Friday, August 31, 2012

Austin PD undercover officer allegedly gave material support to 'Occupy' action resulting in felony charges

At Firedoglake, writer Kit O'Connell asks, "Why did undercover Austin Police Department Detective Shannon G. Dowell provide material support for an activist protest that resulted in them being charged with a felony in Houston?"

Sounds like a reasonable question to me.

Last December, wrote O'Connell, "seven activists from Austin, Dallas, and Houston blocked the main entrance into the port by laying in the road and linking arms inside lockboxes (also known as sleeping dragons), which physically linked them together so that police cut them apart. The use of these instruments resulted in these seven being charged with Unlawful Use of a Criminal Instrument or Device, while others who merely linked arms and legs faced lesser misdemeanor charges."

So where did the protesters get these "lockboxes"? An undercover Austin police detective, later identified in court as Shannon G. Dowell but known to the protesters as "Butch," allegedly "obtained the materials, constructed, then delivered the lockboxes to Austin activists before they left for Houston," wrote OConnell. "Funds for the lockboxes came from Occupy Austin’s general funds allocated to the trip by its assembly."

That's classic provocateur behavior. Without the "lockboxes" constructed by the detective, the activists would have only faced misdemeanor charges, but they wouldn't have had that capacity without "Butch's" help. Is it unreasonable to suspect that's why he did it?

Attorney Greg Gladden who's handling the case told O'Connell that "The behavior of Austin Police Department is shocking to my conscience. I believe it is shocking to the conscience of the court. and it is one of the worst ways I can think of for the government to be spending its money, our money. The case needs to be dismissed and the Austin Police Department needs to rethink its role in society."

Notably, local police across the country have partnered with the Department of Homeland Security in undercover operations aimed at "Occupy" protesters, sharing information through so-called "fusion centers."

To be clear, I think intentionally getting oneself arrested in an action like this is dumb as a bag of hair and another example of the Occupy movement's failures of leadership. It furthers no identifiable political goal and forces activist groups to redirect energy and resources from their policy agenda to legal defense. But that doesn't excuse police from using undercover operatives to promote felonious behavior that wouldn't occur without their involvement. It's one thing to use undercover operatives to identify and prosecute crime, but quite another to facilitate and promote it.

MORE: See coverage from the Austin Chronicle and a followup post from Firedoglake, citing testimony from Detective Dowell that he couldn't provide the court with emails related to the undercover operation because they'd been deleted, which if true may violate state record retention laws. Other records related to the case, Dowell told the court, he'd uploaded onto a thumb drive which he claimed to have lost between his hotel in Houston and the courthouse. Judge Joan Campbell was not amused and has threatened to dismiss the charges if Austin PD cannot provide the documents by next week.

16 comments:

doran said...

Dowell lost his thumb drive between his hotel room and the Courthouse???

OMIGOD, this is just too funny. Grits, scrub this if you must but I cannot help myself.

Maybe Dowell should have one of his law enforcement buddies do a body cavity searh on Dowell, himself........

Anonymous said...

Our intent isn't just to break laws for the sake of breaking laws, or to cause chaos or to hurt regular people, but to get at the heart of how the one percent, how the elite in this country enforce their unpopular policies and it's through these laws.

Actions that break existing laws are, historically, a crucial element of civil disobedience, of peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience. That's why it's called disobedience. When a law is wrong, when it hurts rather than helps people because the people that make laws are human, just like us and they can make mistakes and they can be short-sighted or they can be narrow minded, right?

It's not just important to break those laws, it's essential to violate those laws, but to do it in a way that makes it completely clear why the laws are being violated and how the laws are being violated.

Anonymous said...

Putting a device before someone that they then decide to use to break the law is not wrong. It simply gets to the heart of their intent. These thugs who were blocking the port thought they had their deal "locked up" so to speak.now they got locked up as they should have. They were not forced by the detective to use those devices. They chose to do so be cause they thought it would further their illegal goals. I am always ready to hold the police accountable when they are wrong but, so far, it sounds like they just did their job.

doran said...

Anonymous 7:36---

If Dowell had not been a cop, and had made those devices and urged the Occupy people to use them, or even gave them help in using them, he would have been indicted as a party to the felonies with which the Occupy people were charged.

Dowell did more than just "putting a device before someone..." He facilitated he commission of what Houston Law Enforcement considered to be a felony.

Now why should Dowell get a free pass for engaging in what is criminal conduct? Because he was there to faciliate the criminal conduct by others on orders from the State of Texas. Doesn't that bother you at all?

Anonymous said...

Some Occupy protest is peaceful, but when pushed too far, the "Days of Rage" has been resorted to. So far, Occupy Austin has been much more restrained than Occupy Oakland where they were forced to take direct action. Let's hope this peacefulness can continue. The big conflict came when they tried to force us to take down the food tables in front of Austin City Hall.

rodsmith said...

i have to agree with doran.

They need to either charge the office with the same felony charges plus a few extra for providing the weapon of choice.

OR

Drop it all since it would be ENTRAPMENT!

Anonymous said...

These bullies in blue, thugs with badges, an occupying army, whatever you want to call them, go way too far, and have lost all respect and deference for those they are supposed to be serving.

Anonymous said...

It's pretty difficult for most people to have any respect for anything having to do with occupy. They are not about positive change they are about anarchy and they have gone on for too long. It's time for them to go.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing inherently illegal about those devices. It's the use of them that makes them an illegal device. The cop did nothing wrong.

doran said...

Anon 3:02 (damn, you're up early)

Dowell provided a criminal instrument which facilitated the commission of a felony. If I or any of the members of occupy had done that, you would probably agree that we were implicit in the felony offense. We would probably be indicted. Why shouldn't a cop be indicted under these circustances?

His actions converted what would have been a misdemeanor into a felony offense. He entered into a conspiracy with members of the occupy group. If this matter ever goes to trial, we will have a better insight into just exactly what his roll was, but as of now it appears that he was not just a passive member of the group, but took the lead in providing the instrument.



Anonymous said...

We need more officers undercover in capacities such as Dowell. Occupy is not a peaceful organization and it's members who want to conduct their protests illegally need to be incarcerated.

Anonymous said...

Once again I'd like to remind everyone that
more police officers are convicted of child sex crimes than all other professions combined. It's law enforcement's "dirty little secret", and one we are committed to exposing. Police officers use their positions of trust to violate our children. Their victims are threatened with physical harm and told no one will believe their word over that of a police officer. Visit our Facebook pages to understand why all cops have a predisposition to becoming child molesters at some point or another in their lifetimes: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-to-survivors-of-child-sexual-assault-by-law-enforcement-officers/180584842010594

Bill Hommel said...

I can't believe that Austin PD paid someone to be undercover on an 'Occupy' mission. Whatever happened to the right of assembly? First Amendment be damned I guess....

Anonymous said...

10:36:00 AM
In some of the more liberal cities, such as Oakland, the Occupy troopers like to burn down buildings. You don't think it would be good to know beforehand if one of these groups goes into a rage mode? Actually, the Oakland troopers would have burned down the city if the police were not there to retard their tantrum. They would probably have spared Berkeley where many of them received their educ... or should I say indoctrination.

Gritsforbreakfast said...

4:32, if Oakland PD followed the Austin model, they'd have supplied the arsonists with gasoline and matches.

Anonymous said...

Looks like nobody has called the police Hitler so far on this string--what's causing all this restraint?