Privatizing the Freedom Cage?
September 9th, 2008 Jim Banks
The Denver Police Department released a 7 page budget document on Friday, outlining the costs of policing the Democratic National Convention. Included in the budget was more than $10 million to pay for officers from other jurisdictions, $111,000 for riot gear turtle suits and over $650,000 for ballistic helmets. Jim Banks followed the protests on the streets of Denver and at the Freedom Cage during the DNC. He found the Freedom Cage to be virtually empty most days, as protesters were kept out of sight of delegates attending the convention, so most decided to stay away.
As the Democratic National Convention drew to a close Jim Banks hatched a plan to help the city of Denver pay for the money it spent policing the empty Freedom Cage.
Jim Banks interviews members from the protest group Unconventional Denver, a key group in the upcoming DNC. They discuss recent demonstrations and protests organized by the group, specifically a request to Denver City Council to reinvest the $50 million budgeted for DNC security into community projects in exchange for the complete elimination of planned protests. They also discuss the intentions, ideas, goals and philosophy of this anarchist and anti-authoritarian based organization. Branching from the national group, Unconventional Action, Unconventional Denver sees grassroots democracy, communal control, civil disobedience, direct action and a disassembly of capitalism as the key to a better future.
