I sent out an email yesterday with more details on my arrest last month. Most of the responses were from people who understood what’s at stake when you can be forcefully ejected from an event billed as a “Town Hall Meeting” with YOUR congressman for daring to ask a question or openly disagreeing with said congressman.
I did get one response from someone who considers himself a “progressive independent” yet apparently doesn’t believe in our rights of free speech:
It sounds like you went there looking for a fight…and you got one. If you expected treatment of a different manner, I’d suggest that you’re naïve, or if not, feigning naivety.
It reminds me of an incident in San Francisco a few years ago when some ill-behaved teens were harassing a tiger in the city zoo…you know, poking sticks and such. Then the tiger leaped out of his enclosure and mauled one of the kids to death. The family of the deceased had the gall to sue the city. So much for taking responsibility.
Not having heard both sides of the story, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and imagine that the police in this case were out of line. But it reminds me of a scene from “Jackie Brown” where De Niro and Bridget Fonda were in a mall parking lot after committing a crime and she wouldn’t get off his back about misplacing their car. The incessant mocking and belittling finally became to omuch for him and he shot her dead in the face. He too was out of line, but everybody in the theatre was glad to see it happen. Members of law enforcement have enough on their plates without someone deliberately causing a disturbance to further such a misguided agenda.
Arrested for committing democracy? This isn’t the kind of democracy I went to war for; it is behavior fitting of a segment on “Cops” or “Locked Up.” Were you and your progressive colleagues not on the radio condemning the Republican thugs who went around disrupting democrats’ town hall meetings last summer? Incivility is unbecoming on either side of the aisle, Nicole.
If you pursue litigation in this matter, I’ll just chalk you up as one more piece of the problem…certainly not a contributor to the solution.
Really? I was at a Memorial Day party on Sunday and, when the topic of my arrest came up – with a personal injury lawyer – he suggested that the charges should NOT have been dropped, and that Allen West doesn’t represent me because I didn’t vote for him! And this guy made it through law school without understanding how our representative form of government works?
I wonder what those two geniuses think of this… A group of people were arrested, violently, for dancing at the Jefferson Monument. I kid you not. Here’s the video proof:
The last guy wrestled to the ground then held down by a cop who put his hands around his throat was Adam Kokesh, host of RTtv’s Adam VS The Man. He plans on another dance party at the Jefferson Memorial next Saturday.
This is getting crazy. When did police officers become judge, jury and executioner? The Washington Post reports that the US Park Police are investigating whether or not the officers used excessive force in arresting the five dancers.
If the US Park Police are anything like the Broward Sheriff’s Office, their investigation will find nothing wrong. You might recall that while I was held overnight in the Broward County Jail, the deputy (guard) took issue with the fact that I asked for an apology for locking myself and three other women in a cell that was being used to store mattresses, ostensibly while they were cleaning the other cells and the “day room” area. They then forgot about us for over an hour.
When I explained the Deputy Bevin England that we are human beings, and were locked in a cell used to store mattresses with no air circulation, no room to sit or move around, he put me in solitary confinement for around three hours.
At lunch time, when I asked to be let out, he refused. He brought me my tray – the cell door opened slightly, enough for him to hand it to me, and it slammed shut and locked. A moment or two later, the door opened, so I thought my excessive punishment was over. I emerged through the OPEN door, and sat on the step in front of the cell – the step at the top of the flight of stairs.
The guard noticed I was out and shouted at me to get back in. I begged him not to make me go back inside, but he demanded and asked “Are you disobeying a direct order?” I again implored him not to make me go back inside… but by that time he was in front of me, spraying pepper foam in my eyes and all over my face until I somehow managed to crawl back inside the cell, screaming in pain.
I filed a complaint with the BSO internal affairs, who told me they would look into the matter. On Thursday afternoon, I received a letter from them stating
Please be advised that after carefully reviewing the circumstances surrounding your complaint filed with this office on May 5, 2011, it has been determined that no employee misconduct has been identified. Therefore, this matter has been closed in our office and no further action will be taken.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.
Sincerely,
Lt. Gregory S. Gordon, Operations Supervisor
Division of Internal Affairs (954) 321-1100
After carefully reviewing the circumstances? They never spoke with me, never asked my side of the story. The fact is that the BSO Deputy (Bevin England) LIED on his incident report. See it for yourself. (Click image to enlarge)
IF there truly was a “careful review” of the incident, don’t you think someone should have asked me what happened?
The abuse of power exhibited by these people charged with protecting innocent citizens is astounding. We seem to be living in a police state, and that’s not the country I grew up in.
This is far from over.
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Today on the show
Sally Kohn, community organizer, political commentator and founder & chief education officer of the Movement Vision Lab will join me to talk about her USA Today piece “Don’t Believe the Hype About US Debt” and whatever else we veer off in to.
And Gotta Laff joins in from The Political Carnival with this week’s stories:
Roger Ailes. ClusterFox. “Those gays.” ‘Nuff said.
At budget signing, Rick Scott indoctrinates our kids and kicks out non-supporters
Employees retire early to avoid Gov. Scott Walker’s budget cuts
Sarah Palin: “I love that smell of the emissions!”
plus PhotOh! A helmeted Sarah Palin at the Rolling Thunder event… wrote on her hand againStatement from student re: faux scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner
70% of science award finalists are children of immigrants
TPC commenter: “You liberal fools are DISGUSTING! The only good abortionist is a DEAD one!”
Shades of BP: Fukushima tsunami plan a single page.
IRS okays nonprofit status to James O’Keefe’s “Project Veritas”
was forbidden to leave his home state + facing a civil suit in California