Monday, February 06, 2006

Fascist Pigs On The Loose in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

A non-violent middle-aged protester was seriously abused physically and legally by cops in Cleveland Heights, Ohio for the crime of putting up anti-George W. Bush posters in public.

Here are some excerpts from her story:

My name is Carol Fisher, and I am on the staff of Revolution Books in Cleveland OH. At the bookstore we have been immersed in building and supporting the initiatives of World Cant Wait. Yesterday, 1.28.06, while putting "Bush Step Down" posters on telephone poles along a major thoroughfare on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I was brutalized by Cleveland Heights police, charged with 2 counts of felony assault and held incommunicado under police custody in the hospital! This outrage and others like it must be exposed and opposed by all who hate the direction that the Bush regime is taking this country and the world...

Before long a cop called from across the street: "Ma'am! Hundred dollar fine for doing that!" Oh really, since when? Another way of keeping us from getting the word out, eh? But not wanting to get arrested, I said ok and put up my staplegun and walked away. But that wasn't the end of it. "Ma'am! Hundred dollar fine unless you take those posters down." He is pursuing me across the street. Damn! OK fine, I say, I will take them down (not wanting to get into a confrontation, because I have lots to do today!) But this too is not enough for the cop. He wants my ID. I say I don't have my ID. He grabs my arm. I say let go of me, I am not doing anything wrong, I will take the posters down. People are watching to see what happens, are outraged but very afraid. The cop wont let go, he clearly wants more grief from me, and he is in the spotlight. He wants people to be scared. He pushes me against a store window and next thing I know I am face down on the sidewalk with two cops on top of me, one with his knee in my back. I am trying to call out to people, to tell them what the posters are about. They keep pushing my face into the sidewalk. I cant breathe...


I have osteoradionecrosis in my jaw, resulting from radiation treatments for cancer. My jawbone is slowly deteriorating, is very fragile, and doesn't heal well. I am 53 years old, not exactly a spring chicken. A hand comes down again to push my chin against the concrete. By this time there are four cops on the scene. My hands are tightly cuffed behind my back. They lift me up and shove me onto a parkbench and shackle my legs. I am still calling out, telling people what this is about. One of the cops says to me, "Shut up or I will kill you!", "I am sick of this anti-Bush shit!" "You are definitely going to the psyche ward." Then somebody calls the EMS, and a fire squad shows up. The cop supervisor appears and puts his finger in my face: "I don't like it when people treat my men like this and if you don't obey the law you will suffer the consequences."


They later try to make her undress in front of the cops and make her see a psychiatrist. Hours later she is released on her own recognizance.

She is still facing felony charges.

Yet another outrage in the "land of the free."

2 Comments:

Blogger DrewL said...

Asking her for her ID? That's the first indication that things are headed downhill in this country. Seems it's just a matter of time before we are required to carry a photo ID at all times that must be surrendered to any law enforcement or other government official who requests it.

"Where are your papers? We must have your papers. No papers? Then you will go to jail. Come with us."

Gee, I can't wait.

2/07/2006 12:46 AM  
Blogger Effwit said...

Drew L:

Around here, the cops routinely ask "suspicious" people for ID.

You can walk away if you know your rights. Like when the cops ask for your concent to search.

The sheeple always consent, for fear of pissing off the law.

If you are young, or long-haired, the cops consider this to be de facto probable cause for stop and search.

Yaaay!

2/07/2006 11:02 AM  

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