Anti-brutality protest gets ugly

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On the night ot Wednesday, March 15 , Movement Action Justice, a peace-oriented anti-police-brutality group, held a candlelight vigil outside the Shed Cafe, where police savagely beat Jean-Pierre Lizotte, who died last October. But attendance was poor: most of the available protesters were busy breaking windows and mixing it up with the cops on Ste-Catherine.

Some might despair over an anti-brutality protest turned violent but, truth be told, many activists have a hate-on for the cops that makes peaceful protest highly unlikely.

When this reporter attended an anarchist party recently, I learned this lesson well. Upon recognizing an anarcho-acquaintance, I approached him and jokingly quipped, "You're under arrest!" Tension filled the room, and several guys had to be dissuaded from jumping me.

Such a visceral attitude likely contributed to the protest on the 15th, which saw the smashing of windows at MUC Police Station 19 and three McDonald's restaurants, resulting in over 100 arrests.

"Citizens should not be afraid to confront the police," says Bernard Cooper, spokesperson for the organizing group Citizens Opposed to Police Brutality. Cooper stopped short of condoning the vandalism, but is no pacifist: "The cops usually stay well away from our demos because they know that if they get too close, their cars will get pelted. They have a certain grudging, fearful respect for us." : --John Edmonds

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