18-Nov-2009 (Wed) Wherein the War on Fun
continues apace.
Apparently SFPD have decided that if you are attending an
unlicensed party that they shut down, they get to keep your
laptop for three months:
S.F. cops may have gone too far in seizing DJ gear at underground
parties
Over the past six months, music fans who have been spinning
records -- or even just attending friends' events -- claim their
laptops, soundboards, and mixers have been taken by the cops in police
raids. The busted gatherings include an illegal dance party, an
artist fundraiser, and a private Halloween bash. While it's unclear
whether the lack of official permits was enough reason to close down
all these parties, the bigger question is why the police are seizing
and holding private property that DJs and attendees use as valuable
tools for making their art and living.
[...] "I tried to explain that I wasn't even playing at the
party," he says. Nonetheless, his computer was seized by a cop who
identified himself as part of a "task force," who told him that he
shouldn't expect to get his laptop back "for at least three months."
Other DJs at the party claim to have received similar warnings -- as
well as threats of jail time, if they were seen DJing at warehouses
again -- from officers who said they were part of a task force. (The
SFPD claims it does not have a specific task force looking at
underground parties, but it does routine checks in the SOMA area,
sometimes with other agencies such as the
California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control,
for permit and other violations.)
EFF Civil liberties director
Jennifer Granick says she's concerned about the recent laptop grabs
because they've apparently been done without arrests being made. She
explains that police can seize the property of someone who is being
arrested, and if, say, alcohol is being sold illegally or people have
weapons in their possession, cops can confiscate those items. "You
can't just go to a party and say, 'You can't have a party because it's
after hours and you don't have a permit,' and just take people's
property," she adds. [...]
Individual victims have their theories -- mostly concerning
overzealous officers with anti-speakeasy agendas -- about why DJs and
others are losing their property at underground parties.
Why has my city gone crazy? Why?
Meanwhile, BrokeNCYDE photos
are up. It was everything I had hoped for,
and was probably the coolest high school dance ever! Seriously, we
had exactly four people over 21. Two of those were parents, and one
of them looked a lot like "McLovin".
The first band had a very screamy song about Hello Kitty.
They sure brought a lot of lights.