Experience With Police at A-12 Reaffirms Beliefs

On April 12 in Washington, D.C., I became a victim
of police violence. I was marching with tens of
thousands of people to protest the war. All of a
sudden, I saw a woman getting roughed up by several
uniformed police officers. I tried to take a photo
when one officer screamed, “Get the (expletive) out
of here.” Immediately, a handful of police jumped me.

One pushed my face to the ground. Others sat on top
of me. Someone twisted my left leg while another beat
me in my left thigh. Then I started to feel the blows
to the right side of my head. After the third blow I
simply began to focus only on prayer.

Two friends of mine were standing across the street
trying to keep me in their line of sight. One friend
mentioned later he could only see billyclubs going up
and down. He told me later on that there was a ring
of police around those who beat me until it ended.

The local NBC affiliate filmed the whole incident.

In the late 1980s, I spent three years in the U.S.
Army signal corps before committing my life to
nonviolence. The police tactics in Washington seemed
right out of a war college. Our police departments
are becoming militarized. They are acting less like
law enforcement agents and more like paramilitary
elements.

No property was destroyed April 12, and the only
violence I'd seen or felt was police on protester.

In fact, the only police injury I'm aware of was
when a bike cop approached my arresting officer
and stuck his hand out to show how much he was
shaking from all the chaos and mayhem. “Me too,”
said my arresting officer, and he extended his
own shaking hand out next to his buddy's. He
then pointed at the officer's finger and said
he had an “owie.” A small cut with some blood
between the first and second knuckle.

Suddenly it felt like we were three 9-year-olds
playing cops-and-robbers. I mentioned that either
of them could reach into my back right pocket where
I always keep three or four Band-Aids for just such
times.

They looked dumbfounded. "Really?" said my arresting
officer who went ahead and took one handing it to his
buddy. His thank you had a tone of shock.

I told him, no problem. I would do it for anyone.

____________________

[sources consulted:]

http://atlanta.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/metafiles/p2010169.jpg


Vickie, Tunisiaboy and DCgirl
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=64510

D.C. Officer on Desk Duty After Allegedly Hitting IMC Reporter
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=65060

Exciting Day in Washington, DC
Great first person account of the violence from Aiko Joshi
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=64515

video clip from the NBC channel 4 story
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=64970

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25893-2003Apr14.html

http://www.livejournal.com/users/thatpoetrykid/10455.html

http://mke.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=3023

http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=65323

http://images.indymedia.org/imc/washingtondc/no2war20030412answermarch1.mp3

http://www.stlimc.org/front.php3?article_id=8443

el pueblo unido jamas sera vencido
http://mke.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=3042
http://mke.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/a12elpueblodc.rm

18th & I pic with my face after losing hat, and arrest maybe
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=65320

video of me being held by two cops surrounded by many others
http://www.umcp.org/archive/pictures/a12/mvi_1044_arrested_man.avi

People yelling "stop police brutality" and "let him go" while they
brutalize someone.
http://www.umcp.org/archive/pictures/a12/mvi_1047_17_and_i_st_nw.avi
http://www.umcp.org/archive/pictures/a12/movies.html

Will Potter counterpunch article about journalists getting beaten
http://www.counterpunch.org/potter04192003.html

Additional footage of my arrest.
And to top it off he picks up my daypack and heaves
it up the road with a grimace on his face.
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=66991
http://www.frucht.org/18thstreet1jhcqm.mov

Ramsey said that he saw the tape of the beating
and that it "was an isolated incident that is
under investigation."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51206-2003Apr28.html
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/04/28/2317500

Rob Fish was brutalized on the exact same streetcorner???
http://www.dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=1426

Almost 3 years to the day too. he, april 17th 2000, and
me, april 12, 2003.
We need to make that block a museum for violence studies.

Ramsey's having many other problems:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/metro/dc/government/police

I'm "fixing" (h.s. thomposon style) that he'll resign
on or before 1sept

Someone blogged me.
http://redguard.blogspot.com

http://www.civil-rights.net/courts.htm#april12
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/police0501.php

op-ed

http://www.theday.com/eng/web/mktplace/re.aspx?reIDx=57dc44d6-a35e-42bf-b2d3-097513987c9c

frucht.org's

http://www.frucht.org/a12washingtonpost.html
http://www.frucht.org/a12washingtonpostupdate30apr.html
http://www.frucht.org/a12nbc4.html
http://www.frucht.org/a12NewLondonDay20apr.html
http://www.frucht.org/a12USAToday.html