The Austin
American-Statesman reports that
city police infiltrated Occupy Austin last year, where they camped,
marched, strategized, and

may have crossed a fine line in undercover police work:
They helped plan and manufacture devices – often called “lockboxes”
– that allowed Occupy members to tie themselves together during a
protest in Houston, according to interviews and court records. The
use of the devices, which makes it harder for police to break up
human chains, resulted in Houston police filing felony charges
against seven protesters who had attempted to block a port entrance
in Houston on Dec. 12….

It’s not clear who first proposed making the lockboxes. But during
the hearing, attorneys and Austin Police Detective Shannon Dowell –
who wore a long black beard and was known to Occupy members as
“Butch” – disclosed that Dowell had purchased PVC pipe and other
materials with Occupy Austin money and delivered the finished
lockboxes to group members.

According to the newspaper, the felony charge relies on “an
obscure statute that prohibits using a device that is manufactured
or adapted for the purpose of participating in a crime.” In other
words, an undercover cop manufactured (and possibly proposed) the
instruments that allowed prosecutors to charge protestors with a
felony rather than merely a misdemeanor.

Another high point from the story:

During a hearing Monday, [the judge] expressed
frustration at Dowell, who failed to bring records to court that
[the defense attorney] had subpoenaed. Dowell said he lost a small
computer drive containing photos when it apparently fell out of his
pocket and into the gutter of a Houston hotel where he had stayed.
He added that while he had sent and received emails related to the
undercover operation from his work computer, they had been
deleted.

Higher-ups at the Austin PD approved the infiltration effort but
claim they
weren’t aware of the lockbox plan.

[Hat tip: Paul
Krassner.]