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News :: Protest Activity |
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St. Louis: Police Attack Peace March |
Current rating: 0 |
by matthew berliant
(No verified email address) |
31 Mar 2003
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The following are a number of first-hand accounts from people who were attacked during a march following the peace rally at Forest Park. After going down to St. Louis Police Headquarters, I determined that 7 people were arrested, and one other person was sent to the emergency room. The person sent to the emergency room was a 17-year old high school student from Kirkwood High who was severely maced by the police. |
The following are a number of first-hand accounts from people who were attacked during a march following the peace rally at Forest Park. After going down to St. Louis Police Headquarters, I determined that 7 people were arrested, and one other person was sent to the emergency room. The person sent to the emergency room was a 17-year old high school student from Kirkwood High who was severely maced by the police.
The 7 who were arrested have legal representation. Four were being “processed” for release after bail was posted when I left to type these up. The bail money came from the Instead of War Coalition as well as individuals who came out to the police station to show their support.
As far as I know, each of the 7 arrested have at least 3 city charges that include resisting arrest, blocking traffic, and unlawful assembly. One person may have also been charged with rioting, a misdemeanor. Also, one person is being held on $10,000 bond over night for possible federal charges.
When I got to the police station, there were about 20 people standing out front in the cold, 2 of whom were lawyers. Soon after I got there, a squad car pulled up with its lights on and told us all that we had to move off the sidewalk in front of the building (this was after telling us that we couldn’t wait inside the building.) So we moved across the street. Soon afterwards, one newscaster began to report on the incident in front of the station, cameral aimed such that the sidewalk we had just been occupying was behind the reporter. Hmmm....
The march that was attacked was headed for the Central West End. The flyer for the march states: “Let’s take our noise and energy to the streets of one of St. Louis’ wealthiest districts...While the U.S. carpet bombs the birthplace of civilization in order to save civilization, we remain puzzled. So, to investigate this paradox, it’s only logical that we visit St. Louis’ beacon of progress and civilization—the Central West End.”
As far as I can tell, the march, consisting of between 50 and 100 protesters, never got there. Based on first-hand accounts, it seems that people were attacked by the police before they even left Forest Park. People were arrested, thrown on the ground, and then maced while cuffed on the ground. A woman said that she saw someone attacked by a police dog.
One person was released on his own recognizance while I was at the police station. He said that the arrest, brutality, and harassment were the “most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me.” He said that at the park, as his friend was being arrested he went up to him and told him not to resist arrest, and then the cops had him too, slamming his head into the cop car while arresting him. He said he saw one guy walking away through the park with his bike, and a cop run up behind him and mace him in the face. He said that after arriving at the station, those arrested were being called “terrorists” and “commies” and verbally harassed, while some were being maced at the station while cuffed. The cops were tearing people’s clothes, forcibly ripping out body piercings and earring, threatening them, and pushing them around. After his release, he was visibly shaken and vomited in the street.
What follows are first-hand accounts from people who were there but did not get arrested. To protect the people who were there, these accounts are being posted anonymously, numbered instead of named. Names have been removed from their accounts. We will try to get accounts from those released on bond as soon as we can.
Account #1
I went along with the march even though it didn’t feel “right.” I can’t really write a too-detailed account of this evening, but the violence started when Officer 30 shoved someone off her bike. Then less than one minute later swarms of cop cars pulled up and started macing and attacking us, even though all we were doing was strolling down the street with signs and flags. Then they were corralling everyone and terrorizing us as long as possible... I can’t write any more, it is still too painful.
Account #2
After the initial peace rally, we all took to our march towards the Central West End...
The cops slowly followed us, just telling us to keep out of the road...
I stayed on the grass as the cops started blaring noises and then yelling...
A cop pulled a girl off her bike onto the ground, we got that on tape at least. We went about another block and more shouts, a cop is strangling my boyfriend while he passively has his hands in the air in defeat, and a girl is on the ground with 3 cops on her, she’s screaming and crying, and then mace, pepper spray, whatever is flying at me by this bald bearded officer “GET BACK” and there’s a police dog (the mace hit me harmlessly on my coat), and this guy is drooling mace and cussing, “you fucking pigs/cops/whatever, I wasn’t doing anything!!”
“GET BACK! MOVE NOW!”
We all slink back, some running, crying. Where’s my boyfriend, where is he?! Cops are running directly at me, with mace, chasing us up against the Metro Link tracks and fences...
The girl who was first thrown off her bike, her boyfriend is like “take this bike” and I do so, and attempting to ride it I get left behind. The bald cop is between me and the group. He says, “You people make me fucking sick!” Then he walks toward me holding mace. He says, “I wish I could kill you all, shoot you all!” I manage to run past him with the bike, but we are cornered and a cop car is coming at us THROUGH the park grass! RUN!
I dare not stop. I get to the sidewalk from the grass and someone says, “There are cops this way, go back!” They were getting arrested. More cops on the grass. Two of them shout at me, “You! Go over there” and gestures to the area where people are getting arrested.
Me and a girl and a guy walked over there, we introduce ourselves, “nice knowing you” I say with a laugh.
This black cop is like, “Lay down!” But he wasn’t looking at me! I keep on strolling oh-so-innocently...
Catch up with some other people. A guy on his bike, “What now?” I walk over to a rock, this is all a barely comfortable distance from the cops, and sit down, tears in my eyes. I talk to some other marchers, people I know, some I don’t.
The cops are moving, hey! They are walking away? Hoorah! We didn’t get arrested, but the cops slowly stalk us back to where the rally started, we just want to leave.
We get back to where the rally was, and every time we try to figure out where we are going... “MOVE!—or you’ll be arrested.” I’m like, umm, you arrested the guy who has my only set of car keys, thanks...
I think someone might have gotten maced again, but I was walking the hell away. One guy takes me with him to the police station, they won’t even let us wait in the waiting area, or let me have my damn car keys. “It’s in his possession now...”
Account #3
While walking down the street with the rally the jackboot squad kept cutting us off and yelling at us. When we refused to stop marching they became irate. It was fucking surreal, before we knew it the goons were grabbing people and slamming them hard on the police cars. When the rest of us started yelling at them to stop they started spraying pepper spray in people’s faces from point-blank range. The police then whipped up into a fevered pitch and began choking people whom they were holding down and saying “You liberals are getting what you deserve” and “You should all kill yourselves.” About 20 squad cars showed up and there were only about 20 of us there. It was fucking repulsive. The cops were not professionals doing their civic duties, they were hate-filled nazis. |
See also:
http://stlouis.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=7327&group=webcast
http://stlouis.indymedia.org/
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