…what country that purports to be free would countenance a routine traffic stop as a possible death sentence? And let’s not forget the fact that we are the only wealthy country that doesn’t guarantee sick days for anyone, or even vacation, for that matter. The point is that what we see in cop watching is, in part, I think, a comprehensive indictment of the ability of our democracy to respond to the needs of the people.   

Manuel Mata filming a Ft. Worth officer on sidewalk. Screenshot/TRNN.

By Stephen Janis and Taya Graham /
The Real News Network / February 14, 2023

Texas cop watcher Manuel Mata has been jailed again after he confronted a Ft. Worth officer on sidewalk while she was making arrest. The charges of interfering with public duties Mata is facing raise serious questions about the right to film police, and if law enforcement is ratcheting up the pressure on 1st amendment activists.

TRANSCRIPT

Taya Graham:  Hello, my name is Taya Graham, and welcome to the Police Accountability Report. As I always make clear, this show has a single purpose: holding the politically powerful institution of policing accountable. To do so, we don’t just focus on the bad behavior of individual cops. Instead, we examine the system that makes bad policing possible.

Today we will achieve that goal by reporting on some breaking developments in the case of this man, Manuel Mata. That’s because shortly after his bail was revoked during the sentencing of a corrupt cop, Manuel got out of jail and went straight back to cop watching. As you can see in this video I am showing you now, Mata backs up on a public sidewalk recording cops, a decision that reveals much about cop watching, and an outcome, which we will show you, that also says a great deal about the state of American law enforcement.

Before we get started, I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct, please email it to us privately at par@therealnews.com. And please like, share and comment on our videos. You know I read your comments and that I appreciate them. Of course, we do have a Patreon link for Accountability Reports pinned below, so if you feel inspired to donate, please do. We don’t run ads or take corporate dollars, so anything you can spare is truly appreciated. Okay, we’ve gotten that out of the way.

Now, as you know on this show, we cover not just bad policing, but a phenomenon known as cop watching, meaning the collection of YouTubers and First Amendment activists across the country who use cell phone cameras and YouTube channels to hold police accountable, and do so in ways that are unique and specific to each individual practitioner.

A few weeks ago, we told you about this man, Manuel Mata. Mata is a cop watcher who was hauled in front of a judge during the sentencing of a Fort Worth police officer named Aaron Dean. Dean was facing years in prison for the brazen killing of Atatiana Jefferson, a case that prompted outrage after the officer shot the young woman without warning during a wellness check. For reasons that have never been fully explained, after the trial was over and during the sentencing in which Dean received 12 years in prison, his defense attorney asked the judge to swear Mata in as a witness, an unprecedented move that led to this troubling encounter and his arrest. Let’s watch.

[VIDEO CLIP BEGINS]

Speaker 1:  I have issued you an oath to take, to testify truthfully. Are you going to take that oath?

Manuel Mata:  I have a question, sir.

Speaker 1:  No. Are you going to take that oath?

Manuel Mata:  No.

Speaker 1:  All right. You are on bond on some cases, is that correct?

Manuel Mata:  Yes sir.

Speaker 1:  Those bonds are being declared insufficient. Sheriff.

Manuel Mata:  What sir? What’s going on? What did I do? I need my lawyer present, sir.

Speaker 1:  We will get your lawyer.

Manuel Mata:  You questioned me without him.

[VIDEO CLIP ENDS]

Taya Graham:  Mata was jailed, but eventually released. However, rather than being intimidated by a system that would literally bend the law to put him behind bars, Mata went straight back to watching the cops on the streets of Fort Worth, a decision which would have devastating consequences for him. This latest chapter for Mata started on Feb. 8, when he was filming on a sidewalk. There, he had been recording a lone Fort Worth cop from public property when the situation escalated. Let’s watch.

[VIDEO CLIP BEGINS]

Manuel Mata:  She told me that she was conducting an investigation, that I had to stand behind her car, that it was a lawful order. I asked her what lawful order, state a penal code I violated. She could not. She called backup and here they are, people [sirens].

[VIDEO CLIP ENDS]

Taya Graham:  Now, it’s clear there are two important facts which were true at this point of Mata’s encounter with the Fort Worth officer: One, he was filming an officer in their public capacity, and two, he was standing on a public sidewalk, both activities which are protected by the First Amendment. But that didn’t stop officers from swarming the scene. Take a look.

[VIDEO CLIP BEGINS]

Manuel Mata:  Can y’all tell me what penal code I’m violating? Can you tell me what penal code I’m violating?

Speaker 2:  You stop. Back there to that trash can.

Manuel Mata:  What law is that?

Speaker 2:  You can film all you want.

Manuel Mata:  What law is that? Do you understand Turner v. Driver? I need your supervisor on scene.

Speaker 2:  He’s right over there.

Manuel Mata:  Well, I’ll talk to him. [crosstalk] That’s not a lawful order. I only listen to lawful orders. I only listen to lawful orders. Get your supervisor over here [sirens].

[VIDEO CLIP ENDS]

Taya Graham:  Even though Mata was still standing on the sidewalk and he was filming police, as is his right, and even though you can see he backed away after police arrived, Mata is arrested again. Just watch.

[VIDEO CLIP BEGINS]

Manuel Mata:  Y’all cannot turn, y’all cannot turn a First Amendment protected activity into a crime.

Speaker 2:  [Crosstalk] – All you want, but you’re not staying right back there.

Manuel Mata:  Look, I already gave y’all more than 10 feet.

Speaker 2:  Stay right there, Mata.

Manuel Mata:  I’m standing right here where I’m legally allowed to be.

Speaker 2:  Good.

Manuel Mata:  What’s his name and badge number?

Officer Lawrence:  I don’t know.

Manuel Mata:  You’re a supervisor, what’s your name and badge number?

Officer Lawrence:  Lawrence 3494, Manny.

Manuel Mata:  Okay. Okay. You’re condoning this trash. You’re condoning this trash.

Officer Lawrence:  Be cool, Manny.

Manuel Mata:  I am cool. She didn’t have to do that shit.

Officer Lawrence:  Be cool, Manny.

Manuel Mata:  I am. I don’t like – Look at all this shit. Look at all this shit. Y’all blocked them off for filming.

Officer Lawrence:  Be cool, Manny.

Manuel Mata:  Filming. Filming. Yeah, intimidation. That’s all. Bullies. That’s all y’all are, fucking bullies. You’re bullies. Y’all use your badge to intimidate.

Officer Lawrence:  Are you okay?

Manuel Mata:  Are you okay?

Officer Lawrence:  You’re shaking.

Manuel Mata:  Are you okay?

Officer Lawrence:  Are you okay?

Manuel Mata:  Yeah, because I’m intimidated by all these cops. Y’all have no authority unless I’m committing a crime. Y’all cannot turn a First Amendment protected activity into a crime.

Officer Lawrence:  She asked you three times to get away from [inaudible]

Manuel Mata:  [Crosstalk] I did, I did, I did, I did. I did, sir. Look, I was standing over there. I’m way away.

Officer Lawrence:  How many times did she ask you?

Manuel Mata:  While she was saying that, I was moving backwards asking her, so I was compliant.

Officer Lawrence:  Okay, we’ll review.

Manuel Mata:  It’s on video.

Officer Lawrence:  Okay.

Manuel Mata:  Because I’m not violating no law, sir. None. I can walk up to her car and film her. That’s protected. It’s a protected activity. You understand that clearly, don’t you sir?

Officer Lawrence:  Man, you’re obviously not listening.

Manuel Mata:  I need y’all lieutenant. If y’all going to do, y’all going to arrest me for not committing a crime, I need y’all lieutenant.

Officer Lawrence:  You’re under arrest right now for interference.

Manuel Mata:  That’s fine. It’s all on film.

Officer Lawrence:  Go ahead and turn the camera off.

Manuel Mata:  That’s crazy, dude. Y’all are doing an illegal activity. Don’t worry, y’all being –

[VIDEO CLIP ENDS]

Taya Graham:  Bottom line, once again, for better or for worse, Mata stood up to the cops, and, bottom line, once again, his defiance landed him in jail. But why his arrest unfolded as it did raises questions that need to be answered. And, more importantly, why Manuel keeps pushing back against law enforcement also needs to be addressed. In other words, why do cop watchers keep putting themselves in scenarios where handcuffs seem destined to follow?

A gift to Rise Up Times of $25 makes it possible to continue to bring you thoughtful analyses and reflections on current issues as well as events, stories, and opportunities for action. 

To answer these questions, we will be showing you an interview we conducted with Mata before he was arrested. But first, I’m joined by my reporting partner, Stephen Janis, who’s been looking into Mata’s most recent arrest and following up with some of the details from the bizarre situation that occurred at the Dean sentencing. Stephen, thank you so much for joining me.

Stephen Janis:  Taya, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Taya Graham:  First, before I ask you about what you’ve uncovered about this case, I know we discussed an issue you have with arresting someone on the sidewalk filming, and why it’s so important for us to cover it. Can you talk about that?

Stephen Janis:  Yeah. Let me show you an example, because I spent a lot of time reporting from sidewalks, and why sidewalks are really sacred ground for photojournalists. If I step over here, say, with my camera, police can arrest you for obstructing traffic. If I were to step over here on the grass, the owner of this property could get me for trespassing. That means the only space where I have to do journalism in this whole area is the sidewalk. The sidewalk is sacred in that sense, because without it, really, photojournalism would be almost impossible. That’s why I think the sidewalk is so important, why I think this case is critical, and why I hope Mr. Mata pursues this in some way through a lawsuit, because I really think we need to protect the ability of us to report from a sidewalk. It’s the only place we have left, and we have to protect it.

Taya Graham:  What are Fort Worth police saying about this latest arrest? Have they made any comment? How are they justifying it?

Stephen Janis:  Yeah, Taya, I reached out to Fort Worth police and they did get back to me. I had a couple questions, mostly about why they could arrest him while he was on the sidewalk just filming, how that was actually a crime. They said, basically, that they’re charging him with interference with public duties. What that relates to is the fact that Mr. Mata was being, I guess, argumentative and not listening to the police officer. I guess the police officer was trying to make an arrest. They noted his erratic behavior, they noted his yelling, and they said he refused to follow instructions, so he was arrested.

I think I need to push back on that a little bit. I understand that no one watching the video is going to argue that he was not argumentative, but on the other hand, we don’t see the part where he supposedly interfered with an arrest. I think interfering with arrest or interfering with public duties is a pretty nebulous charge, and I think he did have a right to be on the sidewalk and film. I guess we’ll have to see how this plays out in court, but for now, that’s what police are saying.

Taya Graham:  Now, following up on the mainstream media’s coverage of Mr. Mata’s previous arrest in the trial of Aaron Dean where they accused him of terroristic threats, what’s the update?

Stephen Janis:  Well, there is no update on these odd charges that the defense attorney for Aaron Dean raised with the media, which is terroristic threats. That has not happened, and I wasn’t able to get any comment on if that was going to happen. But we have learned more detail about what went on and what transpired in that trial. Namely, that the defense attorney, after the sentencing, was calling each of the activists, including Mr. Mata, as witnesses in their appeal to actually have the trial moved. That not being able to move the trial somehow injured his client, Aaron Dean that is, and that the defense attorney wanted to move the trial, so, he wanted to swear in the activists, as I said again, after sentencing, to use in some part of the appeal. Why that rose to the level that Mr. Mata had to be arrested makes no sense. Still, the more we learn about it, I think the less sense that entire ordeal makes, so we’re going to keep following.

Taya Graham:  As I said before, prior to his arrest, we spoke to Manuel about many of the aspects of his activism. Today, I want to focus on a specific facet of it. That is, why does he do it? Why does he keep confronting police and paying such a steep price?

[INTERVIEW BEGINS]

So Manuel, you were able to be removed from the courtroom because your bonds were revoked. What were those bonds for?

Manuel Mata:  I was arrested for filming a traffic stop where I was far away, and the dude actually abandoned his traffic stop to stop me. Only because I already had filmed them other times and embarrassed them. While I was in jail for that, they revoked my bond and they gave me another charge. I had to come up… First, I had to get them to give me a bond and I got a charge from… What was it? Assault on a public servant dropped to resisting arrest. It still had my bond at $18,800 and something right now. That’s the bond, I’m out right now. I’m on a $18,300 and something dollars bond, not $1,800. It’s $18,000. That’s the amount of bond I’m on for filming cops.

Taya Graham:  Do you consider yourself a cop watcher, an activist, an auditor, a YouTuber? What would be the best way to describe what you do?

Manuel Mata:  So what I was going to tell you earlier, about how I started filming cops, then I ended up going to the meetings because I met some guy named Thomas Torlincasi. He passed away, but he did the same thing. He looked at my YouTube videos and then he said, hey, I need your help at the Tarrant Regional Water District. That’s how I started figuring out different entities, because I went to the TWRD, which is the water district. I went to the Tarrant Appraisal District, which is where the taxes is. Then I went to the commissioner’s court, which is the sheriffs and the jail. And then I went to the City Hall meeting where it’s the mayor and she’s over the police. It’s like I went to all these different places, and now I understand why they’re the way they are.

There’s no accountability, because even the ones that are above them, they just… Because, see, our mayor, this is what I got people saying here now. If you take money, funding, from the Police Officer’s Association or the CCPD, your vote is bought. Because when you vote, you have to vote with the police. So every time it’s something that’s to hold the police accountable or to hold them transparent. They voted against having a citizen review board. And again, because it’s the cops, so they don’t want citizens having power to be able to hold cops accountable. So they voted it down. And the mayor, she was the one who got major funding from the police. So it’s like now, the people that are coming now to register, and that’s their whole thing. I’m not funded by Fort Worth Officers Association or the CCPD. That’s letting us know that they’re going to put people over politics.

Taya Graham:  Do you think your actions as a cop watcher have had a positive effect on your community? Can you give me an example?

Manuel Mata:  Because I want you to pay attention to something, too. I wasn’t the only activist that was sworn in that had nothing to do with the case. I was like the fifth one. I’m the only one that said no. I’m the only one that said, hey, I want to ask this first. All the rest of them were forced to swear in, and you couldn’t be inside. They gave two reasons for being a witness for Aaron Dean. They already passed the whole if he’s guilty or not. Now, they’re trying to give this cop, that same judge, the other day he said there was the mayor and another council member were held in contempt. He let them slide, because he said they apologized and then he also said he wanted this case to be over with. Today we find out that he’s letting Aaron Dean’s lawyer, Burset, investigate one of the jurors potentially posting something on social media asking, what should I do? during the sentencing phase.

This is what I’m trying to explain to people here, because they can say something happened during the sentencing phase doesn’t affect the conviction already. He’s already been convicted. The only thing they can do is affect the time. To be honest, this is the only judge and the DA that they’re going to get to cooperate with this trash. If they go somewhere else, that dude’s getting above 12 years.

Taya Graham:  What made you start this form of activism? What initially inspired you?

Manuel Mata:  I had started filming, and one night I was filming a shooting at a game room. It was already over by the time I got there, I was late, and I was on a bike. When I pulled up, there was only two cops and the crime scene technician. I had noticed a cop that I had dealt with, and I know he don’t like me. So, instead of sitting there, I got on my bike and left. When I was going down on the bike lane, I noticed him behind me and I was like, I’m not going to take this dude to my house. Down a little bit further past the police station is a convenience store called QT, QuickTrip. I pulled up in there thinking there’s bright lights, there’s cameras, there’s people. Nothing bad’s going to happen. Wrong. He gets out of his car and he says, hey man, you need a light on your bike.

I’m like, cool. All right. And I spit. When I spit, he goes, are you fucking spitting? Are you effing spitting at me? I’m like, nah, bro, what are you tripping on? Then that’s when he’s all like, so what are you going to do? I’m like, what? So I started tripping. I’m like, this dude is tripping. Instead of me keep going back and forth with him, I started filming him. When I started filming him, it changed his whole demeanor. It’s like this, this. And he goes, sir, all I’m asking. – Now I’m a sir – He goes, sir, all I’m asking is for you to – You need a light on your bike. I said, that’s cool. You already told me. And then I told him, that’s all right. Go back to what you were doing now. Leave me alone.

And he goes, no, you need to come – Matter of fact, come here. And he goes, let me see your – I said, I’m not giving you no ID, dude, this isn’t even a car. He goes, well, in the state of Texas, a bike is considered a vehicle. I said, you know how brain-dead you sound? So it’s like a whole back and forth. And then he starts getting real disrespectful, so I start cussing at him. I forgot what other stuff I had called him. And then what really got him mad is when he told me that I’m the one that doesn’t have a life and I don’t have a job. And I told him, I do have a job, and it’s cleaning your mom’s pipes. She pays me a thousand dollars a day. [Taya laughs] Oh, dude. And I flip him off. And when I go to the corner to cross the street, the supervisor’s already in the empty parking lot across the street.

And I notice him when he turns his light on. So he swerves at me and I swerve my bike, and I ended up swerving into one of those parking bumps. And he’s like, hey, come here. He never said, hey, you’re under arrest. He said, hey, come here. So I told him, man, eff you, leave me alone. ‘Cause I already knew they were trying to hurt me. If you’re trying to hit me like that, you’re not trying to stop me legally. You’re trying to hurt me because of what I just said to y’all for 20 minutes. So I already knew what time it was. So I got on my bike and I took off. They got even more mad because I lost them. I lost two of them, no three of them, on a bike, pedaling.

That same cop that I had a 20-minute argument with turned off the lights and sirens, turned off his headlights. And when I got to a corner, that’s when he came around and boom, hit me. And where his body camera starts, he’s saying, why did you run into my car? And I told him, stop lying. Why’d you hit me? I already knew I had him beat because on camera, I got him to admit. How did I run? How did I obey arrest? What’s the crime that I’m running? He said, from the light. Not having the light on my bike. The officer told you, you needed a light on your bike. But he already gave me a warning for it. What you are doing is because of what happened right now at QT. And the whole reason that they didn’t want to take me to the hospital is because I didn’t want to identify myself to him.

Taya Graham:  What about the personal costs? Surely legal fees and court costs and time incarcerated all take their toll. Why do you keep doing it?

Manuel Mata:  So that’s all I can do. Stand by them because they’re in my neighborhood. Those are my neighbors. And then the nerve of these dudes to say I’m a hanger on. No, I want y’all to hold you up, because this is going to mess you up. Aaron Dean was a central division B officer. I live in central division B. I’ve been arrested illegally seven fucking times by these losers.

They send all the bad cops to this division. I’ve proven it. I’ve proven it. I’ve proven it. They’re all garbage. They’re all garbage. They lie and everything. One case they don’t even want to bring up, they don’t want to file it, because T. Stevens, she’s a female Fort Worth police officer. She was fired three years ago because they failed to render aid to a Black dude they had in custody, and he died from an accidental overdose because of cocaine. They told him, he told him, help me. I don’t feel good. We don’t want to hear it. He ended up dead. They fired all of them. The two they hired back is T. Stevens and Pritzer, and I’ve dealt with both of them. I got them kicked out of my division. That’s all they do. They just move them. They reassign them.

[INTERVIEW ENDS]

Taya Graham:  Now, I want to continue the conversation I had with Manuel. Actually, I wanted to continue it by reiterating the question I asked him: why? Why would anyone confront the cops, video them from sidewalks, or simply hold them accountable if the consequences are so substantial? Why would anyone put themselves in a situation that could lead to being locked in a cage simply to film the police in what looks like routine circumstances? It’s a question that I think is worth considering as we ponder the state of policing in America, but it’s also a question that involves exploring some of the broader issues facing this country that often seem intractable, if not completely unsolvable.

I think about this problem quite often because Stephen and I have been working on a long form piece about this very question now for almost two years. We’ve talked to literally dozens of cop watchers, auditors, and activists, and YouTubers to understand what drives and motivates and otherwise prompts them to put themselves at risk simply to film cops.

Now our work is still ongoing, so I don’t have an answer to that question yet. In fact, like many stories I’ve personally covered as a journalist, it seems like the question itself has become more complex as we talk to people with different perspectives, different motivations, and as I’ve said before, different approaches to this process, and they all deserve a fulsome examination. But I do have some sense of what, perhaps, has made cop watching such a widespread and diverse phenomena. Something that may seem peripheral to this topic, but I think has much to do about why cop watching exists in the first place.

It starts, interestingly, with our editor-in-chief Maximillian Alvarez. Max, besides being an excellent editor, is also one of the best labor reporters in the country. He has covered labor issues across the country in all its trials and tribulations. And not just the big issues, but the personal stories of the people who keep this expansive country running, fed, and otherwise provided with basic services. Namely, working people who tell their stories on his quite awesome podcast of the same name, Working People.

But anyway, the reason I’m talking about Max’s work today is because of a story he’d been reporting on for years, something he had covered that the national media ignored, and what it says about the topic we’re talking about today. That’s because Max has taken a very specific and detailed interest in the plight of American railroad workers. Long before the mainstream media thought the story was worth covering, he was exploring it through interviews and investigative reporting on how the railroad industry has reduced staffing while increasing the burden on the remaining employees. He also explored how these same frontline staffers keep the nation’s critical supply chain functional, but could not take an unplanned sick day. And why those same companies who were making record profits all while cutting back on the number of engineers on freight trains and pushing back against enhanced safety improvements. Max reported on this, but the mainstream media ignored it. Our leaders in Washington ignored it, and the shareholders and well-paid executives ignored it.

That is, until last week when a train derailed and toxic chemicals were released on the unsuspecting town of East Palestine, Ohio. In fact, the dangerous cargo of that train was considered so combustive, the firefighters actually burned the deadly chemicals on purpose, releasing a toxic stew into the community that residents say is turning life in their town into an apocalyptic nightmare.

But the reason I bring up Max’s work in a story about cop watchers is simple; because both in Max’s case and in the case of cop watchers, I think one can argue that people who independently report on these problems are the same. They are making sure that the powers that be are listening ,and the people who are trying to survive are being heard.

They ignored the railroad workers who Max interviewed and who warned him that the reduced staffing to maximize profits would lead to accidents. And we know for a fact they ignored cop watchers, showing how police resort to handcuffs and arrests for trivial matters, further worsening the lives of people subjected to it. We know that the accident in East Palestine was preventable, and that it is viewed as just the cost of doing business. And we know in this country, the often routine car stops at cop watchers film can turn deadly as well, with innocent people suffering irreparable harm over a broken taillight, of all things.

The point is that there is a very high threshold for the powers that be to demonstrate that they care about us, and a very low threshold for their willingness to put our lives and livelihood in jeopardy. I mean, think about it. People who risk their lives making sure crucial supplies are delivered across the country don’t even warrant a sick day. Meanwhile, any of us – And I mean any of us, can be pulled over for not using a turn signal and end up dead. And I personally often think of Sandra Bland when I get into a car.

Both of these examples imply a crisis, and yet the mainstream media and the politicians in Washington act as if they are just the cost of doing business; a meager accounting, a decimal dust measure of the value of our lives compared to their inherent worth. Not as valuable as ensuring lucrative dividends for shareholders or as righteous as the ability of law enforcement to use deadly force whenever they feel justified to do so.

The point is that both cop watchers and independent journalists like Max reveal a broader truism about the American experiment that I think is often overlooked: that the underlying inequality that defines our country is exacerbated by the unequal distribution of the power of the people to voice their concerns. In other words, the inequity I just discussed is not solely a byproduct of our out of control capitalism or billionaire avarice. It is also reinforced and bolstered by the fact that those same hyper profiteers control the narrative that shapes both policy and the people who make it.

The best way to describe it is an economic Star Chamber, an allusion to the Michael Douglas movie where a small group of elite power brokers met in secret to mete out punishment for the people they deemed guilty of crimes. The only problem was their judgment turned out to be wrong and innocent people suffered immensely. And I think the same argument can be made in the case of the topics we are talking about today, because for all the breathless talk about the open forum provided by social media and platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and the most recent iteration of the media ecosystem, is in reality just a billionaire controlled elite echo chamber.

Given that access to the audience is basically for sale, and given that the most popular posts are distributed based on how much conflict they create, it’s clear that the resulting dialogue is simply a Roman circus for discourse to enrich the elites while they use their illicit largesse to control the political process that actually makes the aforementioned bad policies possible. For example, people who work on railroads who don’t have sick days.

I’m serious, what Godforsaken country that is truly a democracy would allow that? And better yet, what country that purports to be free would countenance a routine traffic stop as a possible death sentence? And let’s not forget the fact that we are the only wealthy country that doesn’t guarantee sick days for anyone, or even vacation, for that matter. The point is that what we see in cop watching is, in part, I think, a comprehensive indictment of the ability of our democracy to respond to the needs of the people.

It is an absolute expression of how our system that is supposed to serve the people often fails to do so. It’s truly a message that the elitism that governs our national conversation is simply a means to acquire more wealth for the few, not making life better for the many. And I think that is one of the reasons we need independent voices like Max and our cop watchers to fight back against this institutionalized myopia. I think that’s why we need independent voices who actually speak to the concerns of the people to shape a counter narrative that calls into question the story of the magnificent elites who deserved all the wealth that is rammed down our throats every day.

We need the stories of you, of the people, of the many, to be told with the same care, the same seriousness, and with the same attention as the wealth-drenched yacht owner who is singularly destroying our planet. That’s why we do this show. That’s why we report on cop watchers, and that’s why we work with and support Max, and that’s why we listen to you, the people who care.

I would like to thank our guest, Manuel, for sharing his experience with us, and I certainly hope he will be out of jail soon. And of course, I want to thank intrepid reporter Stephen Janis for his research, his writing, and his editing on this piece. Thank you Stephen.

Stephen Janis:  Taya, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Taya Graham:  And I want to thank our friends of the show and mods Noli Dee and Laci R. for their support. Thank you very much. And a very special thanks to our Patreons. We appreciate you and I look forward to thanking each and every single one of you personally in our next live stream, especially Patreon associate producers, John R. and David K., and super friends Shane Bushta, Pineapple Girl, Chris R., and Matter of Rights. Thank you very much.

And I want you watching to know that if you have evidence of police misconduct or brutality, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate for you. Please reach out to us. You can email us tips privately at par@therealnews.com, and share your evidence of police misconduct. You can also message us at Police Accountability Report on Facebook or Instagram, or @EyesOnPolice on Twitter. And of course, you can always message me directly @TayasBaltimore on Twitter or Facebook. And please like and comment. I do read your comments and appreciate them, and I try to give an answer whenever I can. And we do, of course, have a Patreon link pinned in the comments below, so if you feel inspired to donate, please do. Anything you can spare would be truly appreciated. My name is Taya Graham and I am your host of the Police Accountability Report. Please be safe out there.

Maximillian Alvarez:  Thank you so much for watching The Real News Network, where we lift up the voices, stories and struggles that you care about most. And we need your help to keep doing this work, so please tap your screen now, subscribe, and donate to the Real News Network. Solidarity forever.

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