Orlando’s Copwatch brought back to life by libertarians
Spurred by Orlando police officer Travis Lamont’s neck-snapping takedown of 84 year-old Daniel Daley in September, Orlando Copwatch – a group once headed by firebrand radio host George Crossley — convened yesterday to protest in front of police headquarters downtown. “Fire Lamont!” the protesters shouted through a shared bullhorn, one of whom waved a sign that simply read “He is 84.”
It was the first time in more than two years that there had been any measurable activity from the group, which was formed as a citizens’ watchdog agency to both expose and prevent abuse of power by city police. With their reappearance yesterday, we shouldn’t say Copwatch awoke from its slumber, because that would suggest that we’re talking about the same animal. If we had to use a biological metaphor, “emerged from its cocoon” would be much more appropriate.
That’s because the group seems to have undergone a complete metamorphosis. Filling out the ranks of the reformed Copwatch yesterday were self-described libertarians of all ages who became acquainted in 2008 under presidential candidate Ron Paul’s “Campaign for Liberty.” According to Mark Schmidter, a 64 year-old roofing contractor participating in the protest, the Lamont incident galvanized him and other “libertarian-minded” folks to resuscitate the group, which the Weekly first featured back in 2007. “We just kind of took over trying to do it,” he said, adding that the old Copwatch leaders got “burned out.”
The old Copwatch spearheaded by Crossley was largely composed of young leftists and Food not Bombs volunteers. We wondered: why weren’t they at this protest?
“We invited them to join us, but they weren’t as motivated,” Schmitter said.
(We contacted former Copwatcher Josh LeClair for a comment, but he hasn’t yet returned our call.)
The chief organizer of the protest (and friend of Crossley’s), John Kurtz, wouldn’t speak as much to the ideology of the new group, choosing instead to remind us that what they’re doing is the same – that is, watching cops. “We’re just going to keep exposing them when they’re doing stuff wrong, and filming them whether they’re doing stuff right or wrong,” he says. Kurtz says they’re also hoping to bring attention to the case of Volusia County deputy Anthony Zimmer, who was recently charged with misdemeanor battery after punching a teenager in the face. “This guy makes Lamont look like a saint,” Kurtz says.
It’s too early to say if the new Copwatch will be a force to be reckoned with, but we’ll be watching. Stay tuned.
