Gangsters in Blue

By Ian Freeman, blogger at FreeKeene.com:

Back in 2010, on a visit to the NH Attorney Genital’s office, we met “investigator” Dick Tracy. More recently, Copblock’s Ademo and I were in the area so we dropped in again with some more questions, this time meeting “investigator” James Brown. Neither man was interested in speaking on the record and Brown attempted to intimidate us into not recording. We did not stop. Here’s what happened:

Remember, it is supposed to be your right to record government bureaucrats in public places. Though, we know they don’t care about what your rights are, so there’s always a chance you could be aggressed against and caged. Sometimes it can be scary when they threaten you, but if you have backup also willing to not back down, your odds of walking away without being caged increase.

Just say NO – to demands you quit recording them.

Don’t Stop Recording: Meet James Brown is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

The text below was sent to us via our submission tab from Grace, who thinks:

Police officers are brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, and children. Showing up to traffic stops with signs saying they are harrassing us is just rediculous. I’ve gotten a couple tickets in my life, yea it sucks but its the law. Go do something to help the homeless, donate your time to a womens shelter, help kids who have nothing, or go work at an animal shelter. Saying the police are harrassing citizens, come on. The streets are already dangerous enough without you trying to interfere with them doing their jobs. Do something to better your community which is not standing around with signs protesting the people actually out there trying to protect us.

-Grace

Grace, let me ask you this. What would you do if I forced your car to the side of the road, demanded your identification, yelled at you for your speed or broken tail light and demanded money from you for the encounter? What if I get eight of my friends to raid your home and search it for whatever we consider to be illegal? What if I also used some more of my friends to force you to pay for my actions? What if I did these things to you? Would you then hold a sign in displeasure outside my office? Or film me while me and my friends did the same to others? What would you do?

What if, by targeting the police, who seem to do any act their told to because ‘it’s their job’, we’re actually making the homeless, batter women and kids who have nothing at all lives better? After all, the homeless are routinely harassed by the police, at times even murdered. Spouses of police officers have a higher rate of domestic abuse than most professions, maybe because of all the guilt/pressure that comes with their jobs. Or by questioning police about victimless crimes and the failed war on drugs, we’re really helping the kids who have nothing. Since their parents where carted off by Drug Task Force and SWAT members – again on your dime -, leaving them with nothing.

I hope to target, highlight and protest policing until the money – and we’re talking BILLIONS  of dollars – that is spent on the police state is allocated to starter programs for the homeless, abused people to leave their abusers and kids who’s parents are addicts. Of course, you’d get to decide what to spend your money on and no one would be able to force you, via taxation, to pay for anything you didn’t want. But what do I know, I’m the disrespectful one who’s harassing people by holding a sign and pointing out the double standard of police today.

Be Respectful… is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This article was cross-posted at Massachusetts Cop Block

In October of last year, UMass Lowell student Brendan Brown was threatened by a campus police officer for video-recording a group of police officers who were responding to a fight that had taken place outside an apartment. Brown was approached by UMass Lowell Police Officer Noberto Melendez who told him to “Shut that fucking thing off before I slap you.” Brown decided he’d rather not be arrested, so he left the area, but he did upload his video to YouTube and later shared it on my Facebook wall.

After I saw the video, I brought it to the attention of Police Chief Randolph Brashears. Chief Brashears subsequently launched an investigation which resulted allegations of misconduct being sustained against Officer Melendez. As you may remember, I was able to get the University to agree to disclose their investigation report by making a public records request, however, the University told me I needed to pay a $235 fee to have a copy made. Luckily, some generous Cop Block readers donated the money.

After I sent in the money to the University, they engaged in a long and unlawful delay before sending the documents out to me. On January 6, about 3 weeks after the University received my payment, I still had not received the report, so I called to complain. I contacted Jack Giarusso, the head of Human Resources at UMass Lowell, and asked him why it was taking so long for the documents to be mailed to me. He told me that he was just about to send them out. I pointed out to him that he was violating the law because the Massachusetts Public Records Law requires that records custodians comply with requests within 10 days without any unreasonable delays and it had already been more than a month. Giarusso gave me an excuse about how he hadn’t been able to mail the records on time because he had to move to a different office, but I told him that the Public Records Law does not mention this as a legitimate reason for taking so long to comply with a request.

I finally received a copy of the investigation about a week later. Unfortunately, I’ve been having problems with my scanner, so I wasn’t able to scan the report until several days ago when I found time to go to the local public library. You can find a copy of the report at the bottom of this post.

I don’t want to discuss everything about the report in detail. After all, you can read the entire thing yourself. But there are a few aspects of the report that I wanted to draw some attention to.

One of the first sections of the report describes how Chief Brashears interviewed Officer Noberto Melendez, the police officer who threatened Brendan Brown. Chief Brashears describes how he called Officer Melendez to his office and advised him that he could have a union representative there to officer guidance. Melendez returned with an Officer Soucey. According to the report:

Officer Soucy asked if there were any criminal charges being considered against Officer Melendez and if so would “Garrity Rights” be used. I advised both of them that there criminal charges are not being considered in this incident but to ease their concern I advised that nothing said during this process could be used against Officer Melendez in any criminal proceedings.

So, we learn here that criminal charges were never considered against Officer Melendez. It didn’t matter that Officer Melendez threatened to physically assault Brendan Brown. It didn’t matter that he deprived Brown of his constitutional right to observe and record police activity. Criminal charges were just never even on the table. But what do you expect when cops are “investigated” by other cops?

Next, Chief Brashears informed Melendez that he watched Brown’s YouTube video and asked him to describe what happened that night from his own perspective. Officer Melendez told Brashears that he was responding to a call from other officers. When he arrived at the scene, he witnessed a large crowd.

Officer Melendez states that when he got out of his cruiser he immediately tried to move the crowds by giving commands to leave the area. Officer Melendez stated that he could hear the sirens of the Lowell police department’s cruisers that were responding to this incident.

Officer Melendez stated that it was at this point that “I became very frustrated” because of the lack of response from the crowd. I observed the subject videotaping the event; he was standing on the sidewalk. I went over to him and stated, “Turn that fucking thing off before I slap you”, he further states that “I never had any intention to strike the person but was only trying to get this persons attention; I then immediately went over to another crowd down the street to disperse them”.

The above quote is where Melendez offers a ridiculous explanation for his thuggish behavior. Melended was just trying to get Brown’s attention, so he threatened to assault him? Huh? Usually when I’m trying to get a stranger’s attention, I opt for an “excuse me, sir” or something along those lines. If the roles were reversed — if Brown had threatened to assault Melendez — would he buy the “I was just trying to get his attention” excuse?

And if Officer Melendez was trying to get Brown’s attention, why did he walk away “immediately” (his own word choice) after threatening him without saying anything else? What was he trying to get Brown’s attention for? Apparently nothing.

Let’s read on:

Officer Melendez stated that he regrets saying what he said to the student and knows that some type of discipline will result from this incident. He further said that this is not at all like him, that he always treats the students and public with respect. Officer Melendez further stated that he remembers the Chief either talking about this type of issue or remembers an email from the Chief. Officer Melendez realizes that the public has the right to videotape police activity and that he has no excuse for his behavior, but didn’t remember if this was covered in in-service training.

The above passage is worth taking notice of because it shows that Officer Melendez was already aware that people have the right to video-record the police. There was no confusion about the law on his part. He was not only acting unlawfully, he knew damn well that he was acting unlawfully.

And yet, even though Officer Melendez admitted to knowingly breaking the law, he expects us to believe “this is not at all like him, that he always treats the students and public with respect.” Officer Melendez will have have to forgive me for being skeptical.

At the end of the investigation, Deputy Police Chief Dickerson writes that he sustained all the allegations against Officer Melendez. This means Melendez was found to have used profane and abusive language, engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer, and violated the civil rights of Brendan Brown.

Unfortunately, we still do not know what punishment Melendez has been subjected to for his behavior. As I explained in an earlier post, the University claims that information is confidential and has refused to disclose it to me. I have exchanged several emails with Deirdre Heatwole, the lawyer who represents the University of Massachusetts system, but I have been unable to convince her to release the information and do not think that I will ever be able to.

In any case, I want to again thank the donors who helped get this report released. I think it’s important that information like this is available to the public and I think it’s a crime that the government makes us jump through so many hoops to get it.

Documents (.pdf format)

• Cover letter
• Training document about “Unlawful Secret Recordings”
• Investigation Report

Report describes investigation of abusive UMass Lowell officer is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Recently I was found guilty in my Chalking 8 trial, while highlighting those bogus charges we (Pete and I) met Frank and Mike, who took this video of Manchester Police Officer Murphy. The video went viral and received attention from several news outlets. Instead of taking a serious look at the actions caught on tape the city went into defense mode.

The Police, school and local government officials sought to criminalize Frank, Mike and myself. They expelled Frank from school, charged Mike as an adult (over a teenage fight) and charged me with three counts of wiretapping. Crimes the state says justifies caging me, at your expense, for 21 years.

I’ve been through this before in Greenfield, MA and am confident I can present my case, logically. The problem I face in Manchester that I didn’t have in Greenfield is the personal vendetta those in Manchester seem to have for me. After all, I was given the max sentence (with 10 months of it stayed for 2 years good behavior) for ‘resisting’ my arrest.

With that in mind I’ve thought long and hard about how I’d like to tackle this case. I’ve done all the homework, reading up on New Hampshire’s wiretapping law, talking with lawyers, brainstorming ideas with fellow activist and more and it’s come down to one thing, funding. Which is why I made this video asking for your help.

As stated in the video, I think a lawyer would be beneficial to ensure I have fair pre-trial hearings and ‘proper’ (in their eyes) procedure during trial. Considering this will be an expectation of privacy trial – and that public officials have none – it will be more difficult that my Greenfield trial. Yet, a win here could do wonders for activists in the “Shire” attempting to change coercive government actions.

That being said, I also know, and appreciate, the offensive tactic as well and when done properly, is mightier than the current justice system. In terms of risk, I end up taking more with this tactic, as these actions will be done outside the court room. The best part of this strategy is that the actions the government is trying to distract you from – excessive force, deletion of evidence and criminalization of those who question government – will be front and center. As this issue goes further back than just one phone call, the Manchester police have gotten away with murder (literally) for a while now.

Regardless of how this fund raiser goes, I’ll be in court, speaking the truth and defending my position on filming, recording and monitoring public officials. I would greatly appreciate you donating to either cause as it would help me (and other activists) further the message of police accountability. You can also buy CopBlock.org swag, which help funds our CopBlock activities, or contact me for video intro/outro’s and power post. For those unable to donate, sharing CopBlock.org content and social networks is just as good as FRN’s and I need/appreciate your support as well.

Thanks in advance.

—–

Ademo’s First Hearing (video) – CopBlock.org
CopBlock Founder faces 20 years – Photography Is NOT a Crime
Ademo Responds to Charges by CopBlock
Manchester’s Chalking 8 by Cop Block
High School Student Catches Excessive Force on Video by Cop Block
Video shows West High student’s arrest by Mark Hayward in the Union Leader
West High student arrest video goes viral by Kathryn Marchocki in the Union Leader
Teen on school arrest: ‘I was goofing around’ by Mark Hayward in the Union Leader
Manchester students say videotape of arrest was not planned by Shawne Wickham in the Union

Defensive or Offensive? That is the Question… is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A guest post in via SUBMIT A POST

I have been planning on writing on the reasons why I do not like or respect cops and today is the day. You have to understand that this is not a decision made overnight but one that has come with years of experience. You see I am in my mid 40′s and am old enough to have seen the progression of how these people think and work. I hold a degree in history and political science so I am educated in two areas where tyrants shine. You don’t have a good chance of making the history books unless you kill a lot of people and subjugate a whole bunch more. I am former military and fireman and once ran for political office so I am not a crack head mad that I got busted with a rock. With that out of the way let’s start the journey.

I was a kid in the 70′s and came of age in the 1980′s, I feel very lucky that I was born when I was because I enjoyed much more freedom than those born later. I remember when cops were just guys from the neighborhood and were your next door neighbor. I remember when seeing a police car gave me comfort and not dread. The bad part is that I have seen a better county start to fall and it is sad. So, I will just begin with my experiences with those who “protect and serve”.

I will kind of skim over the speeding tickets, you know, I have a gun and am going to steal your cash and I am going to be a dick while I do it, routine. I once had a cop pop a blood vessel because I didn’t change the address on my license, imagine if I had just robbed a liquor store, Christ calm down. How dare I not let my masters know where I live?

I have only been “in trouble” once in my life. It was 1989 and my girlfriend of the time and I were living together. Now she was a firecracker when she got mad and liked to confront very aggressively, so one summer day we got into a argument and she was being crazy, me, still being naïve and stupid thought that I would call the cops and she would calm down so we could get past it, dumb move. The cop was a douche of course and arrested me for what state law called having a penis, you see I went to jail not because she was pressing charges or evidence of wrong doing but because the state says if that call gets placed and you’re the one with the penis you go to jail.

I spent the night in jail and the next day I was released, I was not to have contact with my girlfriend. Now when your girlfriend lives in your house it’s hard not to have contact, it’s my freak’in house! The day I was released was July 5th that just so happened to be a record heat wave that day and I had to walk home which was many miles from that jail. So, with one phone call I had now put myself in jail and made myself homeless and had no car or ride. I had heat stroke day and almost died, I had to stop at a stranger’s house and ask for help. Lesson learned, never call the cops.

At a later time I was pulled up on by a police car while I walked down the street with my girlfriend, what was my crime? I looked like someone they were looking for, no dumb asses, if I was running from the police I wouldn’t be openly walking down the street, they didn’t apologize and they left.

Later I joined the military and the stories I could tell would blow your mind but that is for another time, although I do consider the military as doing time, because you really are no more than a prisoner just hoping you live long enough to get out.

The next experience I had was when my stereo was stolen from my car and I called the police because that is what you are suppose to do, the cop that showed up was not interested and seemed bothered to have to deal with something he didn’t care about, I never saw my stereo or that cop again.

Not long after the stereo fiasco there were three plain clothes cops at the door, I opened the door to a plethora of threats. I mean this detective was a class A asshole. It turns out that my neighbor was writing bad checks and since I lived next door I must be a terrorist, no apology.

Next was another stolen stereo, the cop didn’t even bother to get out of his cruiser, and the next week they stole the whole truck. The cop still didn’t get out. I have no idea if they ever caught who did it, but they did find my truck on blocks some time later, gee thanks. I could have found a truck on blocks. They then towed my stolen truck to the impound yard where the state then charged me a fee to get my own stolen truck back, screwed again. You can’t make this stuff up.

Then there was the one that really broke the camel’s back, a few years ago my nephew finds out that his wife is sleeping around, and, say it with me, yep, a cop. The cop was fully aware that she was married but what does he care he’s a cop.

Now I could write forever and you would get bored after a while so I will wrap up, but if you are keeping score, in all my years there has never been a time that I have said, man, I am glad that cop helped me, because it has never happened. I have been more screwed from the state and cops many times more than any criminal has ever hurt me. They are a gang no different than any other. Oh, and I forgot to mention this, the guy that you would go to if you wanted some weed is now a member of SWAT, how do you like that.

You can’t make this stuff up

Mike

You can’t make this stuff up is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This post was sent to us via CopBlock.org’s Submit Tab.

This month marks the anniversary of the day my home was attacked in military fashion by my local police, who after breaking down my door and running through my home with automatic rifles while screaming, handcuffed me and took me away to jail while my young granddaughter and daughter watched. Luckily we didn’t have a pet dog or it would have most assuredly been shot. Most know my story but in summary, this dramatic assault occurred for one reason only; I had ordered less than a months worth of some meds online so that I could live, which in theory could be gotten from any doctor. I assure you, there is nothing more to the story as far as why they did what they did and what my “crime” was. It’s a matter of public record.

The attack happened on the 5th of November 2010. To tell you the truth, that day came and went this year without a thought.  Although I didn’t remember on the exact day it actually occurred, it is definitely an event that I will never forget. It was the day my reality was given a huge perspective shift and while not pleasant, it was certainly instructive and cause for growth. I’m a huge fan of growth.

I’ve had a pretty busy year, which included creating a web site full of resources on the topic at hand and also writing and publishing a book. So, I thought in tribute to that life experience, I would list what I’ve learned this past year. Some things I knew about but had not experienced first hand until now.

THINGS I LEARNED THE PAST YEAR

1. If you can’t afford the astronomical cost for medical testing or treatment you indeed do not get tested or treated. The medical system is about profit only.
2. Millions who suffer severe chronic pain do not get relief because of the prohibition/drug war.
3. American prisons are the fullest in the world because of the prohibition/drug war.
4. The wide spread abuse that goes on in our prisons make GITMO seem like summer camp.
5. Constitutional and civil rights are ignored frequently because of the prohibition/drug war.
6. The wide spread corruption seen in law enforcement is because of the prohibition/drug war.
7. Over 150 military SWAT raids a day (over 70,000 a year) happen on nonviolent citizens because of the prohibition/drug war.
8. A great deal of our crime and violence is because of the prohibition/drug war.
9. Asset forfeiture is used and abused constantly because of the prohibition/drug war.
10. Police corruption is at an all time high because of the prohibition/drug war.
11. The reason we have prohibition and the drug war? Corporation profit and mass funding for those who fight it.

It was a very educational year for me, though what was learned was not pleasant. In fact, its downright scary. There are many things in our society that cause a good deal of damage but the War on Drugs seems to trump them all. And the reasons it continues, despite facts and proof of its damage, are the most disturbing of all.

Thousands of law enforcement officers, ex-narcotics agents, judges, lawyers, prison workers etc. speak out constantly and with great integrity against prohibition and the War on Drugs, having seen the damage it is doing and the lives being lost because of it. They know it does not work. They know the huge cost of its failure. They’ve seen men, women and children killed because of it. They’ve lost fellow officers because of it. They’ve seen families torn apart and destroyed because of it. They’ve seen the system so overburdened that they are not able to focus the real crimes because of it.

“Jailing people because they put certain chemicals into their bloodstream is a gross misuse of police and criminal law. Jailing drug users does not lessen drug use, and incarceration usually destroys the person’s life and does immense harm to that person’s family and neighborhood.” ~Joseph D. McNamara, Former Police Chief, 35 years in law enforcement.

There does seem to be a glimmer of hope as more and more American’s are realizing that things are not as they seem and what they have been told is not always the truth. If only social change were not such a slow process. But 40 plus years of lies are hard to undo. Again, I’m a huge fan of constant learning and growth; so, here is to my year of eduction and here’s hoping my next year will bring more of the same. I only hope its of a less dramatic nature.

I am a 52 year old mother, wife of 34 years, voter, student, web designer and author. (Though my “right” to vote has now been stripped away)

Nancy Rector

I’ve Been Raided and All I Got Was This Lousy Felony is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Imagine a man threatened to burn your house down with your kids and disabled, elderly mother inside. You call 911, and attempt to continue to the store you were heading for. Less than 2 minutes after the threat, you are being viciously assaulted, kicked, punched, thrown to the ground, hair ripped from the scalp, by the man’s girlfriend, and her friend. Then, just when you finally think all will be well, the cops are there dealing with it, the officer comes over to talk to you, he opens his mouth, and says, “Ok, I’ve talked to my Corporal, and this is what she said we’re doing. You’re being charged with Battery. You’ll receive a notice in the mail to appear for arraignment.” Um, EXCUSE ME?!

Fact is, it happened. It happened to a disabled woman and her husband, Jason, and Geneva Robinson, on a ‘good’ day for her, one where she was walking, and not forced by pain into her wheelchair. The girlfriend mentioned above, Tina Jones, was quite aware of her disability, as she happened to be the assistant manager of the Dollar General store the couple was walking, to purchase food for their 5 young children. So how is it that a disabled woman can be brutalized in such a manner and the police choose to overlook the obvious facts? Quite frankly the answer is found in the officer’s statement, “…talked to my corporal…”.

Back in January, during a different incident, the woman was sexually assaulted (assault: any unwanted, unsolicited touch or strike) by an officer, Officer Procter, under the command of Corporal Melanie Law. When Mrs. Robinson requested of Corporal Law to file a report, and wanted to press charges on the Officer Procter for his actions, Corporal Law outright refused, and ignored Mrs. Robinson’s requests, finally telling her to just ‘file a complaint’ at the department, Panama City Police Department (Panama City, Florida), which she did. There was some harassment from the PCPD after the complaint was made, from bogus traffic stops to code enforcement (commonly called lawn nazi’s). The assault was the first time, however, that Corporal Law had run across Mrs. Robinson herself.

On the scene of the assault, while sitting holding her ribs, mouth bleeding, and clumps of hair in her hand, Mrs. Robinson, after being informed she was to be charged with Battery, repeatedly requested to file a report, as well as victim statements. Under the direction of Corporal Law, per his own statements, the officer refused, and ignored the requests, sending the Robinson’s to walk home.

SEE PICS OF THE EXTENSIVE BRUISING FROM THE ASSAULT

Currently, Mrs. Robinson has been speaking with Corporal Law’s Lieutenant, Lt. Clayton, and Officer McMillan, the ‘investigative officer’ on the case. At first, they tried to pander around and avoid answering questions. After speaking twice with the local prosecutor’s office, and being told to , “go to PCPD, and get in their faces until they let you file the victim statement”, 5 days after the attack, the Robinsons were finally allowed to file their statements. What hasn’t been answered satisfactorily, is why they were refused on the scene, and had to go to such extremes just to be allowed their basic right. At present, PCPD has still not allowed a report to be filed on the initial verbal threats, which were made by Mr. Jimmy F Bailey, the son, and worker, of his parents’ gas station, Bailey’s Gas Station, from which he was yelling the threats. In fact, during the most recent, and voice recorded, phone conversation with Officer McMillan, Mrs. Robinson was asked, “why haven’t you filed a report on the threats of his burning down your house?”. Point in fact, she made the initial 911 call due to those threats, the assault was a secondary issue that occurred after the 911 call was placed.

NOW AVAILABLE!!

Police Report with the Obvious Inconsistencies

911 Call Log Showing ROBINSON Number as the \’Initiating Call\’

MEDICAL DX FROM THE ASSAULT

Prior Report For BATTERY On Initial Attacker, Katherine Ashton

There remain many questions, and few good answers. It seems as though the longer it goes, the harder the questions PCPD has to answer to the Robinsons. This isn’t just a 3rd hand knowledge issue, either. I, the author, personally witnessed it. More than just witnessing, I am Geneva (Eva) Robinson. My hair was ripped out, I was repeatedly kicked, hit, scratched, and thrown to the ground by 2 women, Tina Jones, and Katherine Ashton. My husband and I were verbally assaulted by Ms. Jones’ boyfriend, Jimmy Bailey. Please, I invite you, look at the ‘witness’ statements (2 alleged witnesses were employees of Ms. Jones, the third was her own boyfriend, Mr. Bailey!), the ‘victim’ statements by Ms. Jones, and Ms. Ashton, and the intrepid Officer McMillan’s ‘Investigative Summary’. I will publish a list of various inconsistencies, though it’s hardly necessary, as even my own 10 yr old daughter can see them immediately. Form your opinion, and please, let me know what you think, and how you feel! I will post a separate post with a more detailed account of all that transpired, as well as an account of the initial incident involving Cpl. Law, and her sexual assaulting Officer Procter. I’m far from alone, this is epidemic everywhere. Let’s work together, and stop this from occurring!

To voice your opinion, and ask WHY this incident was handled in such a manner, please call PCPD at (850) 872-3112.

Molon Labe!

Disabled Woman Assaulted, and They’re Charging WHO With Battery?! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This post was sent to us via CopBlock.org’s Submit Tab.

This past summer I was arrested, in Marietta GA., for blowing a .01 BAC % into a breathalyzer at age 19; which is illegal in the State of GA.  I also received a fraudulent possession charge for less than a gram of marijuana; which will be reviewed in court. My friend Mario Sanchez admitted to the cops prior to arrest that it was his marijuana.  Records can be retrieved from the Cobb County Magistrate Court.

When I first arrived in jail, the sheriffs painfully ripped colorful yarn out of my hair.  Shortly after, I was stripped and asked to squat down while female sheriffs snicked behind my nude body. During this early stage of my experience I overheard the civil police and sheriffs taunting an Asian man’s name and dietary habits.  A Hispanic woman, who later learned she would be deported and separated from her child, was ridiculed for her ethnicity.  My Hispanic comrade, Mario, was inappropriately groped and ridiculed.  Meanwhile, the police who arrested me mocked my last name and continued to browse my cell phone, camera, and Ipod; all trivial matters.

I was placed in a female holding cell alone. Fraught with humiliation, I hysterically shredded the toilet paper given to me in the holding cell for the sheriffs to pick up.  A group of sheriffs flooded into my cell with body chains.  I was chained  around my waste and violently thrown into solitary confinement – “female observation”- where I accepted my fate and concentrated on meditating.  Occasionally I stood up to look out of the window.  A male sheriff sexually harassed me outside the window,  provocatively taunting me to show him my tongue.  I complained to a sheriff of the incident and was told I could go online and file a code violation “17.4”; an option that I later learned was not available to the public. In the meantime, I was barefoot and denied socks because, “I wasn’t in Macy’s”.

As is routine, I was taken from solitary confinement into the nurse’s office to undergo a Tuberculosis test injection. The room was unsterile and smelled of urine.  Without explaining the shot, the nurse asked me to hold out my arm.  Because I refuted her request, a police woman, Officer Jerked, ordered me to subdue my arm or I would be taken “upstairs where people shit on each other, shit on themselves, and will shit on you”.  In response, I kept my word and disgraced her barbaric occupation, Officer Jerked grasped my shirt collar and violently slung me back into solitary confinement.

Midway through the experience I was temporarily released from solitary confinement to contact my parents; after spending approximately 6 hours meditating alone between four white walls.  I could not reach them.  At this stage, I was having my fingerprints taken and was charged $1300 to bail myself out of jail.  The possibility of losing financial aid and getting transferred to the “population” of the detention center flooded my emotions.  I was allowed to sit with the rest of the new inmates and cynically watch FOX news, if I behaved.

My father contacted the detention facility and negotiated the bail with a sheriff I had complained to.  In the meantime, I overheard Officer Jerked and her fellow minions taunt my desire to report sexual harassment.  Nearly hysterical and humiliated by her jests, I told Jerked that I didn’t want to “see her, hear her, breathe the oxygen she was breathing, smell her, or taste her”.  She angrily charged me, scaring me further into my seat.  She tore me out of my shocked position and hoisted me into the concrete floor where I suffered a subluxation in the upper region of my spine.  Sobbing, I was thrown back into solitary confinement where I was given Fritos and red punch.

Several hours later, a sheriff entered my cell to inform me that I was being released without bail.

To cope with this experience, I want to voice this experience through the United States’ Media to inform the general public of the degree of corruption existing in America’s jails.  The Cobb County Adult Detention Center is the black heart of this town, slowly pulsating venomous blood throughout our streets.  Solitary Confinement has not yet been reviewed by the Supreme Court of its Constitutionality;  neither has sexual harassment, or unjustified physical abuse.  This injustice must come to a standstill.

In the words of Martin Luther King;  “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”

I am currently gathering and organizing information to communicate this experience to Amnesty International in London, and I greatly appreciate any constructive feedback.

Amanda Constantinides

Victim of Police Brutality in Cobb County, Georgia is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Last week a Tucson Cop Blocker was taking pictures of a courthouse when he was approached by a Federal security agent asking him to stop. He did a great job standing his ground stating he is on a public sidewalk and has every right to film and take photos of anything he pleases. Of course this angered the man with a badge so he called the local police.

While the officer did not have a problem with him filming he did have a problem with the photographer standing in one spot on the sidewalk while doing so. To abuse his authority and act like a ass he makes the Cop Blocker pace up and down the sidewalk to continue his photography or move across the street, further away from the structure he wanted to photo.

Cop Block Tucson was doing nothing more than taking pictures, he was not blocking the sidewalk, so why did they harass him other than he defied their authority. You often see protesters in Arizona in large groups holding signs, yelling and screaming on the sidewalk and police usually never bother them. Yet they are afraid peaceful man taking pictures and have nothing better to do than to confront him and become nasty if you don’t bow down to them.

Great job standing your ground!

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Federal Agent and Cop Harass Cop Blocker Filming a Courthouse is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This is a guest submitted post describing their experience with the Rumford police

First I want to start by saying that not all police officers who work for the Rumford PD in the past and present are bad. As a matter of fact, the RPD cannot keep good police officers because of the way they are treated. I honestly respect law enforcement and am fascinated with crime scene investigation but I do not respect those who abuse their power.

I USED to be on the Rumford Finance Committee. I started volunteering on the committee in 2007. We are a dying mill town with an overstaffed union police department. I did my usual research before budget season began and learned that we are significantly overstaffed compared to other towns in Maine with comparable populations. That particular year we had at least two police officers leave the force. After presenting my data to the other finance committee members, I implored them to take action now and cut two positions so that it would not negatively impact an actual person losing a job. Both the committee and the town voted to cut those two positions and we went from a full-time force of 14 to 12. According to the US Census Bureau, we had roughly 6500 people. According to the FBI Crime Index, we had very, very little violent crime reported by the RPD. I am telling you this background because this is how I became public enemy number one to the permanent fixtures who still work for the RPD. Please see attached chart.

I am a law abiding citizen. I am a Veteran. I am a dedicated citizen. In 2010, I called the RPD to help me deal with my husband, who had been diagnosed with combat PTSD. I didn’t want him arrested. I didn’t want anything except for them to help me get him to the hospital. He was having an especially hard time because of some custody issues with his ex-wife and things had reached a boiling point. A few months earlier, she called the RPD from Tennessee claiming that he was abusing me. He was not abusing me. They showed up and against my will arrested him for domestic violence on the word of a person who had a stake in the matter, maintaining full custody of the two boys. But when I called them for help getting him to the hospital, they gunned for me.

I was still on the Finance Committee and we were just about to start budget season. After calling the police, they showed up at my house and talked to everyone in the house but me. By the time they got to me, I was not asked what happened or why I called, I was instead told what I did and then served with a summons for furnishing a home for minors to consume, a felony. My husband bought beer that night which is why things escalated with his PTSD. Apparently one of the kids in the house snuck a beer during all the commotion. I obviously didn’t notice because I was dealing with a husband who was having a melt down. I was trying to keep him from drinking because it was only making matters worse. My husband bought the beer, I called for help, and I was the one who got served with a summons. All my faith in the RPD went down the drain with the remainder of the alcohol.

But wait, there’s more. Within the next couple of days, there was an article in the newspaper about me. The title was along the lines of Finance Committee member, blah, blah, blah. They used the situation for political gain. The once effective finance committee member was now deemed a domestic violence victim and a person who threw parties for underage kids. All of it was untrue but it didn’t matter. My reputation was tarnished along with that of my husband.

My husband’s case was dropped by the DA as well as mine. But of course that didn’t make the papers. And the charges were so bogus, we didn’t even need to hire an attorney. But, they were successful at discrediting me in front of my peers and the community. I fulfilled my obligations on the Finance Committee and left the position after budget season ended. I will never volunteer for the community again and I will never call the RPD again. But, I am planning on taking them to court to hold them accountable. They arrested my husband for domestic violence when I didn’t want them to and then they served me with a summons when I did call them for help. They didn’t know why I called them. What if I had called for domestic violence purposes? What kind of message does that send to other victims of domestic violence?

The funniest part about this whole thing is that now they are overcompensating for their inactions with me and with domestic violence victims. The new “old” Board of Selectmen voted to spend $600 to put signs on all the roads leading to Rumford that the RPD will not tolerate domestic violence. If I actually was a victim of domestic violence, it would infuriate me. But, since I am not, it makes me laugh. The RPD has a reputation for turning things on the person who calls 911. Now I know why. I would rather be killed by an intruder or my husband than call those idiot cops to help me in any way. I almost lost my career because of a felony. That is serious business.

The saddest part is that we pay high taxes for an overstaffed police force who isn’t there for us. They are there for themselves and will protect their jobs at all costs regardless of who gets hurt along the way. Our Governor was a victim of domestic violence so he is making it his priority while in office. Once again the RPD is using the pain of domestic violence victims for political gain. It’s not only sad but it’s pathetic and my story proves just that.

Jennifer Norris

Rumford PD used for Political Purposes (Maine) is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights