This is why I have difficulty with commentary accusing African-Americans of “playing the race card.” They’ve experienced this behavior for centuries.
American gestapo
July 28, 2007 - 4:02am.
Abuse of power by National Park Service police
By DOUG THOMPSON
The last place you expect to run into a federal government goon squad is the Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic highway that runs through Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
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For the last two years, the Park Service has brought in its “CIT” (Criminal Interdiction Team) from Asheville, North Carolina, to police crowds that use the Parkway to reach the festival(Floyd Fest). The team, composed of swaggering young officers with little regard for due process or civil rights, is the embodiment of federal excess.
As I drove towards the site Thursday, I passed two CIT Park Police officers that had pulled cars over and were forcing the occupants to pull everything out of the car so they could search coolers, back packs, luggage, glove boxes and consoles.
I pulled off the road ahead of the second NPS patrol car, grabbed my camera and headed back to take a photo of the police action. As I approached, the Park Service officer wheeled around and pointed at me.
“Sir, if you raise that camera to take a photograph I will place you under arrest,” he barked.
I identified myself as a working journalist on assignment and said I was simply covering a news event.
“Sir,” he retorted, “this is U.S. government property and under the provisions of the USA Patriot Act you cannot take photographs of official government activity without authorization. Put your camera down now!”
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“Sir, you have 15 seconds to leave or you are under arrest.” He had his hand on his gun so I left. Media General, our newspaper’s owner, has strict rules about interaction with police. At the top of the hill, I stopped and shot some photos back towards the scene.
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Calls to the Park Service police headquarters were not returned Friday. I called the office of Congressman Rick Boucher and they promised to check into the situation.
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UPDATE — 07/29/2007: The National Park Service recalled their CIT unit and ordered them back to Asheville after Congressman Rick Boucher, who represents the area, intervened on behalf of the festival. Boucher’s office received numberous calls of complaints about the NPS police activity on Thursday and Friday and called the director of the National Park Service. Security for the remaining two days of the festival was turned over to the Virginia State Police who patrolled the Parkway but did not harass festival attendees.