in confusion. Older folks also plead for it to stop, saying it would spark more conflict in their neighborhood.
I’ve lived through the 60s, and this is nothing. There were major riots, whether it were black neighborhoods, or students it seemed like the youth wanted to create chaos. I’m going to assume you didn’t live through that, seeing that it seems like a big deal for something this minor to occur. I remember I couldn’t walk on campus without seeing police in riot gear, or something on fire. I remember hearing about the black neighborhoods being patrolled by national guards.
August 25th, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Brendangrad, et al.: I was watching a panel discussion about the happenings in Ferguson with some store vandalism/looting and a very smart speaker made the point that the people protesting and grieving in Ferguson were not the same people that were looting, overall. They are 2 separate groups and the latter are made up of opportunists who want to commit a crime and are using any chance they can get to do so. They’d show up no matter what the situation. In that sense, they are not ‘linked’ to the death of Michael Brown any more than they are linked to any other high-profile, charged, event in their city. I didn’t see any of the people you saw (I wasn’t at the protest/march) but I’d say the same about them; don’t believe for a second that they are genuinely mad at the police or racial inequality or anything else. They may THINK they are but if that’s true, I’d say they don’t really known themselves and their motivations. They’re just a group of people who want to act out and sow violence and discontent and have a reason to scream and yell and get attention. It could be about Michael Brown, or New Coke or long lines at the movies. I think your attitude toward them is appropriate, don’t get me wrong, I’m just saying that in a weird way, it might make you feel better to recognize they’re just liars, not misguided-but-genuinely-angry-about-a-social-issue.
August 25th, 2014 at 4:46 pm
I don’t get how someone can love MLK and Gandhi simultaneously considering Gandhi was anti-black and sexist. Anyone care to explain this contradiction to me? Gandhi also had some kind words for Mussolini as a leader, and had no problem writing to Hitler as “My Friend” while convincing German Jews that they could appeal to his heart. It’s a little off topic, but you’re not really making a good case for yourself by idolizing a myth.
August 25th, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Way off topic indeed. But calling Gandhi anti-Semite because he didn’t find it morally consistent for Jews to create a state in what was called Palestine back then because it would displace the Palestinians is deliberately inaccurate. Sympathizing with Palestinians or any people about to have their land taken from them is not hypocritical when at the very same time you are fighting for your own homeland (now modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) to be independent. It would be hypocritical if Gandhi were advocating that in winning independence that they would displace others (except the British rulers). And after WWII when Jewish Zionists fought for an independent state to be carved out of British Palestine, a famous act of terrorism, the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem which killed and wounded scores of British soldiers was an act that, consistent with his beliefs, he condemned. Again that doesn’t make him anti-semetic. It makes him a humanitarian.
And you can call him anti-black all you want. I assume you are referring to his time living in South Africa and advocating for the Indian population there. Or maybe you are referring to earlier when as a young man he enlisted in the British Army and fought Zulus. Both of these things happened when he was still a young man and when his ideas were not fully formed. No one said Gandhi was born a perfect and sublime human. I’m not sure how that makes him anti-black but I’m sure you will pull some tired and disproven bit of character assassination out to prove me wrong. I would be interested if you find anything from his time after being a lawyer in South Africa where he demonstrates that he is still as you call it “anti-black.” I don’t think you will.
And finally in referring to Hitler as “dear friend” in his July 1939 letter to Hitler urging him not to start a war, are you familiar with the format people used to use when they actually wrote letters? You have the Greeting, the Body, the Salutation and your signature. For a man who believed in peace and nonviolence, he probably began his letters to everyone “Dear Friend.” It sets the tone. It doesn’t mean he and Hitler were buddies. And you leave out the very stubborn fact which shits all over your lame reasoning that after the two word greeting of his letter, he went on to urge Hitler not to start the war. Of course his “friend” didn’t listen to him (some friend) and started what became World War II two months later.
I guess you can say I idolize a myth, so let me clarify that I greatly respect Gandhi’s call for non-violent resistance and pacifism that he developed over the course of his life. He managed to free the entire “Subcontinent” and it’s hundreds of millions (now billions) of people living today in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. And he did it without calling for violence. That is why MLK loved and followed in Gandhi’s example.
You’re not saying MLK was anti-black too now, are you Jake?
August 25th, 2014 at 6:23 pm
you people are major Gandhi huggers.
August 25th, 2014 at 7:32 pm
Gandhi met with Mussolini. Not only that, but praised him as a glorious leader that had the peoples interests at heart. He said to those living under the threat of Fascism, to passively accept all the atrocities that may come upon them. Such incompetence is dangerous. You worship a myth because you view history as if it can be summed up by the thoughts and actions of idols. The reality of history involves multitudes of people, all engaging and interacting in different ways with different visions and ideas. You wouldn’t be correct to pick and choose idols as if they are single-handedly responsible for shaping all of history.
MLK obviously wasn’t anti-black, and he was very strategic with his passive resistance. To understand passive resistance understanding Dr. King is a must. Let’s acknowledge though, that during this time period there were major race riots around the country. They weren’t random. There were countless elements that pushed in this direction. People Like James Boggs and Malcom X to name two of many involved in civil rights movement. The bottom line is, the way history works, can not be defined to submit to the benefit of one world view. You cant pick and choose which idols to put on a pedestal, when many leaders, and even more people shaped history in a variety of aspects. To say “Things changed because MLK and Ghandi” is a deluded misunderstanding of the world and how it is shaped.
August 25th, 2014 at 8:15 pm
I come from a long line of family officers, who served this city with integrity and honor for 5 generations now. It’s a shame to see so many people blindly sympathizing with Ferguson here. A kid died… that always is tragic. they don’t know the full story…and officers were forced to use gas aftr they burnt their own neighborhoods down.. hurt business owners, and lobbed objects at fellow officers. but unless your an officer yourself you cant understand the danger we face as soon as our shift begins. We face thugs, who are ready to resist, run, and spit in our face, call us pigs… crowds gather and yell obscenities when we arrest people selling drugs. not long ago before this there was a car chase off of bmore ave, sending us runnin around like jackasses. people around the areas we patrol could be ready to pull a gun, and then our families will be left fatherless and motherless. can i tell you how many guns i find on the street and drugs. there’s a culture of no respect for the law growing in the young people here.
We have many black people in the force here, who are very professional in their work. we have diversity even in the top ranks. It took a lot to heal our relationship from the community back when radical extremist groups arrogantly caused conflict and openly called for acts against police. ill be god damned if Im going to watch a liberals make excuses for people taunting officers and wasting their resources like this is the 70s or 80s again. My father went through that hell. it’s not a race thing.. its a thug, and respect thing. this article proves there are disrespectful white thugs too, and they do thuggish things with thugs of all colors. then have the gut to say it’s for a cause. my ass. not in philly idiots.
August 25th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
The role of the police, what they are actually hired to do, and what they are told their job is are not the same thing. They are there to protect the orderly transfer of capital, and those people engaged in that capacity, which means, where people important to that role and where they live, receive priority protection. This is a system that fosters and preserves divisions of class and race, which means that cops-no matter their individual intentions–serve to maintain those divisions, maintaining class oppression and using the hostilities that are natural for any oppressed people–branding those who resist as thugs or enemies of society.
Because the system they serve is utterly corrupt, existing only to funnel wealth to fewer and fewer, and exploit and reduce to wage servitude the rest, there can never be such a thing as a ‘good cop.’ May be good as an individual, but as a cop, acting as enforcers of a violent and corrupt oppressor class, no way.
August 25th, 2014 at 10:21 pm
As an aside… has anyone heard of a cop, not under indictment him/herself, charged with perjury? Ever? Either cops are supernatural beings who never ever lie, or there is a corrupt system protecting them and defending them from their crimes.
August 25th, 2014 at 10:23 pm
And the FOP is a criminal organization akin to the mafia.
August 25th, 2014 at 10:47 pm
As a 38 year old anarchist/socialist, I find the organizers of the march to have acted in a very non-strategic way.
It is a fairly common trend among a minority of young predominantly male anarchists to confront the police with no workable plan for building an organization/network that can challenge capitalism and stop police brutality. It is the old story of trying to radicalize people by getting into fights with cops and it didn’t work in the Sixties either.
I’m guessing this event was larger than you would otherwise expect for Philly due to the Anarchist Book Fair on the same day.
Older anarchists tend to focus on organizing and start groups like Decarcerate PA. Personally, I’m working with the Philly Socialists and am currently running a small project to redistribute wealth to low-income (98% black) homeowners.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:15 pm
I agree, Aaron. With no strategic plans to carry forward and build on whatever the action creates, the effort comes to nothing. I think the burden falls on we older radicals, and less on the young people who felt the need to get out and make some noise. This is a perennial problem–I think of the tensions between tribal elders with a life time of experience fighting Euro-American intruders, and young warriors eager to test their courage and show their defiance… as described in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. If those with experience aren’t ready to include and channel and build on that kind of energy, we’re failing those young people, our own goals, and what might have been an important moment in the revolution.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:50 pm
And then, there’s the brutal stupidity http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/25/la-cops-ignored-asthmatic-suspects-pleas-before-death-you-can-talk-so-you-can-breathe/
August 25th, 2014 at 11:55 pm
Endlessly repeated..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266979/Ashley-Smith-inquest-Shocking-video-shows-teenager-killing-prison-guards-stood-by.html
August 26th, 2014 at 1:17 am
Of course, when it happens to white boys, cops get fired.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/28/knoxville-cop-fired-immediately-after-photos-show-brutal-choking-of-student/
August 29th, 2014 at 8:24 pm
Brendangrad, I just want to tell you that I think you’ve done a fine job of stating your case and standing up for your neighborhood. Don’t let them (like Comrade Brad over on the Facebook page) get your goat. Dude’s just trying to be provocative while you’re actually making statements that make sense.
September 11th, 2014 at 9:56 am
This site is wild. Sexy wild. Not. I think this whack chat has become a bit to politically partied out. And yes, Garth, that was a Haiku. Anyways, here’s the real issue that just may bamboozle the idiomatic illusionists and stupify the real issues that have flummoxed both science and academia – SHAMELESS PRODUCT PLACEMENT ON THE SILVER SCREEN.
Has anyone seen the so-called blockbuster ‘Encino Man’. First off, kudos for gratuitously pandering to the darling darwinists who attempt to de-myth evolution. Secondly, in one lack luster, hackneyed hijinx-saturated scene, the protagonist, ‘Stoney’, while attempting to sate a marijuana induced voracious appetite, patronizes a local and enterprising 7-11. There on display for all of the impressionable American youth to salivate at like the ringing of the pavlovian bell, is an assortment of both unhealthy sweet treats and salted snacks. Am I to believe that the over-sexed (and brilliant) Pauly Shore character ‘Stoney’ is promoting this flagrant false advertisement of these most unhealthy hunger busters as being part of the healthy and nutritious American diet. That may fly in Canada (Maple tree huggers). Thank you for allowing this humble patriot to exercise his oft denied First Amendment Right and slate his thirst for change.