Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham (12/5/14) BACKGROUND On December 3, 2014 it was announced on the news that a New York City grand jury chose not to indict a NYPD officer in the death of Eric Garner. This came approximately one week after the grand jury in Ferguson, MO announced they would not indict the officer involved in the death of Michael Brown. The Ferguson decision led to protests, in many cases violent, around the country. Durham experienced a protest in response to the Ferguson decision on November 25, 2014. The Ferguson response in Durham was not violent. However, several hundred protestors marched through the streets of Durham and blocked traffic, including the northbound lanes of the Durham Freeway at approximately on a Tuesday evening. Participants shot airborne fireworks while on the freeway, including into traffic that was still moving in the southbound lanes. This caused significant traffic congestion in and around downtown. The day after the November 25th event in Durham, it was discovered that the National Guard Armory at 801 Stadium Drive sustained damaged related to the Ferguson incident. Spray paint was found on the doors of the armory which read: "Out of Ferguson Now! Rioters are Heroes!? In addition, 19 windows in the front of the building were broken. The Armory sustained similar damage on October 18, 2014 when several locks were glued shut and ?Disobey Orders Solidarity with Missouri Rebels Fuck the Police? was spray painted on the building. THE ANARCHIST MENTALITY Anarchists use and take advantage of local citizens that are upset about a current event. During the Huerta marches, anarchists surrounded themselves with local citizens during marches then changed into all black clothing to disguise their identity to commit criminal acts in anonymity, finally returning to the crowd to discard the black clothing and masks (See Attachment 13). KNOWN INFORMATION LEADING UP TO DECEMBER 5TH EVENT Once the Eric Garner decision was announced, the same groups involved in the previous protest began utilizing social media to circulate information for another protest; primarily Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. A small group gathered that evening (12/3/14) in front of Durham Police Headquarters in an attempt to build awareness for another gathering to take place on December 4, 2014, also in front of Headquarters (See Attachment 1). John Brier, the individual that posted the December 3rd event, is originally from Wilmington, NC and currently resides in Raleigh. His post was attached to the Occupy Raleigh group. Another post was made by an activist organization named lnterOccupy about the December 3rd event and attached the post to Occupy Raleigh Occupy Wall Street (See Attachment 2). The December 4th protest ended up taking place at CCB Plaza and did not result in a march participants remained peaceful and within the plaza area. As social media activity was monitored it was determined that a protest was planned for Friday December 5,2014. This event was being promoted by many, including a Carrboro and Chapel Hill group known as the Prison Books Collective (See Attachments 3 and 4). This group seems to have a close Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 1 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham [12/5/14] association with other groups from Chapel Hill; the UNControlIables and Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro. These groups tout themselves as Anarchists and openly express anti-police agendas. Their members publicize their participation in Durham events such as those related to Jesus Huerta, Michael Brown and they appear to be responsible for the damage to the National Guard Armory. it is also believed that these groups were instrumental in agitating the protests related to the death ofJesus "Chuy" Huerta in late 2013 to early 2014, evidenced by the fact that several members connected to anarchist groups were directly observed participating in these events, and that there are commonalities in the lists of those attending on the event pages for these events. The protests for Huerta resulted in the destruction of police department property and attacks on officers by using rocks and bottles. Anarchists often utilize these tactics in large group settings as a way to reduce their likelihood of arrest or being identified by police. A man named Rafael Estrada from Raleigh, NC was heavily involved in the Moral Monday and Occupy. Raleigh protests. Estrada is very open on his social media and often expresses his dislike and hatred of the police. Estrada has been present at many of our protests and participates in events at UNC Chapel Hill that are promoted by the UNControlIables. He had a period of inactivity with his social media from the spring of 2014 until the recent protests began in Durham following the Ferguson announcement. Since then he has become very active in posting anti-police statements (See Attachment 5 and 6). He shared and promoted the event pages for the Ferguson and Eric Garner protests. During the Ferguson protest in Durham, one source that appeared to be coordinating the portion of the protest that marched through town was found on Twitter. The Twitter name was listed as the source to follow for updates on fliers that were being hung on telephone poles, passed out at the DATA bus station and posted on-line. The flier depicted a male throwing a Molotov cocktail it was shared by the UNControlIables (See Attachment 7). The activity of this Twitter account was followed as it posted comments encouraging people to bring their rage and anger to the protests. The posts continued in support of the Eric Garner protest once the grand jury decision was reached (See attachment 8). Leading up to the protest on December it appeared we could expect a similar turnout to the November 25th event. The numbers on the Facebook event pages suggested over 500 people were expected to attend. The tension was building among protestors around the country and we were anticipating more aggressive behavior by the participants. One post that was reviewed indicated that the December 4th event was a more family/child friendly gathering and the December 5th event was the planned march for those interested in engaging in acts of civil disobedience (See Attachment 9). The November 25th protest that temporarily blocked the Durham Freeway was seen as a great success by those involved. Blocking traffic like this, as well as staging "die-ins? where protestors block traffic or disrupt a public place by pretending to be dead, had become the trend at events across the country. These were the tactics we were expecting to experience during the December 5th event. There was a significant amount of activity in the Downtown Durham area which was expected to be targeted. These included a tower lighting event at the American Tobacco Complex and two sold out shows at the DPAC. Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 2 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham (12/5/14) OBSERVED ACTIVITY DURING DECEMBER 5TH EVENT Participants gathered at CCB Plaza on December 5, 2014 beginning at ?the crowd was peaceful. People spoke on loud speakers for nearly an hour. Around there were twitter feeds intercepted that indicated a "die-in? was planned for in front of the DPAC (See Attachments 10 and 11). This would be about the time that the crowd from the first show of the night would be departing. Protesters at the plaza could also be heard over a loudspeaker encouraging the participants to make those at DPAC pay attention. The protestors began their march about 8:00pm. The crowd, totaling over 200 people, made their way to the front of the Durham County Jail, where they stopped briefly and blocked all lanes of traffic on Mangum St. between the Jail and DPAC (8:25pm). Some participants lit smoke devices and airborne fireworks. The crowd then began marching south on Mangum St. toward the Durham Freeway, as they did during the November 25th event. Police officers were positioned at the on-ramp from Jackie Robinson to the northbound ramp for the Durham Freeway. The protesters continued south on Mangum St., where they gained access to the Durham Freeway via the southbound exit onto Morehead Ave (8:35pm). Police vehicles stopped traffic in both directions before the crowd entered the freeway. The crowd split up and moved back and forth from north bound to south bound lanes. They remained on the Freeway for over 30 minutes, walking through stopped traffic in the southbound lanes, before exiting onto W. Chapel Hill St. This resulted in significant traffic delays in both directions of the freeway. The protestors were met with a large presence of officers in front of Durham Police Headquarters, which had been previously vandalized during the first Jesus Huerta demonstration (9:15pm). They continued to yell and taunt officers with statements suggesting the officers kill themselves. Many were derogatory and aggressive toward the police. They briefly blocked the intersection at W. Chapel Hill St. and Duke St., and then returned to the DPAC, which now had a large crowd waiting for the second show. Officers and patrons were nearly overtaken by the demonstrators (9:25pm). Ultimately the protestors made their way back onto S. Mangum St. and continued to agitate and refused to disperse. Several subjects were taken into custody at this location when they tried to force their way through the police line. During this time, an ambulance was unable to reach a citizen having a diabetic emergency on a bus at Mangum St. and Main St, requiring the patient to be diverted to an alternate medical facility. After the arrests, the crowd was redirected north toward CCB Plaza (9:55pm). Bottles were thrown at officers and some participants were seen picking up rocks from the railroad traCks. These rocks were eventually thrown at officers on bicycles. They marched through downtown and continued north. The crowd appeared to be gradually breaking apart at this time, which was now approximately 100 people in size. There was another encounter with police officers on Foster St. near Geer St. where several more demonstrators were arrested (10:30pm). Police video is available upon request documenting as much of the aforementioned events as was possible to capture. At this point the crowd continued north on Foster and kept breaking apart. By the time they reached Trinity Ave. the crowd separated to the point where the demonstration appeared over. The day after the event (12/6/14), officers were dispatched to 636 Foster St. for a suspicious device call. At this Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 3 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham (12/5/14) location, which is where the second set of arrests was made, a bottle containing a wick and petroleum- like substance was found. it is believed that the item was a homemade Molotov cocktail designed to be lit and thrown as a way to start a significant fire. EVE NT PAGES nit ref=re ated events Note: One of the organizers using the Twitter handle @NC4Ferguson shared a link on his event page to a rap video that depicted a NYPD officer being executed (Attachment 12). ?g Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 4 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham [12/5/14] Attachment 1: John Brier i'Z? #Duri?ian'i small group at PD. We're building for tomorrow at 6pm #EricGarner @Oc Lipy'RaIelgh Attachment 2: nu", l0: (lnterDccupy) has; . a. "Triangle. Durham Police 505 West #Chapell?lill St 8:00 pm tonight. 12:3 #EricGarner :?l-xlilceBrown" @1210: Lip?aleigh Attachment 3: UNControII-ables -- .- FHday risonb ooks eo-in-response- :o-murder-of?erio?garnen? Durham: Demo Announced in Response to Murder of Eric Garner all {In LL: '33 Lil-:9 Comment Sher .7 people like this. Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 5 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham (12/5/14) Attachment 4: Durhaln: Denlo Announced in Response to Murder of Eric Garner ER 4, 2-314 rags: ACAB. .marohjc, anti?police. Durban. Ezic Garner, Ferguson; P. Nem-?Yco?k. protest. resistante At opm on Friday, there will be an enlergency demonstration to join in the chorus of outrage against the whose. murderer-cop was just let off with no charges after choking Eric. Garner to deathi on video. Garner eras selling ?loose cigarette-s,? which in NYC is a petty crime.i part of the state?s larger strategy of managing populations in poorer areas. V'tfhether the lnurderer is indicted or not really nukes no difference. 1i?tltaether cops Wear bod}? cameras, are forced into sensitiviqt trainings, or ?are from the communiq? will make no difference. The cops are a historioal];r white supremacist fort-e, used to repress and manage poor people and people of color. There is no escaping this fact. A year ago Durham took to the streets repeatedly in protest of the police murder of Chuy Huerta. On Tuesday November 25th we matched with Ferguson, shutting down in a broad effort at disruption. That was just the beginning. Please show up Friday night with all your rage and anger at this disgusting. racist system. Updates and alerts can be found by following via twitter or by textng ?Follow @NC4Ferguson? t0 4040-4. DECEDHIBER 5TH CCB PIAZA Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 6 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham [12/5/14] Attachment 5: Rafael Estrada Ray-me Acab'; photo Ii Attachment 6: Rafael Estrada Seriously though. Are ou reach,r to shut it down?? Lilte. really.r really really shut it down- Lil-te. I mean. shut it down so much that tomorrow vou are still holoin it at the olilze station and you have taken their vehicles and their guns away from them? Like. shut it down so much that some of your friends are going to be taking over the hospital and make sure people get healthcare?? See More 27:1 i 23 i'E: nib people littethis. JR 6'1? it shares e2 Jamie Year)! Huerta We neverfelt alone thanks to you Rafael Estrada no? 1 Carmen Davis please. let me Know about what's going on. I wanttojoin. Criminal Intelligence Unit Durham Police Department Page 7 Eric Garner Grand Jury Response in Durham (12/5/14) Attachment 7: Ul?lControllables I . This is happening In Durham the DAY AFTER Darren \Nilson isn't indicted HANDS UP, FIGHT Solidarity with Ferguson! Flood the street: when the state refuses to indict killer cop Damn Wilson. Meet Durham Doan town Library 3? 59m the day after the refusal to indict. Text ?follow @ncdferguson? to 40404 ?or alerts. LI *9 CI: :11 em Share- Attachment 8: NC 4 Ferguson Bel: Don't forget to come out to downtown Durham tonight at at cob plaza to Show solidarity and rage - EricGarne-r Fe?dk Thca P?l7??