Aaron Patterson was charged in 1986 with a double murder of an elderly couple. Arrested by the Chicago police, he was beaten, suffocated with a plastic typewriter case, handcuffed to a wall and beaten, and told at gunpoint to head to sign a confession. After 25 hours of this plus threat of torture, he signed.
After 17 years in jail, Patterson watched as Jon Burge, the detective presiding over Patterson's beating-confession, was the subject of an inquiry that concluded he had tortured* over 100 black men in Chicago from the mid-1980's to the early 1990's (!!). Patterson was granted a pardon by the Governor of Illinois, and was offered a $4 million settlement by the police department. Patterson refused this money and instead vowed to spend his life crusading against police corruption.
He has performed well. The Chicago police force is increasingly the subject ofunwanted attention and rumors are afoot of an inquiry into a "pattern" of police brutality. This is where the story turns ugly.
In 2005, after already having spent 17 years in jail for being framed, this man of principle was arrested again. This time for drug and weapon charges. While in jail again he was offered freedom in exchange for a promise that he would not pursue any charges of torture against police or otherwise pursue anti-brutality activism on behalf of others. Patterson refused the deal and the charges went forward.
Unbelievably, today Patterson has been found "guilty" and sentenced to 30 years in prison!!! This time, alluding to Patterson's horrific past, prosecutors and judge both claimed that Patterson hoped the past injustice he suffered would make him "bulletproof" because "any police action against him would be seen as revenge." On this ridiculous theory, Patterson intentionally used his ordeal of horrific injustice, "as cover [or an alibi] for a life of crime".
So say prosecutors from a department tied to over 100 wrongful convictions due to torture that put a third-world nation to shame.
To top it all off, the purported reason Patterson turned to "gang life" was not for money but to be "influential and powerful in his community". Apparently, being sentenced to jail for 17 years for a crime he didn't commit, then devoting his life to fighting police brutality afterward wouldn't earn him sufficient status in a black community ravaged by police violence....
Contact the Illlinois Governor's office and inform him that this is unacceptable.
*(Note: "Torture" here means "beatings with bats and sticks", "burning with cigarettes and radiators", "electric shocks to the genitals with cattle prods", and Russian Roulette).
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Drinking Can Kill You... When the Police Beat You For It
Please send your stories of police brutality to policebrutalitydotcom@hotmail.com
Two posts today.
First, a drunk man was arrested over a month ago for being drunk in public. Five hours after being taken down to the Pasadena police station, he was dead.
How did this happen? He "tripped". So said the DA's report -- which was written exclusively on the basis of the booking officers' word.
Sound fishy? It is. The man's family has learned that the body had bruises and cuts on the hands, knees, wrists, back, head, and had blood spatters all over his jeans and t-shirt. Oh, and he died from a perforation of his lung due to a bone splinter from a fractured rib.
Oops! That was some fall on his way into the squad car.
This case is now being presented to charges in front of a grand jury. A police attorney says the police will probably be cleared of wrong-doing.
Second post:
A 22 year-old 'peaceful boy' was shot on Saturday night in San Bernardino County in front of his apartment building, in what police have called a case of "mistaken identity". His name is Charles Marshall. The next evening, community members held a candlelight vigil for him.
What did the police do? They sent in two phalanxes of police officers to stride toward mourners and start grabbing people out of the crowd. One officer punched a lady twice in the face -- "Bam! Bam! Just like she was a man!" said a witness as she described the assault.
Residents wasted no time registering their displeasure. 25 out of 40 residents who were at the vigil spoke before Monday's City Council meeting to describe the unprovoked attack to their representatives. For now, they have the support of the Mayor, who has called their decision to report the police attack "courageous and important", and who has promised an "investigation" into the matter.
Two posts today.
First, a drunk man was arrested over a month ago for being drunk in public. Five hours after being taken down to the Pasadena police station, he was dead.
How did this happen? He "tripped". So said the DA's report -- which was written exclusively on the basis of the booking officers' word.
Sound fishy? It is. The man's family has learned that the body had bruises and cuts on the hands, knees, wrists, back, head, and had blood spatters all over his jeans and t-shirt. Oh, and he died from a perforation of his lung due to a bone splinter from a fractured rib.
Oops! That was some fall on his way into the squad car.
This case is now being presented to charges in front of a grand jury. A police attorney says the police will probably be cleared of wrong-doing.
Second post:
A 22 year-old 'peaceful boy' was shot on Saturday night in San Bernardino County in front of his apartment building, in what police have called a case of "mistaken identity". His name is Charles Marshall. The next evening, community members held a candlelight vigil for him.
What did the police do? They sent in two phalanxes of police officers to stride toward mourners and start grabbing people out of the crowd. One officer punched a lady twice in the face -- "Bam! Bam! Just like she was a man!" said a witness as she described the assault.
Residents wasted no time registering their displeasure. 25 out of 40 residents who were at the vigil spoke before Monday's City Council meeting to describe the unprovoked attack to their representatives. For now, they have the support of the Mayor, who has called their decision to report the police attack "courageous and important", and who has promised an "investigation" into the matter.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Justice For the Beaten
EMAIL your own stories of police brutality to: POLICEBRUTALITYDOTCOM@HOTMAIL.COM
A happy story today -- of sorts.
A hero who saw police brutally beating a drunk driver with fists and weapons intervened and tried to talk sense into the policemen. Having arrived home and having had nothing to do with the incident except to find the beating occurring at the foot of his driveway, he told police that they should let up on the guy and that they didn't need to be so rough. He also told the police that they didn't "have to beat him like Rodney King."
The result was that the police maced the good samaritan and beat him to a pulp. As is also par for the course, the man was arrested and made out to be a villain.
That's not the good news. No, that's just another typical pattern behind police brutality occurring in the USA.
The good news is that the man -- after having to move out of the Chicago area due to harrassment -- was finally able to get the police to drop the charges against him and make a settlement for $180,000. As the vicitm's lawyer put it, "Though no amount of money can properly compensate for a beating at the hands of police, we are satisfied that the defendants recognized the error of their ways."
There is an unfortunate post-script, however. Out of the two officers involved in the beating, one has since resigned and moved out of state. The second officer, however, remains on the force, with no sign of being removed in the future. Do your part and contact the Waukegan police, and inform them that this is unacceptable.
A happy story today -- of sorts.
A hero who saw police brutally beating a drunk driver with fists and weapons intervened and tried to talk sense into the policemen. Having arrived home and having had nothing to do with the incident except to find the beating occurring at the foot of his driveway, he told police that they should let up on the guy and that they didn't need to be so rough. He also told the police that they didn't "have to beat him like Rodney King."
The result was that the police maced the good samaritan and beat him to a pulp. As is also par for the course, the man was arrested and made out to be a villain.
That's not the good news. No, that's just another typical pattern behind police brutality occurring in the USA.
The good news is that the man -- after having to move out of the Chicago area due to harrassment -- was finally able to get the police to drop the charges against him and make a settlement for $180,000. As the vicitm's lawyer put it, "Though no amount of money can properly compensate for a beating at the hands of police, we are satisfied that the defendants recognized the error of their ways."
There is an unfortunate post-script, however. Out of the two officers involved in the beating, one has since resigned and moved out of state. The second officer, however, remains on the force, with no sign of being removed in the future. Do your part and contact the Waukegan police, and inform them that this is unacceptable.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Today's delightful story begins with a peaceful protest by 30-40 restaurant workers in Boston. Please note exhibit A -- the photograph depicting two police officers perched on top of one of the female workers involved in the march -- and note specifically the awkward angle at which the victim's left leg is bent.
With this delightful and senseless destruction of a human leg in mind, let's recap how we got here. 30-40 workers went on a march in Boston to register their displeasure with working conditions in the U.S. Although you and I might have thought such marching and vocal demonstration was permitted in America, you would be wrong. The police told marchers to move onto the sidewalk, an order that was obeyed. Once there, they were presumably easier to smash to pieces, and so the carnage began. Marchers were surrounded by squad cars, and police jumped out and began attacking the marchers. One particularly nasty result was this poor woman's leg. Call your politicians and let them know that police brutality is unacceptable.
More pictures below.
EMAIL your own stories of police brutality to: POLICEBRUTALITYDOTCOM@HOTMAIL.COM
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Grim Tidings
EMAIL STORIES TO: POLICEBRUTALITYDOTCOM@HOTMAIL.COM
In Chicago a couple of weeks ago, an 18 year-old boy fled police after being harrassed. Even though he had done nothing wrong, he was shot in the back. As he lay there bleeding to death, police handcuffed him -- then failed to call an ambulance. They left him there, waiting until he bled to death before getting around to calling a medic.
The Chicago police has a long sordid history of violence and power abuse. Out of 10,000 complaints filed by citizens against the police, only 18 cops ever received disciplinary actions against them -- even though 662 cops had more than 10 complaints on their records.
But Chicago isn't really the problem. The nation's police forces are. All over the country, people are beaten, shot in the back, pepper sprayed while handcuffed, shot in night-time raids, robbed, and even raped. Time and time again, the evidentiary picture follows the same pattern: they destroy the lives of people they are sworn and pledged to protect.
Police brutality is a national and systemic problem. Yet complaints against the police do not receive the attention they warrant, in spite of under-reporting due to victim fear, resignation, or threats to their safety. To demonstrate the extent of the problem, please send in your stories of police brutality or harrassment (safe from the threat of police recrimination). Let's show the world just how many cases there are. We should hold the police accountable for their actions, and abolish the notion that police brutality is non-systemic.
In the words of Mayor Daley, who responded testily (after the death of that 18-year old boy) to the suggestion that his police force might be out of control: "Everybody can blame the police for everything, but we all have to look internally in a mirror."
How right he is. Let's hold up a mirror and reflect back the image of our nation's police force -- and reduce the extent of police brutality in our midst. The best way to shift the positions of people like Mayor Daley is to expose police brutality for what it is. Let's do that by shining the light of your stories onto the darkness of our civilized world.
In Chicago a couple of weeks ago, an 18 year-old boy fled police after being harrassed. Even though he had done nothing wrong, he was shot in the back. As he lay there bleeding to death, police handcuffed him -- then failed to call an ambulance. They left him there, waiting until he bled to death before getting around to calling a medic.
The Chicago police has a long sordid history of violence and power abuse. Out of 10,000 complaints filed by citizens against the police, only 18 cops ever received disciplinary actions against them -- even though 662 cops had more than 10 complaints on their records.
But Chicago isn't really the problem. The nation's police forces are. All over the country, people are beaten, shot in the back, pepper sprayed while handcuffed, shot in night-time raids, robbed, and even raped. Time and time again, the evidentiary picture follows the same pattern: they destroy the lives of people they are sworn and pledged to protect.
Police brutality is a national and systemic problem. Yet complaints against the police do not receive the attention they warrant, in spite of under-reporting due to victim fear, resignation, or threats to their safety. To demonstrate the extent of the problem, please send in your stories of police brutality or harrassment (safe from the threat of police recrimination). Let's show the world just how many cases there are. We should hold the police accountable for their actions, and abolish the notion that police brutality is non-systemic.
In the words of Mayor Daley, who responded testily (after the death of that 18-year old boy) to the suggestion that his police force might be out of control: "Everybody can blame the police for everything, but we all have to look internally in a mirror."
How right he is. Let's hold up a mirror and reflect back the image of our nation's police force -- and reduce the extent of police brutality in our midst. The best way to shift the positions of people like Mayor Daley is to expose police brutality for what it is. Let's do that by shining the light of your stories onto the darkness of our civilized world.
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