tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post163227105875951895..comments2023-10-29T00:54:31.952-07:00Comments on Democracy Sometimes: This Day In History: Martial Law in the Castrokatinsfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339149658415546104noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post-73484617508656516072011-10-07T09:58:35.419-07:002011-10-07T09:58:35.419-07:00@Rachel, thanks for the info.@Rachel, thanks for the info.katinsfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339149658415546104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post-35817907282701847652011-10-07T01:00:16.467-07:002011-10-07T01:00:16.467-07:00thanks for keeping the history alive. I can hardly...thanks for keeping the history alive. I can hardly remember a thing except a feeling of 'wtf is going on' with the heavy police presence. something changed that night. we had been seen in the queer community as trouble makers up to that point. I remember constantly being asked did we have to cause so much trouble? but after that night the community rallied around. I remember going into the next ACTUP meeting and the room was packed. LuluAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post-15864586261503010842011-10-06T22:41:20.172-07:002011-10-06T22:41:20.172-07:00The police master communications tapes from that n...The police master communications tapes from that night disappeared, never to be found, but it was pretty clear from comments on the police radio that police commanders decided to retaliate against AIDS activists that day for humiliating the police by repeatedly chasing the Tac Squad out of the Castro, as well as for the opera disruption. In a last minute meeting right before the demo began, SFPD commanders elected to mobilize more than 170 cops to the smallish demo, virtually stripping the City of police. Strict orders were given that this demo, unlike some previous AIDS demos, would be tightly controlled. At the Castro, not only did this turn into a police riot with multiple injuries, but hundreds of people were imprisoned in bars and restaurants over six full blocks of Castro Street while the police swept the streets ordering everyone to "leave the area" or be beaten. The Police Commission pretty much failed to take significant disciplinary action; after three years of litigation the City agreed to pay approx. $250,000 to 20 people who had been injured and/or detained; $75,000 of this was donated to AIDS service organizations.Rachel Ledermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post-59569361465731868172011-10-06T22:30:04.821-07:002011-10-06T22:30:04.821-07:00great first hand account kate! xo Waiydegreat first hand account kate! xo WaiydeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123158255381065489.post-13224435194087794542011-10-06T20:43:11.171-07:002011-10-06T20:43:11.171-07:00Thanks for the memories, Kate. I wasn't a bloc...Thanks for the memories, Kate. I wasn't a blockader, so I got a way-too-close-up view of a group of riot cops beating people back onto the sidewalk, chasing one guy so fast and furious he fell backward over a cluster of newspaper boxes in his attempt to get away. I didn't see how badly hurt he was afterward. A scary night in the Castro.<br /><br />Wasn't that night the genesis of the group <em>Bad Cop, No Donut</em>?Steve Masoverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03387484207819808962noreply@blogger.com