CHP Brutality, Child Abuse, and Excessive Force During Peaceful March on Golden Gate Br.

What: Press Conference Calling for the Suspension of California Highway Patrol Involved in Brutality, Child Abuse, and Excessive Force During Peaceful March on the Golden Gate Bridge
When: Thursday, May 30, 2002, 12 noon
Where: California Highway Patrol San Francisco Office, 455 Eighth St., San Francisco
Media Contact: Claudia Hernandez, (510) 502-1842

On Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 12 noon, the All People's Coalition to Stop US Terror and Occupation will participate in a press conference along with the Abrahim family, the Council of American Islamic Affairs, the Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, criminal defense and civil rights attorneys, to denounce the California Highway Patrol's use of unnecessary force against peaceful demonstrators at the Golden Gate Bridge last Saturday. The press conference will be held at the San Francisco CHP headquarters, at 455 Eighth St., and in particular will expose their brutality against an 11 year old Palestinian girl who was released to her family on Monday.

"The events of last Saturday expose the United States government's opposition to people speaking out against this unjust war," stated march organizer and coalition chair Bakari Olatunji. " The police did every thing possible to intimidate the people and block constitutional rights to free speech."

The All People's Coalition had obtained permits from the Golden Gate Bridge District for a peaceful, family oriented anti-war demonstration across the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, the coalition had complied with regulations to change the time of the march and to not carry signs, banners, or bullhorns, allegedly out of the Bridge District's concern for public safety.

Continues Olatunji, "Even though we made plans to be on the bridge by 1pm and off by 2pm to comply with their rules, protesters were forcefully stopped during the march by the CHP before we reached the Marin side. The CHP riot police first blocked the traffic and the walkway and then moved in to brutalize and arrest peaceful demonstrators at 1:35 PM even pulling some people out of the crowd. The Golden Gate Bridge District did not honor our permit and instead created a very unsafe and dangerous situation both on the bridge walkway, on the road, in the tourist parking area and on Lincoln Avenue by blocking the traffic and by physically pushing protestors and disrupting a peaceful assembly."

"We hold the CHP accountable for brutalizing an 11 year-old Palestinian girl, who has bruises on her wrists and knees as a result of officers jumping on her and shackling her arms and feet. She has been accused of felony assault on an officer by the CHP, but did not so much as touch an officer with a large number of witnesses to back up her version of events with video footage shown on local news stations. This child was targeted and attacked because she was chanting, 'Free, free Palestine!' She was attacked in the same way that Israeli Defense Forces funded by the United States brutalize Palestinian children. When her older brother was told she would be released to him, he was charged with 'child endangerment.' This is an outrage, since the Bridge District and the CHP created the dangerous situation for this child who has a right to be at a demonstration with her family."

Two Palestinian men were also held for nearly an hour for bringing a Palestinian flag onto the bridge although they were far behind the other marchers and a U.S. flag holder is able to march freely across the bridge, exposing the CHP and Bridge District selective enforcement of their "regulations."

So far the police and the Golden Gate Bridge District have explained away the brutality and violence experienced by the demonstrators as "necessary to ensure that the protest remained safe". The All People's Coalition to Stop U.S. Terror and Occupation denounces the police use of unnecessary force and will bring formal charges to the Golden Gate Bridge District and the California Highway Patrol for police brutality and will continue to expose their violations of the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech as well as their practice of child abuse. The coalition calls for the suspension of the officers involved and responsible. Call (510) 502-1842 for more information from the All People's Coalition. Inquiries about this matter can be made to the CHP Area Commander Patrick R. Burnett at (415) 557-1094.