A public records request made by Timothy Smith – a spokesman for the local Bill of Rights Defense Committee, which has been fighting the expansion (and existence) of the Northwest Detention Center on the Tideflats – shook loose several years worth of Homeland Security meeting minutes from the Tacoma Police Department.

The .pdf file is 256-pages long and too big to post here. And, honestly, I only read through the last 50 pages or so, which cover 2007 and 2008.

The meeting minutes note various events and situations that caught the interest of the cops. What they don't say is what they did with that information – a subject for another reporter (as this is my last day at the paper).

Take this entry from September 2007:

"On September 18, there was a derogatory article published on the Seattle Indymedia website that summarized some of the complaint findings against TPD personnel stemming from the Port of Tacoma protests. The article mentions that in each case, the police were exonerated.

The article listed the phone number to TPD Internal Affairs and the e-mail address of City Manager Eric Anderson, so citizens can 'let them know how happy you are that we have a rubber stamp committee to oversee the police and approve of everything they do!' '...tell [Eric Anderson] how proud you are to live in a city where the police can get away with anything.'"

Maybe I'm paranoid (or not paranoid enough), but last time I checked it was still legal to write (non-threatening) derogatory statements about the police and their internal affairs process on a Web site; to republish the phone number of a subsection of a local government agency (253-591-5283 – according to CityofTacoma.org); and to send e-mails to the city manager expressing your grievances or disagreements (and/or encouraging others to do so).

Maybe Tacoma Police were simply making note of the article, but again, it begs the question: to what end.

More excerpts after the jump.

[More:]

To be fair, the law enforcement group noted the activities of both right- and left-wing groups, ranging from the KKK and white supremacists to demonstrators against the Iraq war. But I don't think I'm revealing any state secrets by noting the U.S. government (along with various state and local police agencies) have a checkered history when it comes to monitoring dissident groups.

Note this lead from a Washington Post story from earlier this year: "The Maryland State Police surveillance of advocacy groups was far more extensive than previously acknowledged, with records showing that troopers monitored -- and labeled as terrorists -- activists devoted to such wide-ranging causes as promoting human rights and establishing bike lanes."

Another entry that jumped out at me from May 9, 2008:

"Received word that our Region 5 was awarded two Terrorist Early Warning grants we applied for. They grant money will be applied to teaching certain classes. One grant is for $18,000 to teach about Jihads and IEDs..."

More recently they noted the Hell's Angels motorcycle club members were "now using pens, which allow 100 to 200 hours of recording time during encounters with law enforcement."

One might say that this would help prevent police from being goaded into aggressive action which could later be used against them – but the devil's advocate position would say citizens have a right to record their encounters with officers and if police are acting appropriately, they would have nothing whatsoever to fear from being taped.

Also: In one of a couple entries on Robert "The Traveller" Hill, the minutes note he "has been using words/speech to indicate he may have converted to being Muslim."

For example, at the end of one court filing (which he starts with the Jewish greeting "Shalom"), Hill writes, "Sa'laam Aleikum. Allahu Akbar!" (Literally: "Peace be upon you. God is great!")

But, again, in America we have certain freedoms related to religion. Last time I checked being Muslim or converting to Islam was not a crime and, generally, not a matter of concern – Hill's bizarre and potentially dangerous behavior notwithstanding.

Here's another one from June 19, 2008:

"On June 28, the Pitch Pipe Infoshop will be hosting a 'Zine Release' party at 1700 hours, at 621 MLK Way. This event will include readings and a literature project. Anarchists from around Puget Sound will possibly attend this event."

The minutes make clear that individuals connected to the Infoshop have been on the police radar for various political activities, such participation in protests and disruptions of military vehicle movements at the Port of Tacoma.

But is a magazine release party really a threat to public safety? What intelligence value does participation in a "literature project" have? If a magazine expresses anti-establishment political views (but does not advocate or incite violence) is that a legal, protected activity?

Yet again, the real question is what is being done with the information that appears in these minutes?

For those who want to download the entire file, you can follow this link to the city's Web site, click on the public records folder and look for request 09-1282.

Update:

Two additional items I want to highlight:

June 2, 2008: "Discussed TPD's late notice of the death threat of the school president at the (Pacific Lutheran University) graduation ceremony at the Tacoma Dome. PCSO SWAT members were in plainclothes at the ceremony because of the death threat, but TPD was not given any advanced notice."

Death threat? Not sure if it was credible, but there's nothing in our archives on it.

Sept. 19, 2008: "On September 17, a TPD officer found a homemade anarchist shield laying against an exterior wall at 536 Broadway. The shield was made of plywood with nylon strips."

Now, to be fair, similar "anarchist shields" were outfitted with sharp screws and used against officers in previous protests, according to the report. If this "anarchist shield" had such implements, they weren't noted. But absent its use or probable use as a weapon, isn't a wooden shield totally legal to make and possess -- like an axe or a chainsaw? (Somebody warn the live action role players!)

(Photo: austinevan)