Post by Jeff on Sept 3, 2004 23:58:01 GMT -5
Dear PIS,
Here is my first account of what happened to me. There are three basic points that we (the detainees) would like to be emphasized when you repeat this story to other people and/or the media:
1. Illegal, indiscriminate mass arrests that swept up many non-lawbreaking onlookers (like me) and also totally random bystanders;
2. Inhumane conditions at the Pier 57 facility;
3. Deliberate slowdown of due process in order to detain protesters as long as possible, in violation of 3 court orders (the city was finally held in contempt of court and fined by a State Supreme Court Justice).
Later I will have a more detailed statement available on my website with supporting evidence such as photos. For now here are the basics of my experience, in the framework of points 1-3 above.
1. I was illegally arrested in a mass sweep on 16th St. and Union Square East at about 7:00pm August 31. Erik Henrikson and I were walking, and later standing, on the sidewalk observing a demonstration march and we broke no laws. No dispersal order was given by the police and we were not allowed to disperse. The police simply set up two lines on either end of 16th St. and arrested everyone who happened to be on the block.
1b-2a. The police used hard plastic 'zipper' cuffs that dig deeply into the wrists and pull the shoulders back and down. I was initially cuffed too tightly (my right hand went numb, it was very painful) and had to complain for nearly an hour before I was re-cuffed. I witnessed several people cuffed even more tightly than me who were in excruciating pain and were begging to be re-cuffed. Although every police officer was carrying a dozen cuffs, very few of them had the tool needed to cut the plastic. I spent 4 consecutive hours in the cuffs (2 hours during the mass arrests and bus transport; then two more hours during initial processing at Pier 57 while were in the facility and under the total control of nearly 100 police). This caused severe pain in my right shoulder and both wrists.
2. I was held for a total of 19 hours inside Pier 57 at W. 15th St.; this cavernous warehouse/garage was used as bus depot for many years. Inside were 8-10 smaller cages (10 foot high wire fences with coils of razor wire on the top) where they kept 20-40 people at time. The smaller cages had benches, but there were always too many people in the cages so not everyone could sit. Sometimes there were so many people in the small cages that there wasn't even room to lie on the floor. I was moved around into four of the small cages before they put all of the males (200-300) into a large cage with no benches. I was filthy from lying on the floor, which covered with oil, chemicals and dirt. There was a sign indicating that this area was a "Chemical Storage Area," and other signs indicating where different types of chemicals should be stored, e.g. "Anti-freeze." (Conditions at Pier 57, a.k.a. "Guantanamo on the Hudson" are described in a New Standard article below. Also see pictures taken with smuggled in camera phones at an IndyMedia link.)
2b-3a. We were re-cuffed for the transfer to Central Booking in Lower Manhattan, and put in a Corrections bus (I was in an individual cage on the bus). They let us wait in the sweltering bus for about half an hour, then put us in an initial holding cell inside CB. We were kept in our painful cuffs until our complaints in the holding cell drew a superior officer who uncuffed us (the 3 cops outside the cell just mocked us). I spent 2 consecutive hours in the cuffs (1 hour in transport, 1 hour in the holding cell).
3. After about an hour of processing (photos, fingerprints, more searches) we were put in several blocks of holding cells with phones. (I was held for about 24 hours before being allowed to make a phone call; it was longer for others) I spent another 14 hours in a small cell with 20-30 people. These cells had benches, but there were too many people for us all to sit on them. At certain times there were again so many people that not everyone could lie down. At about 9:00am my name was finally called and I got taken upstairs to see a lawyer. (I was held for about 38 hours without being told my rights, hearing the charges against me, or being able to speak with a lawyer.) I was charged with 2 counts of Disorderly Conduct (one for blocking the street; one for blocking the sidewalk) and 1 count of Parading Without a Permit. All charges are Violations (the category below a Misdemeanor), equivalent to a traffic ticket. The prosecutors offered us all Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, which means the charges are automatically dropped if you are not arrested in 6 months. I took it and was released at about 10:15am Thursday September 3. I spent over 39 hours in detention.
3b. Detainees who live in NY could have received a Desk Arraignment Ticket, which allows you to appear in front of judge for arraignment at a later time. But since the city was determined to hold us for as long as possible, we were forced to wait and be arraigned before a judge. Erik was released at about 4:00pm on Thursday; he was detained for 45 hours. Other detainees were held longer. The National Lawyers Guild (http://www.nlg.org/) filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus on our behalf (http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/114681); a State Supreme Justice held the city in Contempt of Court after 3 court orders to release us were ignored.
Please be aware that there is very little coverage of this event in the corporate (a.k.a. 'mainstream') mass media. Most of those that do appear are filled with inaccuracies and often repeat without any criticism blatant lies from city officials. Police Commissioner Kelly and other police officials are being quoted as saying that Pier 57 processing took an average of 2 hours and no one was held there more than 8 hours. This is simply a lie. Mayor Bloomberg is being quoted as saying that Pier 57 is "not supposed to be Club Med" but is "safe and clean." The former statement is reprehensible; the latter is a lie. The Mayor is also saying that soy sandwiches were served to vegetarians. This is a lie. I witnessed many vegetarians and vegans who were given only baloney or cheese; I never saw or heard of any soy sandwiches during my entire detention.
Please pass on this email, and speak to others about this incident, including the media if possible.
Independent media reports:
New Standard:
newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=942
newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=925
NYC IndyMedia:
nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/116111/index.php
Pictures: nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/114761
ZNet:
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=43&ItemID=6157
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=87&ItemID=6153
Corporate media reports:
Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57531-2004Sep2.html
New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/politics/campaign/31arrests.html
www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/politics/campaign/02detain.html
AP: www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CVN-Long-Lockups.html
Here is my first account of what happened to me. There are three basic points that we (the detainees) would like to be emphasized when you repeat this story to other people and/or the media:
1. Illegal, indiscriminate mass arrests that swept up many non-lawbreaking onlookers (like me) and also totally random bystanders;
2. Inhumane conditions at the Pier 57 facility;
3. Deliberate slowdown of due process in order to detain protesters as long as possible, in violation of 3 court orders (the city was finally held in contempt of court and fined by a State Supreme Court Justice).
Later I will have a more detailed statement available on my website with supporting evidence such as photos. For now here are the basics of my experience, in the framework of points 1-3 above.
1. I was illegally arrested in a mass sweep on 16th St. and Union Square East at about 7:00pm August 31. Erik Henrikson and I were walking, and later standing, on the sidewalk observing a demonstration march and we broke no laws. No dispersal order was given by the police and we were not allowed to disperse. The police simply set up two lines on either end of 16th St. and arrested everyone who happened to be on the block.
1b-2a. The police used hard plastic 'zipper' cuffs that dig deeply into the wrists and pull the shoulders back and down. I was initially cuffed too tightly (my right hand went numb, it was very painful) and had to complain for nearly an hour before I was re-cuffed. I witnessed several people cuffed even more tightly than me who were in excruciating pain and were begging to be re-cuffed. Although every police officer was carrying a dozen cuffs, very few of them had the tool needed to cut the plastic. I spent 4 consecutive hours in the cuffs (2 hours during the mass arrests and bus transport; then two more hours during initial processing at Pier 57 while were in the facility and under the total control of nearly 100 police). This caused severe pain in my right shoulder and both wrists.
2. I was held for a total of 19 hours inside Pier 57 at W. 15th St.; this cavernous warehouse/garage was used as bus depot for many years. Inside were 8-10 smaller cages (10 foot high wire fences with coils of razor wire on the top) where they kept 20-40 people at time. The smaller cages had benches, but there were always too many people in the cages so not everyone could sit. Sometimes there were so many people in the small cages that there wasn't even room to lie on the floor. I was moved around into four of the small cages before they put all of the males (200-300) into a large cage with no benches. I was filthy from lying on the floor, which covered with oil, chemicals and dirt. There was a sign indicating that this area was a "Chemical Storage Area," and other signs indicating where different types of chemicals should be stored, e.g. "Anti-freeze." (Conditions at Pier 57, a.k.a. "Guantanamo on the Hudson" are described in a New Standard article below. Also see pictures taken with smuggled in camera phones at an IndyMedia link.)
2b-3a. We were re-cuffed for the transfer to Central Booking in Lower Manhattan, and put in a Corrections bus (I was in an individual cage on the bus). They let us wait in the sweltering bus for about half an hour, then put us in an initial holding cell inside CB. We were kept in our painful cuffs until our complaints in the holding cell drew a superior officer who uncuffed us (the 3 cops outside the cell just mocked us). I spent 2 consecutive hours in the cuffs (1 hour in transport, 1 hour in the holding cell).
3. After about an hour of processing (photos, fingerprints, more searches) we were put in several blocks of holding cells with phones. (I was held for about 24 hours before being allowed to make a phone call; it was longer for others) I spent another 14 hours in a small cell with 20-30 people. These cells had benches, but there were too many people for us all to sit on them. At certain times there were again so many people that not everyone could lie down. At about 9:00am my name was finally called and I got taken upstairs to see a lawyer. (I was held for about 38 hours without being told my rights, hearing the charges against me, or being able to speak with a lawyer.) I was charged with 2 counts of Disorderly Conduct (one for blocking the street; one for blocking the sidewalk) and 1 count of Parading Without a Permit. All charges are Violations (the category below a Misdemeanor), equivalent to a traffic ticket. The prosecutors offered us all Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, which means the charges are automatically dropped if you are not arrested in 6 months. I took it and was released at about 10:15am Thursday September 3. I spent over 39 hours in detention.
3b. Detainees who live in NY could have received a Desk Arraignment Ticket, which allows you to appear in front of judge for arraignment at a later time. But since the city was determined to hold us for as long as possible, we were forced to wait and be arraigned before a judge. Erik was released at about 4:00pm on Thursday; he was detained for 45 hours. Other detainees were held longer. The National Lawyers Guild (http://www.nlg.org/) filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus on our behalf (http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/114681); a State Supreme Justice held the city in Contempt of Court after 3 court orders to release us were ignored.
Please be aware that there is very little coverage of this event in the corporate (a.k.a. 'mainstream') mass media. Most of those that do appear are filled with inaccuracies and often repeat without any criticism blatant lies from city officials. Police Commissioner Kelly and other police officials are being quoted as saying that Pier 57 processing took an average of 2 hours and no one was held there more than 8 hours. This is simply a lie. Mayor Bloomberg is being quoted as saying that Pier 57 is "not supposed to be Club Med" but is "safe and clean." The former statement is reprehensible; the latter is a lie. The Mayor is also saying that soy sandwiches were served to vegetarians. This is a lie. I witnessed many vegetarians and vegans who were given only baloney or cheese; I never saw or heard of any soy sandwiches during my entire detention.
Please pass on this email, and speak to others about this incident, including the media if possible.
Independent media reports:
New Standard:
newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=942
newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=925
NYC IndyMedia:
nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/116111/index.php
Pictures: nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/114761
ZNet:
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=43&ItemID=6157
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=87&ItemID=6153
Corporate media reports:
Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57531-2004Sep2.html
New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/politics/campaign/31arrests.html
www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/politics/campaign/02detain.html
AP: www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CVN-Long-Lockups.html
