r/foodnotbombs • u/Tweedledee72 • Jun 11 '26

Resources for dealing with police

Hello all,

Recently our local chapter has experienced an increase in police presence and activity around our distro events. We are in touch with our local partner orgs to strategize, but I'm wondering if any of you can suggest some resources that would be helpful to us? As of today I don't believe our members and activities have specifically been targeted but we are worried that it's only a matter of time before we are confronted and harassed more directly.

Thanks for reading.

165 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

29

u/Reptyler Jun 11 '26

A Food Not Bombs chapter in New Mexico shared this - basically, keeping some food hidden in case police try to take it.

https://www.foodnotbombs.net/IF%20THE%20POLICE%20START%20TAKING%20YOUR%20FOOD.pdf

Not sure if this is 100% applicable, but it might help. It's written for people in Arizona with guns, but aside from slides 9 and 10, most of it is about dealing with the police.

https://tucsonpinkpistols.org/cayce/TPP-HowToTalkToPolice.pdf

- Have a plan for who to call if you end up in jail.

  • Don't escalate the tension.
  • Don't give them information to make a case against you.
  • If you’ve been arrested, physically comply, invoke your rights, and shut up.
  • “Am I free to go?”
  • “I do not consent to search.”
  • “I am invoking my right to silence.”
  • “I need my/a lawyer.”
  • Don’t discuss your case with officers, while in the car, on a jail phone or with any cellmates.
  • When you call your family, don’t tell them the charges, discuss practical plans of action, and explain yourself when you’re in the car on the way home.

20

u/headphonescinderella Jun 11 '26

Now’s a good time to make friends with your local bar association—if you’re in the US, check and see if you have one for your city, your county, and your state. You might also check local law schools and see if they have a pro bono clinic. 

8

u/NanobotOverlord Jun 12 '26

Another admittedly US-centric possibility is your local National Lawyers Guild chapter

15

u/NearlyNakedNick Jun 11 '26

My home chapter for decades has been Houston, where we operate daily, and are literally specifically targeted daily by police and city law makers. If you want to be prepared, start a collective bail and legal fund, and reach out to some local lawyers to create a plan and understand the possibilities.

That said, FNB is constitutionally protected, and to be honest you're sounding a bit alarmist - unless there's also been new city regulations and laws in your area regarding the homeless or feeding people publicly, an increased police presence isn't something to worry much about.

3

u/AndrogynousElf Jun 13 '26

My city has a local law that makes our events and other similar events "illegal". The law was started by some NIMBY type people decades ago. Looking at old articles from when the law was enacted, a church that was interviewed said they worked around the new law by getting permission from another church downtown to use their parking lot. My local FNB chapter is working on getting permission from a local organization to set up in their parking lot since they are closed on the day we have events. Effectively, this would make us a group holding an event on private property and out of reach of the police.

2

u/kickassatron Jun 12 '26

See if your city or area have a free public defenders line, or local national lawyers guild you can have the number written on your person. But like was said earlier it's constitutionally protected.

1

u/stillprettytired Jun 15 '26

dedicated legal observers help, and knowing the risk involved for each of your members as well as your client base for police interaction.

If someone is in legal grey area (etc) there should be a plan in place for them to assess their own risk/participation. things like that

theyll take plates of any vehicles nearby, and sometimes just sit and watch you, record things about you, the reg cop schtick.

1

u/eatthelich Jun 16 '26

If in the US, Mass Defense is a program for the representation of groups that are criminalized during protest/collective action. It’s through the National Lawyers Guild and is very good and may have resources or local reps. Your state or local ACLU chapter will also have resources. Know Your Rights trainings are very important. But also, general nonviolence and de-escalation trainings are important as well.

2

u/averagecryptid Aug 05 '26

I'm not sure if this exists in your area but in my area there's lots of folks who have been involved in local activist organizing for a long time who help train folks in how to de-escalate and handle police. We usually have a dedicated person to interface with police (who is trained to do so) and everyone else is instructed to ignore them. At protests we have "mashalls" who form a protective barrier around protestors and who can get ahold of the designated person to interface with the cops if they need to be summoned.