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In the cradle of democracy
Sep. 18th, 2004 10:28 amGleaned from another listserv:
" . . . our son was one of those arrested in NY on the Friday before the convention. Despite the law requiring arraignment within 12 hours of arrest, he was held for 34 hours (Friday 9 pm till Sunday 7 am), and they confiscated his bike. (I had just bought him a very nice new one for his use commuting and training. He had it for less than 5 full days!)
"The irony in his case was that he wasn't even aware of Critical Mass and the protest. He happens to live two blocks from the site of one of the barricades the cops put up, and was returning home to his apartment when he turned the corner to encounter the cops. He was ordered off his bike and arrested immediately.
"He's still waiting for the feeling to return in his thumb from the wrist restraints they put on him. He is hoping to get his bike back soon, though he was concerned about the way the cop who took his bike commented on what a nice bike it was...
"The police tactics at the Republican convention seems to have been honed to a science. Arrest 'em all if they are on the streets, whether they're protesters or not. Pay special attention to bicycles, arresting the riders and confiscating the bikes, because bikes provide good mobility in the city. And don't worry about the rights of the citizens who are arrested, or the law requiring prompt arraignment, because the plan is to keep 'em in jail till the convention is over. (They did this for those arrested on Monday and Tuesday; Randy was arrested a bit before this part of the plan went into effect.) And if the protesters sue, the city will have to pay some kind of settlement for the "inconvenience," and that settlement will be far less than the sum the Republicans pay to the city to guarantee a quiet convention with a minimum of protestors. The city can plan to pay the settlement, as an expected cost of hosting a quiet convention, and still come out way ahead."
Is this anything but tyranny?
" . . . our son was one of those arrested in NY on the Friday before the convention. Despite the law requiring arraignment within 12 hours of arrest, he was held for 34 hours (Friday 9 pm till Sunday 7 am), and they confiscated his bike. (I had just bought him a very nice new one for his use commuting and training. He had it for less than 5 full days!)
"The irony in his case was that he wasn't even aware of Critical Mass and the protest. He happens to live two blocks from the site of one of the barricades the cops put up, and was returning home to his apartment when he turned the corner to encounter the cops. He was ordered off his bike and arrested immediately.
"He's still waiting for the feeling to return in his thumb from the wrist restraints they put on him. He is hoping to get his bike back soon, though he was concerned about the way the cop who took his bike commented on what a nice bike it was...
"The police tactics at the Republican convention seems to have been honed to a science. Arrest 'em all if they are on the streets, whether they're protesters or not. Pay special attention to bicycles, arresting the riders and confiscating the bikes, because bikes provide good mobility in the city. And don't worry about the rights of the citizens who are arrested, or the law requiring prompt arraignment, because the plan is to keep 'em in jail till the convention is over. (They did this for those arrested on Monday and Tuesday; Randy was arrested a bit before this part of the plan went into effect.) And if the protesters sue, the city will have to pay some kind of settlement for the "inconvenience," and that settlement will be far less than the sum the Republicans pay to the city to guarantee a quiet convention with a minimum of protestors. The city can plan to pay the settlement, as an expected cost of hosting a quiet convention, and still come out way ahead."
Is this anything but tyranny?
