Gangsters in Blue

A 20 year old student of Miami University learned the hard way that police protection is nothing more than a fallacy. While stepping away from a party Friday night, the unidentified woman was attacked from behind, choked with her own purse, punched in face and dragged to a near by field.

We all know the police “claim” to protect you but the fact is, this woman was seconds away from being another statistic. Due to the government’s monopoly on protection, the police are spread far and thin, while spending a majority of their time on revenue generating crimes, like vehicle violations and peaceful drug users. They lack the actual ability, focus or desire to focus on crimes with actual victims. Today it would be nothing more than random luck for an officer to be around when you actually need them.

Instead of privatized protection, which would focus on preventing crimes instead of generating revenue by creating crime, this woman was left to wait for the police. Who would have showed up, chalked a body and filed  some paper work after the crime took place.  But with protection privatized like all other services, the owners of the condominium may have hired security gards and/or camera systems. This way if some customer, a renter or owner of their condominiums, were assaulted the protection services would be on site (cause seconds matter) or security cameras to help catch would be criminals after the fact. Though most criminals would be deterred from creating problems on property when security is high priority.

This young woman, unable to protect herself (due to gun regulation), or ability – freedom – to pay for her own protection was left to rely on an impossible protection system. One so poorly designed to assist those in need that it was a white tailed deer that saved this woman. Yes a deer. While dragging the woman into the field the would be rapist startled a deer which jumped up and took off and so did the attacker.

Police and police apologetics alike, will tell you that the police are the ones you call when you need them. The police are the ones who will help someone who is being harmed when no one else will.  This may be true, if police were allowed to provide a service people wanted and not the one size fits all protection provided by the government (and at the barrel of a gun, because we all know what happens when you don’t pay your taxes).

Legalize protection and not only will you, and you alone, decide how to protect yourself but you’ll allow others to do the same. Creating less chances for would be criminals to take advantage of a system that can’t possibly full fill its mission, protecting and serving all.

Sources:

http://www.wlwt.com/r/30558889/detail.html

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120227/NEWS01/120227032/Deer-rescues-woman-from-attacker?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

 

Better Than A Cop – Saved By A Deer is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A 20 year old student of Miami University learned the hard way that police protection is nothing more than a fallacy. While stepping away from a party Friday night, the unidentified woman was attacked from behind, choked with her own purse, punched in face and dragged to a near by field.

We all know the police “claim” to protect you but the fact is, this woman was seconds away from being another statistic. Due to the government’s monopoly on protection, the police are spread far and thin, while spending a majority of their time on revenue generating crimes, like vehicle violations and peaceful drug users. They lack the actual ability, focus or desire to focus on crimes with actual victims. Today it would be nothing more than random luck for an officer to be around when you actually need them.

Instead of privatized protection, which would focus on preventing crimes instead of generating revenue by creating crime, this woman was left to wait for the police. Who would have showed up, chalked a body and filed  some paper work after the crime took place.  But with protection privatized like all other services, the owners of the condominium may have hired security gards and/or camera systems. This way if some customer, a renter or owner of their condominiums, were assaulted the protection services would be on site (cause seconds matter) or security cameras to help catch would be criminals after the fact. Though most criminals would be deterred from creating problems on property when security is high priority.

This young woman, unable to protect herself (due to gun regulation), or ability – freedom – to pay for her own protection was left to rely on an impossible protection system. One so poorly designed to assist those in need that it was a white tailed deer that saved this woman. Yes a deer. While dragging the woman into the field the would be rapist startled a deer which jumped up and took off and so did the attacker.

Police and police apologetics alike, will tell you that the police are the ones you call when you need them. The police are the ones who will help someone who is being harmed when no one else will.  This may be true, if police were allowed to provide a service people wanted and not the one size fits all protection provided by the government (and at the barrel of a gun, because we all know what happens when you don’t pay your taxes).

Legalize protection and not only will you, and you alone, decide how to protect yourself but you’ll allow others to do the same. Creating less chances for would be criminals to take advantage of a system that can’t possibly full fill its mission, protecting and serving all.

Sources:

http://www.wlwt.com/r/30558889/detail.html

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120227/NEWS01/120227032/Deer-rescues-woman-from-attacker?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

 

Better Than A Cop – Saved By A Deer is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A video allegedly depicting a very kind and wonderful cop has been circulating around the internet for a while now. I ignored it at first, but it keeps popping up – along with peoples’ maudlin and obsequious commentary about how touching and heart-warming this officer’s last act of kindness is, and how this surely is a stellar example of how police officers ought to be.

You may ask, what was this last act of kindness? Did the officer lay down his life for another? Did he save a child from drowning? Or perhaps he protected an individual from some kind of vile crime against the person, such as murder or rape?

No, no – none of that. Something far more glorious and admirable – he bought a kid $1 worth of cookies at McDonald’s. Daveon Tinsley purportedly asked Officer Jeremy Henwood for 10 cents to buy a cookie, and Officer Henwood in response bought the him 3 cookies. Subsequently, Henwood was gunned down and killed, allegedly in an unprovoked attack (more here).

The media frequently demonstrates their extreme bias when it comes to police; this is nothing new. When innocent people are murdered or beaten  by police for no reason, the media is quick to point out the victim was a criminal, was drinking, or was engaged in some other mild offense, as if to justify police actions. Funny how it works though – when police die in unfortunate circumstances, the media has no interest in digging up dirt on the dead officer, but instead rushes to point out any inane, worthless factoid that will “humanize” the officer. Yet, one cannot blame the media, when people demonstrate that this kind of nonsense is exactly what they prefer.

While it is lamentable when anyone dies in an unprovoked attack, a logical assessment of this situation leads one to the inevitable conclusion that many people in America are idiots. The first clause of the previous sentence is bolded because no matter how clear I make it, any time I show anything less than uncontrollable anguish at the news of an officer’s death, I am accused of the utmost depravity, and of cheering on their deaths. Nevertheless – buying someone a cookie would not be news in any other context for other people who die in tragic circumstances, but somehow, when a police officer dies, a non-negligible number of Americans start incoherently babbling about how fucking great it was that some man bought a kid some cookies. Americans get so excited about this that it actually is reported as news.

This is to say nothing of the fact that people like Henwood are basically gang members in nice uniforms. They spend their lives prowling the streets, extorting people of their hard-earned money based on stupid crimes like jaywalking, speeding, rolling stop signs, drinking on the beach, or smoking marijuana. This is a fact, because most people in jail/prison are not there for violent crimes or property crimes. They are there for drugs or other offenses which involved no victim. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude police spend most of their time on drug and victimless offenses, rather than on offenses involving personal or property crime.

Accordingly, police officers dedicate their lives to essentially terrorizing people. At the worst, they kill children in drug raids, chase down and beat innocent people,  kill harmless pets or abuse wildlife. At the very least, they drive around and make everyone they pass feel anxious. They have a dress code, and adhere to the Blue Code of Silence, which is a loyalty oath they make to each other. Really, the gang member analogy could not be more apt.

No one posts videos such as, “Crip member’s last act of kindness,” or “M13 leader shows last act of kindness by buying boy a sammich,” but for some reason, people wet themselves over Henwood’s last act of kindness – completely ignoring the fact he spent most of his days being an asshole to people.

This is surely reminiscent of the hysterical behavior exhibited by the mourning citizens of North Korea when Kim Jong Il passed, although on a milder level. Here, we have the same kind of bizarre hero-worship of a man who in all likelihood had the moral integrity of a local thug. Inexplicably, people’s reactions are of greatly exaggerated sorrow, followed by diarrhea-like outpours of lament. Are you one of the Americans who thought North Koreans were insane for putting on such histrionic displays of sadness when Kim Jong Il died? Better check the mirror; you might be an only-slightly-less-insane, only-slightly-less-ignorant version of them.

Heroism bar set remarkably low for police officers is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Part 2 of a series on how Florida’s most despicable police officers continue to remain on the job is both enlightening and frightening. A Herald-Tribune investigation found that thousands of Florida officers remain on the job despite arrests or evidence of crimes that would result in incarceration for any ordinary person.

Reprehensible behaviors by these “rogue” officers (thousands of them, actually) include sex with prisoners, rape of teenage girls, and domestic violence. In each of these cases, state law enforcement officials allowed the officers involved to retain their badges. Other activities these heroes in blue have engaged in include less concerning crimes of extortion, drug trafficking, and attempted murder (read more here).

The Herald-Tribune investigation further found such behavior was not isolated. One in 20 active law enforcement officers in Florida had committed moral character violations (drugs, violence or other crimes) “serious enough to jeopardize their career.” It is interesting the Herald-Tribune phrases this fact in this manner. It should be revolting enough that police are engaged in such activities at all, but the focus of the issue seems to be on the fact the behavior is so bad that they could actually lose their jobs (which quite frankly, doesn’t happen very often – read more here).

The Herald-Tribune article, reflecting the attitudes of most people, fails to acknowledge police are always breaking the law. They break the very law they swear to uphold on a daily basis – jaywalking, speeding, parking in red and handicapped zones, talking on cell phones while driving, running stop signs, etc. People see police doing these things everyday, but are not concerned because police are allegedly “doing their jobs” and “serving people.”

Somehow, people believe that even though speeding, talking on cell phones while driving, and parking in fire lanes are all illegal for the protection and good of the people, it is ok when police are break laws because 1. they deserve some leniency for the good work they do and 2. they need some leniency in order to properly do their job – i.e. police need to break the law in order to enforce it sometimes, and need to behave dangerously in order to prevent danger.

So why should we care if police are raping, trafficking drugs, or committing extortion? If the logic was correct to begin with, there’s no rational reason to draw the line arbitrarily at parking and driving violations. If  ”protecting people” is furthered by breaking the law once in a while, and “doing your job” is an excuse for breaking laws, then surely the same applies to rape, drug crimes, and extortion.

If one’s knee-jerk reaction to people (such as us here at Copblock) bitching about cops breaking parking and driving laws is, “shut up and get a life hippie! He’s just doing his job! He’s out there risking his life to protect you” – that very same response should apply when people like us bitch about cops raping teenagers, beating their wives, and abusing their kids.

In other words, many of you people out there who claim to be shocked and horrified when police are out raping people and beating kids are pretentious assholes. You actually think it’s ok. I know this because you are the type who vomits up the same platitudes over and over again about how police need some leniency because their jobs are difficult. You are same people who go, “hmm, that makes sense” when you hear of a cop murdering someone, and receiving a lighter sentence because the judge took his past “service” into account.

You are the same people who pretend to feel bad for these tragic victims of police violence, but then turn around and say, “but of course, we need government police! The world would be chaos without them” even as government police everywhere are beating, killing, violating civil and/or constitutional rights, and committing crimes. Even though basic logic dictates that government police by definition will always lack accountability, and be far more open to corruption and abuse because government police cannot easily be fired, replaced, or punished. This is also demonstrated by the Herald-Tribune report.

The Herald-Tribune reported the number of serious violations is far higher than state records would reflect, as  local agencies failed to report cases and faced no consequences for neglecting to do so. (What a surprise – you mean the government doesn’t want government agents to look bad? It can’t be!) In fact, the Union County Sheriff’s office hasn’t reported a single instance of misconduct in about 26 years.

Further, it was extraordinarily difficult to fire officers who repeatedly misbehaved. One Frederick Currie had a history of domestic violence, and was even arrested for child abuse. He was also involved in stalking an ex-girlfriend, as well as sexual battery. Officials attempted to fire him twice, but were unsuccessful, because of of police union power, and state laws which clearly favor police officers over ordinary peons. Some of the crimes by police may be occasional or rare, but the law and the system’s preferential and lenient treatment of murderous, violent, and criminal officers is not an accident.

Currie may only be one man, but remember that thousands of officers were exposed by this Florida report, and that in one agency, not one case of misconduct had been reported for 26 years. This is not a freak occurrence. This is not a case of a few bad apples. This is an institutional and intentional result of government monopoly over protection services.

Thus, anything short of calling for complete abolition of government police, is a pathetically apologetic stance toward police brutality. Anything short of advocacy for the end of government police is in effect sympathy for institutionalized rape, murder, and plunder.

If you support government police, you support institutionalized rape, murder, and plunder is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

ALERT!
The Risks of
Making a Complaint Against a Police Officer

ALERT!
The Risks of
Taking in Foster Children

ALERT!
The Risks of
Reporting That You Are a Victim of Domestic Violence

These risks are illustrated in the story of K.T. He was born into my family as my non-related grandson. He lived with me much of his life. His mother wanted me to adopt him and I was.

When K.T. was almost five, I was beaten by my police officer husband. I asked the police for help but they told me that my ‘domestic problems are none of their business’, so I got a restraining order.

Then the police decided that my domestic problems were their business and they began to harass me to give a statement to an ‘Internal Affairs’ investigation. I was hesitant, but when I learned that three officers had lied to the investigation, I offered my evidence. The investigator then used fraud and threats to dissuade me from further participation in the investigation.

But there was a witness…
… so they ‘detained’ the witness: K.T.

They took him from his day care without warning or warrant and then filed a petition asking the court to order that K.T. never be allowed to come home.

They made allegations on the petition which they knew were false and falsely dated.

The judge ordered me to be kept out of the hearing except to hear the decision: K.T. would be adopted out to strangers.

This precious child lost his home, his entire family of origin, his pets, and his many teachers and friends – all without a single goodbye, and without a single toy, or book, or piece of clothing of his own to take with him.

Aside from this inhumane abuse of a child, preventing me from being in court for a hearing wherein my conduct was at issue violated my civil rights.

In the words of the federal court: “There is no sound reason to deny a person who has voluntarily assumed the obligations of parenthood over a child the same basic right to due process that a natural parent possesses when the state intervenes to disrupt or destroy the family unit. The policy of our laws has always been to encourage family relationships, even those foster in character.”

California law conforms to this edict to protect foster families from being disrupted or destroyed without due process. In destroying this family, law ‘enforcement’ officers committed no less than nine crimes and the judge committed one when she deprived me of due process.

IN SHORT: The police issued what is called summary judgment, and the court sustained that judgment without even allowing an objection.
THIS IS THE DEFINITION
OF A POLICE STATE.

But let’s give these criminals the benefit of the doubt and pretend for a minute that the allegations against me had been true: That K.T. had witnessed domestic violence just prior to his ‘detention’ and that I had not gotten a restraining order months before. In that scenario, the judge’s order violated two more constitutionally protected rights in that, according to the federal court again, ‘Taking a child from the non-offending caretaker because he witnessed domestic violence constitutes unreasonable seizure and punishment of the victims’ – two more federal crimes.

But they didn’t stop there. They prevented me from reporting the crimes. This too is a crime, plus a violation of my civil right to petition the government for redress of grievance. So I put it in writing and filed it anyway. This enabled the criminals to discover what evidence they ‘left at the crime scene’, so they ‘cleaned up the crime scene’ (destroyed evidence and altered records), more crimes.
But I still have my copies…

The only thing I can do now is to get the judge’s order overturned because it is void for lack of due process and then I would get a proper hearing. This can be done at any time, and I’ve been trying, but I face a formidable barrier:
The Law ‘Enforcement’,
Child ‘Protection’,
Criminal ‘Justice’ family
in Chico and Butte County has solidly bonded together to keep my truth behind The Blue Wall.
The crimes this ‘family’ committed against mine in this retaliation actually qualifies them, under California law, as a violent terrorist gang.

COUNTING CRIMES BY
COPS AND COURTS

• Fraud, threats, dissuasion from assisting in investigation
• Police officers making false statements to investigation
• Perjury
• False Dating
• Exclusion of Known Exculpatory Evidence
• Child Abuse
• Destruction of Evidence
• Dissuasion of a victim from reporting to police or judges
• Five civil rights violations committed under color of law

IN CHICO AND BUTTE COUNTY:
The law enforcement, criminal justice, child protection family does not know (follow) the laws regarding foster families, domestic violence, or making a complaint against a police officer.

Foster parents: If allegations are made against you, you may be convicted in court and have your name placed on the Child Abuse Central Index without having any opportunity to defend yourself.

Victims of domestic violence: The tactics of abuse don’t stop when you separate – they are simply used in a different arena. The domestic abuse turns into legal abuse and abuse is about power-and-control, which the abuser has. Even the American Judges Foundation admits that the abuser gets custody of the kids in 70% of cases. Add to this that the state may take the kids if they witnessed the domestic violence and the odds against the victim are even worse.

Police misconduct victims: If your complaint has truth to it, you may suffer retaliation. Having been ‘inside’ the Blue Wall for many years, I’ve seen that most Internal Affairs investigations are not purposed to dis-cover the truth, they are purposed to cover it up. It is their motto: To maintain the image of a professional police officer in the eyes of the public they serve.

Leslie Moore`

What About the Kids? is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"

Libertarian activist Antonio “Bile” Musumeci got the feds to say “uncle.” The US attorney in Manhattan settled Bile’s lawsuit for $1500, attorney’s fees and an agreement to inform federal cops of the public’s “general right” to photograph federal buildings. The lawsuit stemmed from Bile’s arrest in Manhattan for videotaping Julian Heicklen as he handed out fully informed jury pamphlets.

“Not only will this settlement end harassment of photographers outside federal courthouses, it will free people to photograph and film outside of all federal buildings,” said NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn, lead counsel in the case. “The regulation at issue in this case applies to all federal buildings, not only courthouses, so this settlement should extend to photography near all federal buildings nationwide.”

Hahahahahaha. Pardon me. That’s absolutely ridiculous. This little settlement, full of loopholes for local regulations and orders, will not stop the harassment any more than the DHS Special Security Bulletin on photography of federal buildings stopped the May 11 attack on me in Allentown. The law you find on the books is academic. Cops make the law. Cops decide who to arrest and on what pretext. That’s where the rubber meets the road. And that’s why we desperately need competition in the sphere of police services. No, not the crony privatization that produced Blackwater. We need to mutualize police services. Let police departments earn their keep voluntarily with direct accountability to their respective communities.

As Reason writer Brian Doherty notes, cops have an enormous ability to make hell for people over nothing at all. All it takes is an accusation. You’re in jail. You have to pay bail and hire a lawyer. Your family is distraught. Your livelihood is at risk. Meanwhile, the cops are swearing out lies to use against you in court. Guilty until proven innocent. Bile’s settlement will not protect anyone against that.

Don’t get me wrong. I commend Bile for his courage and his determination. Congratulations to him on his victory! I just want to place the state’s settlement in the appropriate context. See the text of the settlement below or on Scribd.com.

Photo credit: compujeramey. Photo license.

---

• Nokia Sues Apple, Claims iPhone Infringes on Slew of Patents. Daring Fireball (2009-10-24). In which government-imposed patent monopolies once again promote science and the useful arts by rewarding innovative research and development. (Linked Saturday 2009-10-24.)
• Would-be bounty hunters nab innocent woman in Bristol. State & Regional Politics for Richmond Times-Dispatch (2009-10-25). 1. The bounty hunters didn't just "nab the wrong woman." They strip-searched and sexually assaulted her. 2. As a result, these three rampaging rapist thugs are facing arrest and multiple charges of abduction, robbery, and sexual battery. As well they should be -- and I hope they rot. But care to guess how many charges they would be facing if they really were on that government police "drug task force" they pretended to be on, and did exactly the same thing to exactly the same innocent woman?
  
  (If your guess is "any," guess again.) (Linked Sunday 2009-10-25.)
• Sexist Beatdown: The Happy Hooker, Or Why Doesn’t Steven Levitt Suck Dick For a Living? The Sexist (2009-10-25). In which Econo-Creep Central Junior Partners Levitt and Dubner examine the economics of sex work with a sample size of N=2. (Linked Sunday 2009-10-25.)
• Soviet Shoes, by David Henderson. EconLog (2009-09-30). I mentioned in Tuesday's post that one of my favorite passages from Scott Shane's Dismantling Utopia is the passage about shoes. Commenter Bill asked me for the passage. Here it is: My informal survey suggested that some of the longest lines in Moscow were for shoes. At first I assumed... (Linked Sunday 2009-10-25.)
• Miroslav Pašek’s work, in pictures. Mike Gogulski - nostate.com, Anarchoblogs in English (2009-10-23). A couple of post-police attack photos, taken on 6 September 2009, the day after. Bruising to right upper arm showing finger impressions of Miroslav Pašek Slovak State Police hired thug Miroslav Pašek has learned how to inflict great pain with his hands while leaving few if any marks on the... (Linked Sunday 2009-10-25.)
• How an insurance mandate could leave many worse off. Marginal Revolution (2009-10-26). In which it is discovered that forcing working folks to pay for big corporate health insurance, whether they want to or not, and whether they can afford to or not, might turn out to prop up big corporate health insurers at the expense of working folks. (Linked Monday 2009-10-26.)

• The Hand-Me-Down Style in American Punditry. Jesse Walker, Hit & Run (2009-10-22). Tom Frank has devoted his latest Wall Street Journal column to Richard Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," which he rereads in an effort to illuminate the Birthers, Glenn Beck, and the other usual suspects. Not content to recycle an article already written by seemingly every other pundit in... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Sara Kruzan: Life Without Parole for Killing her Pimp. Feministing (2009-10-23). *Content is triggering* This story speaks for itself. From the free Sara Kruzan action page at change.org: "Life without parole means absolutely no opportunity for release," said Senator Yee. (of California) "It also means minors are often left without access to programs and rehabilitative services while in prison. This sentence... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Dragnet against Domestic Terror Targets "Food Not Bombs" Group. Phil Leggiere, Don't Tase Me, Bro! (2009-10-21). From Law and Disorder Radio: The government has stepped up its surveillance of a range of individuals and organizations, including volunteer-based groups. After providing free vegetarian food in hundreds of communities worldwide, Food Not Bombs has found itself a part of the domestic terrorism dragnet. Co-founded by Keith McHenry and... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Report on Slovak State Police attacks against Mike Gogulski, 5 September 2009. Mike Gogulski - nostate.com, Anarchoblogs in English (2009-10-21). To all who pledged to support me in this matter, I would ask that you republish the below information as broadly as possible, and without delay. Also available in MS Word 2003, PDF, and MS-Word exported filtered HTML formats. REVISION HISTORY v1.0 – 20090906 Original version, real names, episodes 1-9,... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Live Free or Go To Jail: Irony, Logic and the Government. Kelly W. Patterson, Anarchoblogs in English (2009-10-15). I've been working to put together another blog that will be based on ideas to eliminate many personal expenses and make money in non-tradition ways in order to lower your tax burden without starving or going to prison. Having settled on some variation of "Live Free or Die" as a... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Crisis And Opportunity. DarianW, Anarchoblogs in English (2009-10-16). We might be living in a very different world five years from now. If we want this to be a better world, we have to put our hands into history. Notions of stability, freedom, and personal identity are tied up with authoritarian ideas. This must be broken. A weakened political... (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• Pro-Choice on Everything. Kerry Howley, Kerry Howley (2009-10-20). I think choice-loving libertarians have an obligation to foster a more liberal and feminist culture. Todd Seavey and Daniel McCarthy strenuously disagree. Our combative exchange in the November issue of Reason is now online. (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)
• [TX] Officer Welty sex assault of a family member. Behind The Blue Wall (2009-10-23). Rapists in uniform. (Cont'd.) (Linked Friday 2009-10-23.)

A couple of post-police attack photos, taken on 6 September 2009, the day after.

Slovak State Police hired thug Miroslav Pašek has learned how to inflict great pain with his hands while leaving few if any marks on the victim’s body.

Most of the blows he struck against me were to my ribcage and upper chest. No bruising at all was ever visible there. Nevertheless, more than six weeks later, I still have twinges of pain in that area when I move or lay down in certain positions.

The bruise shown here is a product of Pašek momentarily losing control. When he came into my cell demanding that I sit up rather than lay down, he must’ve been gosh-awful furious that I wasn’t all instantly obedient. The bruise resulted from Pašek hauling me up from the bench by the arm, and clearly showed the shapes of three of his fingers.

Tisk tisk, Miro.

I’m not entirely certain how this injury to my knee arose. I may have been kicked or stomped in the knee after having fallen to the ground in pain after being hit. Or, it may be that my other knee impacted this one during one of those falls, and caused the bruise. Unclear to me.

This bruise was visible immediately. A second, even larger bruised emerged over the succeeding days higher up on the same leg. Similar uncertainty as to its origins.

All this stuff — except for the residual bruised-rib pain I mentioned above — is healed up now. Physically, I’m okay.

The psychological and emotional effects, however, are ongoing. I’ll be writing more about that in the near future.

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Tags: battery, Gangsters in Blue, obedience, police brutality, Slovakia

Related posts

• The face-smashing game (0)
• Cops on the hunt: Do you know where your children are? (1)
• Instant justice, Chicago-style (0)
• Instant justice, Mississippi style (0)
• Some time away (4)

To all who pledged to support me in this matter, I would ask that you republish the below information as broadly as possible, and without delay.

Also available in MS Word 2003, PDF, and MS-Word exported filtered HTML formats.

REVISION HISTORY

• v1.0 – 20090906
  • Original version, real names, episodes 1-9, 6 image attachments
• v1.1 – 20090908
  • Name labels harmonized in preparation for generation of 2 versions
  • Forked into full and no-names versions
  • Minor cleanup throughout
  • Added WITNESS
  • Added offense “Abuse of Authority by Public Official”
  • Introduction added to Episode 1, including first interaction with WITNESS
  • Episode 9 expanded
  • Episodes 10 and 11 added
  • Catalogue of injuries added
  • Tables of contents and figures added
• V1.2 – 20091022
  • Release version, with relevant, known names

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REVISION HISTORY.. 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 2

CAST.. 3

LOCATIONS. 4

CATALOGUE OF INJURIES (created 8 September 2009) 5

EPISODE 1 – Saturday, 5 September 2009, inside building, BAR.. 6

EPISODE 2 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR.. 7

EPISODE 2 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR.. 8

EPISODE 3 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR.. 9

EPISODE 4 – RESIDENCE.. 12

EPISODE 5 – POLICE STATION.. 13

EPISODE 6 – POLICE STATION.. 14

EPISODE 7 – POLICE STATION.. 15

EPISODE 8 – POLICE STATION.. 16

EPISODE 9 – POLICE STATION, Kramáre hospital, RESIDENCE.. 17

EPISODE 10 – RESIDENCE – Saturday, 5 September 2009. 18

EPISODE 11 – RESIDENCE – Sunday, 6 September 2009. 19

EPISODE 12 – RESIDENCE, POLICE STATION – Monday, 7 September 2009. 20

CAST

Michael Jude Gogulski – Bar patron, victim, complainant, victim, prisoner, victim, patient, witness.

WITNESS – Female who frequents/works at BAR. Brunette, short hair, late 20s to early 30s. Knows me by sight and by name.

BARTENDER – Early-30s female, black hair. Bartender/supervisor at BAR.

ATTACKER – Manager/owner of BAR. Early 40s (?), moustache, straight greasy hair. Presumably Ján Kurtulík, owner/officer of KELLE, s.r.o., operator of the BAR.

BLONDE – Unknown blonde female associate of ATTACKER’s, possibly his business partner.

MIROSLAV PAŠEK – Police officer and main police attacker, about 5’10”, muscled, close-cropped hair, early to mid-30s. Standard police uniform. Identified by name tag pinned to uniform chest, left side. Two-stars plus wings rank insignia (uncertain).

CURLY – Police officer with short dark curly hair, fat with prominent belly, early to mid-40s. Equal in rank or superior to MIROSLAV PAŠEK. Standard police uniform.

ROOKIE1 and ROOKIE2 – Early-20s police officers wearing blue jumpsuit type police uniforms.

DISPATCHER – Emergency police dispatcher responding to my call at telephone number 158.

MARTIN – English-speaking police officer assigned to interpreter duty. Late 20s to early 30s.

FRIEND1 – My friend who I called from jail.

GUEST1 and GUEST2 – Two female couchsurfing guests from Slovenia staying at my residence.

FRIEND2 – My friend who met me at the hospital and drove me home.

LOCATIONS

POLICE STATION – Police station where I was taken. Šuňavcova 2, Bratislava – Nové Mesto

BAR – “Erotic Salon” establishment at Mikovíniho 2, Bratislava, Slovakia. Called variously “Wild Angels” and “Nymfa Salon”. Operated by Kelle, s.r.o., operated in turn by its officer, Ján Kurtulík. Location of attack by ATTACKER.

RESIDENCE – My flat.

CATALOGUE OF INJURIES (created 8 September 2009)

1. 2-cm round dermal abrasion, outer left elbow
   Possible Source:  Falling to ground after being struck by ATTACKER; Falling to ground after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at bar or in cell
2. 1.5-cm oblong dermal abrasion, inner left elbow
   Possible Source: Scraped BAR wall while being held in pain-lock hold against wall by MIROSLAV PAŠEK
3. Several other dermal and epidermal small abrasions on outer left elbow
   Possible Source: Uncertain
4. 2-cm round dermal abrasion, inner right elbow
   Possible Source: Falling to ground after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at bar or in cell
5. 1-cm epidermal cut, right index finger
   Possible Source: Uncertain
6. Two .5 to .75-cm dermal abrasions to head, 3cm above hairline at forehead
   Possible Source: Head smashed into wall at BAR by MIROSLAV PAŠEK (multiple times)
7. 3-cm dermal laceration, behind left ear
   Possible Source: Uncertain
8. 1-cm dermal abrasion, top of left knee
   Possible Source: Falling to ground after being struck by ATTACKER; Falling to ground after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at bar or in cell
9. 1.5-cm light dermal abrasion, front of left knee
   Possible Source: Falling to ground after being struck by ATTACKER; Falling to ground after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at bar or in cell
10. 6-cm x 5-cm deep contusion, inner side top of left knee. Purpling bruise
    Possible Source: Falling to ground after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at bar or in cell
11. 5-cm x 4-cm light contusion, left thigh, 10-15-cm from kneecap. Light bluish bruise.
    Possible Source: Uncertain
12. 8-cm x 4-cm contusion, upper right inner arm. Banded and jointed pattern reflecting 2 or 3 fingers’ grip.
    Possible Source: Attack by MIROSLAV PAŠEK in holding cell
13. 6-cm x 2-cm light contusion, right side of back below scapula, near side.
    Possible Source: Punched by MIROSLAV PAŠEK or CURLY at BAR
14. Contusion to right pectoralis.
    Possible Source: Punched by MIROSLAV PAŠEK at BAR
15. Contusions to ribs and connective tissue below right pectoralis.
    Possible Source: Punched by ATTACKER1, by MIROSLAV PAŠEK or CURLY at BAR, or by MIROSLAV PAŠEK in cell
16. Contusion to upper lumbar spine
    Possible Source: Punched by MIROSLAV PAŠEK or CURLY at BAR
17. Contusion to lower tip of right scapula
    Possible Source: Punched by MIROSLAV PAŠEK or CURLY at BAR
    

EPISODE 1 – Saturday, 5 September 2009, inside building, BAR

~4:00 AM: I arrive at BAR and order a whiskey. As I walk to a free table, WITNESS sees me and calls my name. I’ve introduced myself to her by name and spoken to her at length during two previous visits. We greet each other and I offer here some of my whiskey. She drains the glass instantly. I get another from the bar.

~4:35 AM: I am told “You must leave” by BARTENDER. She has been giving me trouble for only buying drinks rather than the other services on the menu as well.

After refusing to leave for no valid reason, and after dashing briefly upstairs in reaction to hearing a woman screaming but finding nothing amiss (WITNESS had gone upstairs with a patron), BARTENDER makes a phone call. Shortly after, ATTACKER appears in BAR with BLONDE. ATTACKER has a conversation with BARTENDER, stands behind bar looking at me. He is clearly the owner or manager. BLONDE also stands behind bar, and I observe her doing paperwork. ATTACKER and BLONDE retire to back room.

There were several other people in the establishment who witnessed me reacting to the scream, and being asked to leave and refused service: three presumably Slovak patrons, and 3-4 female staff.

After relenting to her demand and while asking a final time for a last drink (she told me they had stopped serving, then went to deliver drinks to some guests), I take a photograph of BARTENDER with my mobile phone and exit the building into the courtyard. As I leave, I observe BARTENDER hurrying into the back room.

EPISODE 2 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR

Between Episode 1 and 4:53 AM

I approach the outer gate to the courtyard and find it locked. I turn around to see ATTACKER emerge from door to back office and walking toward me. ATTACKER carries some sort of blunt weapon (metal baton?) in right hand, resting the weapon against the back of his head as he approaches me.

ATTACKER approaches me and a verbal exchange begins. I demand the door be unlocked. ATTACKER demands that I delete the photo of BARTENDER. I refuse. ATTACKER makes threatening gestures and continues approaching me more closely. Exchange continues until ATTACKER strikes me at least once, possibly twice, on right side of upper body with his left hand. He then strikes me open-handed on right side of face, causing my glasses to fly off and clatter to the floor of the courtyard somewhere.

I tell ATTACKER now that I will delete the photo of BARTENDER. I take the mobile phone (Nokia 6120c) from my pocket. He takes it from my hand and begins looking for the photo. I snatch it from his hands, show him the screen, locate the photo of BARTENDER, delete it, then page through other photos until he is satisfied it has been deleted.

ATTACKER now opens the gate to the courtyard and walks back into his the back room office, inside which I can see a number of active video monitors. He sits behind a desk looking toward me, while BLONDE sits in a chair in front of the desk, facing the video monitors. I search for my glasses on the ground and cannot find them.

CHARGEABLE OFFENSES: False Imprisonment, Assault and Battery (all to ATTACKER)

EPISODE 2 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR

Still in the courtyard, I dial 150 on my mobile phone at 4:53 AM. I tell respondent I need police. I’m told this is the fire department, and to call 158. I hang up and call 158 to be answered by DISPATCHER at 4:54 AM.

I tell DISPATCHER that I may have been robbed of my glasses and that I have been physically assaulted, requesting the police to come. I give him the location and address.

I continue searching for my glasses, to no avail, remaining in the courtyard. Several times I approach the open door to the back office where ATTACKER and BLONDE sit as described above, tell them that I’ve called the police. Over the course of ~10 minutes waiting for the police to arrive, I make an escalating series of demands for money from ATTACKER to simply leave and forget the incident, starting at €500 and ending at €3000. ATTACKER is impassive, says nothing. BLONDE never looks in my direction, and I don’t hear them speaking to each other.

EPISODE 3 – 5 September 2009, courtyard, BAR

~5:05 AM. Two police cars arrive, carrying MIROSLAV PAŠEK, CURLY, ROOKIE1 and ROOKIE2.

I stand behind open gate to courtyard, smoking a cigarette. Police stalk past me and enter ATTACKER’s office directly. Presumably a conversation occurs between ATTACKER and/or BLONDE and one or more police officers.

Either ROOKIE1 or ROOKIE2 remains outside the office. I tell him that I’m the one who called DISPATCHER. He says something to other police officers, who emerge from office.

Officers begin asking me questions, which I have trouble following. I tell them that ATTACKER attacked me, knocked off my glasses and that I can’t find them – presumed stolen.

Main interrogator quickly becomes MIROSLAV PAŠEK, who is short-tempered and aggressive. He asks more questions about incident. I try to respond as best I can in broken Slovak. MIROSLAV PAŠEK grabs my cigarette out of my hand and throws it to the floor. “What are you doing?” I ask (or something to this effect).

MIROSLAV PAŠEK: „Občiansky preukaz.” (“ID card.”)

Me: „To nemám.” (“I don’t have that.”)

MIROSLAV PAŠEK: „Pas.” (“Passport.”)

Me: „To nemám.” (“I don’t have that.”)

There may be more words after this exchange. My memory is cloudy.

At this point, MIROSLAV PAŠEK strikes me several times in the right side. At least the first blow is with his left hand. I cry out in pain and fall to the ground.

I cannot remember the remainder of the sequence of events which occurred at the BAR courtyard clearly.

MIROSLAV PAŠEK demands I stand, and I comply. I tell him this is going to make an interesting story for tomorrow’s SME or Pravda, featuring his name. He becomes enraged, strikes me again at least once, grabs my right arm, pushes me to wall of BAR building between entry door and back office door. Pushing me into the wall causes my head to impact the wall. MIROSLAV PAŠEK pins my upper body to the wall and wrenches my right arm up behind my back, putting extreme strain on my right shoulder and elbow. MIROSLAV PAŠEK says something to the effect that he doesn’t want to hear anything about seeing himself in SME or Pravda.

During all attacks by MIROSLAV PAŠEK, I cry out in pain and terror. Neighbors may have heard, and should be interviewed.

Other incidents during Episode 3:

Police finally understand that I have neither an ID card nor passport because I am a stateless person. They demand to see my Travel Document, which is not with me.

At one point, either CURLY or MIROSLAV PAŠEK makes some sort of threatening remark referring to “Američan.” I laugh. MIROSLAV PAŠEK strikes me again several times, and I collapse again.

I am pressed up against the entry door to the building in the pain-restraint hold as before. With my left hand I attempt to open the door to escape MIROSLAV PAŠEK’s attacks. It is locked. MIROSLAV PAŠEK and others observe me. MIROSLAV PAŠEK strikes me several times in the lower back, right side, and spine. At least one other police officer strikes me in the ribs, spine or lower back.

After more insults and threats, demands for respect and compliance, “speak this way”, etc., I am turned around and released to face MIROSLAV PAŠEK. I gaze at his name tag and memorize his name. MIROSLAV PAŠEK observes this and asks what I am looking at. I don’t respond. MIROSLAV PAŠEK strikes me several times and places me back in the restraint hold, smashing my head into the wall again. He asks again what I was looking at. I laugh. He wrenches my arm much harder, either forcing me up the wall or causing me to rise onto my toes. The pain is extreme. “Nothing,” I say.

At one point after being struck by MIROSLAV PAŠEK, falling to the ground, beaten by MIROSLAV PAŠEK while on the ground and then demanded by MIROSLAV PAŠEK to stand, I remained sitting and raised both arms with wrists crossed, asking to simply be taken to jail. Laughter resulted from MIROSLAV PAŠEK and several other officers, followed by MIROSLAV PAŠEK’s repeated demand to stand.

At some point they may have demanded proof that I deleted the photo of BARTENDER from my mobile phone. I laugh and say that proof of this is impossible, but page through my photos anyway until they are satisfied it is gone.

Ant some point during this encounter in the BAR courtyard, one of the police officers (not MIROSLAV PAŠEK) walked to the outer gate which was standing open. He closed the gate, making exit or observation impossible.

Toward the end of this engagement, one of the female staff, WITNESS, opened the door to the building and looked out. She looked me directly in the eyes, I believe as I was sitting on the ground, freshly beaten. She closed the door quickly.

Eventually, agreement is reached that we will go together to my flat to retrieve my Travel Document so they can verify my identity. I am bundled into a police car, back seat right side. I can’t recall the driver. ROOKIE1 or ROOKIE2 sat in the back to my left.

CHARGEABLE OFFENSES: Assault and Battery plus Abuse of Authority by Public Official (MIROSLAV PAŠEK and unknown officer who struck me in ribs), Failure to Report Crime (other 2 officers)

EPISODE 4 – RESIDENCE

ROOKIE demands I wait in the car, opens car door, demands I exit and stand by car. I am then escorted to front door of RESIDENCE building. I open front door with my electronic key. Officers ask on which floor I live, and I tell them the 5^th. Two officers (one ROOKIE and another not recalled) take the stairs, while I ride the elevator with the others. ROOKIE takes position in front of my door, demands I opened it, asking if anyone else is in the flat. I tell them two couchsurfers are present, GUEST1 and GUEST2.

ROOKIE allows me to open door with my key and reach inside to turn on lights. I call to GUEST1, asking her to bring my backpack to the door. I retrieve my Travel Document from the backpack and give it back to GUEST1. Officers take Travel Document. I tell GUEST1 repeatedly to call FRIEND1, tell her what was happening, that I was going to jail, and that she could find info on my computer.

Police officers demand I come back down stairs with them, load me back into car and drive me to POLICE STATION.

EPISODE 5 – POLICE STATION

My memory is increasingly cloudy. I am trying to hold on to a single fact, the name of MIROSLAV PAŠEK. I am told to sit on a bench while discussion goes on inside an office near the entry to the building of my case. The officers have my Travel Document with them. ROOKIE1 or ROOKIE2 stands in hallway outside office watching me.

ROOKIE1/2 demands I empty my pockets, take off belt, turn off mobile phone, leave all objects on table opposite holding cell door. I comply. I am led into holding cell. I ask for water and to visit the toilet and am told “soon”.

There is part of a bottle of water in the cell. I drink it and place the empty bottle next to another one in the cell.

I lay down on the bench to rest. I notice my jeans are wet on the back side, presumably from falling on to wet ground at the BAR courtyard. I take off my jeans and lay them on the bench to dry, and lay down again. A passing officer tells me I must put my jeans back on. I refuse, telling him they are wet. He says that I must, since other people are passing by the open-bar door of the cell. “Prežijú,” I tell him – “They will survive.” He goes away.

After some time I am led out of the cell into an office. A male officer with short dark hair and a black laptop computer wants to interview me. He is assisted by another officer, female with long blonde curly hair. I answer a few basic questions. Female officer asks me for my mother’s name. I tell her. She doesn’t understand, asks me to write it down. I ask her if I may have paper and pen to make notes. She refuses. I refuse to write anything unless I can take my own notes. Eventually she relents and writes down my parents’ names herself with spelling assistance from me.

The male interrogator is asking a series of questions about the events of the evening. He asks why I took the photograph of BARTENDER. I state that I don’t want to answer. I am told that I must answer. I tell the officers that I’m not going to answer any more questions without an interpreter and an attorney.

During interrogation I state that I was beaten by police at BAR courtyard. Police officers are impassive.

During interrogation CURLY appears at the door to the room. When I turn to look at him he turns away before I can view his name badge, while he looks me in the eyes.

I am taken back to my cell, and lay down again. I am in extreme pain all over the right side of my body. I cannot lay on that side, and moving is painful. I feel extremely cold, and parts of my body are trembling at random.

POTENTIAL OFFENSE: Failure to Report a Crime (two officers)

EPISODE 6 – POLICE STATION

MIROSLAV PAŠEK comes to the door to my cell after a few minutes. MIROSLAV PAŠEK demands that I sit up. I ask why. He says I must obey him. I refuse and lay down. He calls me insulting names and threatens me. I ask if he really wants to do that while on video (camera mounted at back of cell near ceiling) and he snarls. MIROSLAV PAŠEK enters the cell, demands again that I sit up. I ignore him. MIROSLAV PAŠEK grabs my shirt collar and right upper arm with his left hand and attempts to haul me up, loses his grip. MIROSLAV PAŠEK grabs me again, hauls me to my feet, strikes me several times in right side, and on head. I fall to the floor, striking my head on the floor. MIROSLAV PAŠEK demands that I get on the bench and sit. I comply.

CHARGEABLE OFFENSES: Assault and Battery, Abuse of Authority by Public Official (MIROSLAV PAŠEK)

EPISODE 7 – POLICE STATION

An English-speaking police officer who calls himself MARTIN appears at my cell door saying he’s been asked to help me with the interview since my Slovak is not so good.

I ask MARTIN if I’m being charged with anything, and he says no. I ask if I’m free to go, and he says no, I must give a report. I tell him I’m not giving any information without an attorney.

MARTIN goes away and comes back several minutes later. Normally I would give the attorney’s name to them and they would call, because it’s “not like America here”. But they give me my mobile phone. I call FRIEND1, explain situation, ask for help. I turn the mobile phone off and return it to MARTIN, who places it back with my items on the table opposite the cell.

I remain sitting. I am dizzy and in great pain. My head hurts like nothing before. I feel like my temperature is dropping rapidly. I continue to experience tremor in my extremities.

Some time later I stand and go to the cell door. MARTIN sees me, asks if I am all right. I tell him about my symptoms. He asks if I want a doctor. I say yes. He says a doctor will be here shortly. I ask him if there is a rule that I cannot lay down on the bench. He says no. I ask him then if his friend Miro (MIROSLAV PAŠEK) is still here, since he beat me in the cell because I would not sit up. He states that MIROSLAV PAŠEK has left, his shift having ended.

POTENTIAL OFFENSE: Failure to Report a Crime (MARTIN)

EPISODE 8 – POLICE STATION

MARTIN returns to my cell and leads me to another office. Two more senior police officers are there. One is typing something on a typewriter. They ask me a number of questions about answering questions for the report, which I refuse to do. MARTIN interprets. I again state that I was beaten by police officers at BAR, and then by MIROSLAV PAŠEK in the holding cell. They seem incredulous.

POTENTIAL OFFENSE: Failure to Report a Crime (MARTIN, two interrogating officers)

The older officer sitting on the right side of the office at one point says that I can leave if I pay a penalty of €30. I refuse, saying I’m not paying anything.

Two paramedics arrive. One speaks English and asks me about my condition. They decide to recommend that I go to the hospital, and I agree. They fill out and ask me to sign a Patient Agreement. I comply. I demand a copy of what I signed and they refuse, saying “You don’t need that, that’s just for us,” until finally they give me a blank copy of the same document (ATTACHED).

MARTIN tells me that I’m to be released with a “predvolanie” order to appear at the police station at 8am Monday morning (ATTACHED), and that I’ll be taken to the hospital without escort “So it doesn’t seem like you’re a murderer or something.” I agree, and sign an envelope (ATTACHED) indicating my receipt of the predvolanie document.

The paramedics call the ambulance service. There is trouble because I don’t have my insurance card with me and can’t remember the name of the insurance company. The paramedics require €2 in payment for something. I have a five-euro note, which I give them. They don’t have the proper change. They return a €2 coin to me, and I tell them to keep the change. They give me a cash receipt (ATTACHED).

Knowing I’m released, I ask to make a phone call. My phone and other items are given to me. I phone GUEST1 at 8:34AM, who has already left my residence with her friend.

EPISODE 9 – POLICE STATION, Kramáre hospital, RESIDENCE

I go with the ambulance personnel and am taken to the hospital at Kramáre. Female paramedic takes my blood pressure and presumably pulse prior to departure. At the hospital, I am given an intake examination in the emergency room. I am then X-rayed 3 times for the head, twice for the chest. I am given a physical examination by one doctor. I am given an ultrasound examination of the abdomen and lower chest. I am given a second examination of a sort (see below), during which the doctor reviews the X-rays. I am discharged without admission or treatment, with a medical report (ATTACHED).

Between examinations I lay on seats in the hallway and try to sleep. I cannot sleep. The pain in my right side is debilitating, and I continue to experience peripheral tremors.

During the second general examination (largely verbal) in the emergency room, I point out to Dr. Michal Magala that I have a number of cuts, scrapes and bruises that I received while being beaten by the police. I ask that they be examined and noted in the file. Magala tells me that these are “somariny” (“jackassery”), and that I could have gotten them anywhere. I insist that I’m here for a medical examination after being attacked, and want all of my injuries noted in detail. Magala yells at me, again saying these are “somariny”, approaches me threateningly and smashes his left fist into a cabinet between us for emphasis.

My friend FRIEND2 meets me at the hospital and drives me home, where I arrive about 11:20AM, Saturday, 5 September 2009.

Deficiencies in the medical report:

1. The notation “Homans negat.” indicates that a physical test for indications of deep vein thrombosis was conducted. No such test was conducted.
2. “bez vytoku krvi genitalu” indicates there was no discharge of blood from the genitals. No questions about this were asked, nor was I ever asked to remove my trousers for the necessary examination.
3. The report claims that a pelvic palpation examination was conducted. No such examination was conducted.
4. The report claims that an examination of the legs was conducted. No such examination was conducted.

EPISODE 10 – RESIDENCE – Saturday, 5 September 2009

I take 800mg of ibuprofen, make some phone calls and fall asleep around 12:30, for about sixteen hours. I’m in extreme pain. I cannot lay on my right side, my head hurts, I feel dizzy, moving my chest in any fashion causes great pain. The tremors have ceased. I am terrified, and can’t think clearly.

EPISODE 11 – RESIDENCE – Sunday, 6 September 2009

I begin writing this report, and share early versions with a number of people.

I photograph some of my injuries with my mobile phone camera and a mirror.

A friend comes and photographs my injuries, and takes with him the unwashed clothing I was wearing during the attacks.

I am supposed to give a statement at 8am on Monday. Numerous contacts to lawyers result in failure. All are either not certified for the criminal system, on vacation, don’t speak English, or otherwise unavailable.

I make contact with a court-certified interpreter, and arrange to meet at her flat at 7:30am.

I go to a restaurant to have dinner around 8pm. A friend’s contact calls to give me the number of a qualified lawyer. I arrange with the lawyer that I will phone him at 7:30am, and he will call the police station to exercise my right to postpone the interview until I can have counsel present.

I go home and make phone calls and other arrangements. I cannot sleep. I am terrified, in pain and can’t think clearly. I set five alarms on my mobile phone to awaken me before 6am, and finally get to sleep around 4am.

EPISODE 12 – RESIDENCE, POLICE STATION – Monday, 7 September 2009

I awaken at 10:40, having not heard 5 alarms or a call from FRIEND1 at 8:11am.

I shower, dress, take 800mg of ibuprofen and go to a restaurant to have coffee. I phone the interpreter and ask her to call the lawyer for me, for him to call the police station, apologize for me and to arrange another time. She phones him and calls me back, saying that I should just contact them myself. He doesn’t want to represent me now, because he does not speak English.

I walk to the POLICE STATION, appearing there around 11:45am. Since I have no interpreter, they will arrange one.

While I am waiting, I briefly catch sight of CURLY entering the building. I am terrified.

The police tell me that the interpreter will arrive at 1:00pm. I leave to meet a friend, and show her an early version of this report in hardcopy.

I return to the police station, part with my friend and enter at 1:00pm.

Around 1:15pm the interpreter arrives.

The interviewing officer is the same one who told me to put my jeans back on while in the cell, and who attempted to conduct the interview previously. The interpreter is presumably another police officer, unknown to me previously.

I apologize profusely for being late. The officers seem to accept this.

I ask if I’m being charged with anything. No. But I could be charged with a breach of public order offense, a misdemeanor which carries a €100 fine.

I tell them that I want to move the interview to a time later in the week when I can have counsel present. It’s not clear whether or not this is permitted, but they insist on carrying out the interview now.

The parameters of the interview are set such that I can discuss things with the interpreter at length, and he will then dictate a summary in Slovak to be entered into the report.

I tell them that I am reluctant to give any information, because I was beaten by the police at the scene and while in the holding cell. They seem incredulous and shrug this off.

I tell them I don’t want to file any charges or register any complaints.

I end up signing a “witness statement” of some sort, which contains a very vague description of events, roughly this:

Around 4:00 AM on Saturday, 5 September 2009 I went to BAR. I had a couple of drinks. There was a conflict between me and the bartender. As I left, I could not find my glasses. I called the police. The police arrived and asked me for my ID, but I didn’t understand. The police took me home to retrieve my ID, and then to the police station to file a report. I was released to the hospital for medical treatment.

I was not resisting the police in not providing my ID, there was a misunderstanding.

I sign two copies of the statement, and ask for one copy. I am refused, the interpreter telling me that they are not allowed to give me a copy.

I leave the police station around 2:30pm. I go home, take 800mg of ibuprofen and sleep for six hours.

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Tags: Slovak police

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