SOLIDARITY STATEMENT TO THE PITTSBURGH ORGANIZING GROUP
August 22, 2005

St. Pete for Peace and St. Pete Food Not Bombs stand
in solidarity with the Pittsburgh Organizing Group in
support of members and participants in the Saturday,
August 20 action against the Oakland Military
Recruiting Station.

We condemn the actions of the Pittsburgh Police
Department as yet another example of the use of brute
force and domestic torture to counter non-violent acts
of dissent. It is inconceivable to us that a 17 year
old girl and a 68 year old grandmother, (among others
injured in the police-induced riot), could be
considered such a threat to the State that it feels
justified in physically savaging them. And we have to
wonder what kind of police force would tolerate such
obvious violent and deviant behavior on the part of
its employees.

We call for immediate dismissal of the officers who
used Tasers, dogs and chemical weapons against those
present at the demonstration. A reprimand is not
sufficient…it is clear that these officers will not
benefit from a “time out” suspension or an official
scolding. If they are unable to see that placing an
injured grandmother in a vehicle with no
air-conditioning for 45 minutes is wrong, then no
amount of corrective action will ensure that a repeat
of August 20 will not occur. And while we are certain
that the police department will issue a statement (if
they have not done so already) to attempt to justify
these actions, it is clearly an indefensible position.
The use of Tasers and dogs to attack unarmed civilians
is the hallmark of a fascist dictatorship, not a
healthy democracy. Were intimidation tactics alone
used to stifle dissent, this would have been bad
enough, however the tactics of the Pittsburgh Police
Department went far beyond mere intimidation - opting,
instead, for assault.

We also call for the dismissal of charges against all
arrested as a result of the August 20 demonstration
and an immediate discontinuance of the use of Tasers
and dogs, both at protest events and in other non
life-threatening situations.

We congratulate the Pittsburgh Organizing Group and
participants in the August 20 action for their
courage, their strength and their commitment to peace
and offer our mutual aid and support for their group
as they work to rid their city of state-sponsored
violence and oppression.

In solidarity
St. Pete for Peace
St. Pete Food Not Bombs

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Please call the following individuals to demand that they:
- Investigate the conduct of police at the Aug 20
anti-war protest in Oakland and increase oversight of
the Department
- Publicly speak out and work to get those arrested
released and the charges dropped
- Support an immediate moratorium on the use of police
dogs at protests and tasers -- which city council
recently funded only due to promises they would be
used in situations which threatened an officer's life
and would therefore save lives.

Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy at (412) 255-2626
Pittsburgh director of Public Safety, Robert Kennedy
(412) 255-2038
Pittsburgh City Council:
Doug Shields: 412-255-8965
Sala Udin: 412-255-2134
William Peduto: 412-255-2133
Twanda Carlisle: 412-255-2137
Luke Ravenstahl: 412-255-2135
Daniel J. Deasy: 412-255-8963
James Motznik: 412-255-2131
Len Bodak: 412-255-2140

Call Assistant Chief of Police Nathan Harper-
412-323-7821 (when calling police, simply voice your
disapproval of the police handling of events and let
them know you've asked the city to investigate)