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youngphillypolitics.com/release_homeowners_fighting_police_brutality_illegally_arrested_never_charged

RELEASE: Homeowners Fighting Police Brutality Illegally Arrested, Never Charged
Home Closed by Dept. of Licensing & Inspections, Property Seized by PA State Police
Press Conference: Tuesday, June 17th, 1 pm, Outside West Side of City Hall

On Tuesday, June 17th, at 1pm, the owners and residents of 1652 Ridge Avenue will hold a press conference on the western steps of City Hall to inform reporters and interested parties about the June 13th police action seizing their property and sealing off their home. Please read the release below for more details.

Contact: Hannah Sassaman, hannahjs@prometheusradio.org, 267-970-4007
Andy Switzer, andrew_switzer@hotmail.com, 267-269-5448

On the morning of Friday, June 13th, 2008, plainclothes detectives and a Ninth Precinct Police Captain entered a Ridge Avenue home without a warrant and arrested four Philadelphia community members - Daniel Moffat, Trevor Burgess, Andrea Okorley, and Jennifer Rock. These residents were pulled from their home at 1652 Ridge Avenue, arrested, and detained without charges at the Ninth Philadelphia police precinct for over twelve hours. Less than twenty four hours later, almost half a dozen other law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Housing Authority, had conducted a tour of the property, and the Department of Licensing and Inspections had closed and sealed the property.

While police claimed entry to the property under the pretext that it was an abandoned building, the residents of 1652 Ridge Avenue have owned and lived at the property for up to four years, while they worked on and improved their house. They have been active members of the Francisville neighborhood – partnering on community food distribution and community garden projects, among others.

On one of the hottest days of the year, these community members were locked into police cars, waiting to discover the nature of the criminal charges against them, as multiple officials searched their home. "They said it wasn't an arrest," says Mr. Moffat. "The police captain [Wilson] said he'd do me a favor, and put us in a cell because it was so hot outside. I asked, if we weren't being arrested, why we were being sent to be processed in jail? He smiled at me in a joking manner, and said, "Call it a kidnapping." That was my last word with Captain Wilson before later that night, when I was in jail." Moffat and his housemates were never charged with a crime.

The residents of 1652 Ridge Avenue learned that night, while in jail, that the Department of Licensing and Inspections had written up their home for multiple code violations – and that they would have only a few hours the next day to retrieve personal possessions, before the house was sealed to them and all other nonofficial entrants. When the residents returned to their home the next day, they found that personal papers, books, and computers had been rifled through or confiscated. Trevor Burgess, who returned to his room Saturday morning under police escorts, noted, "The only thing I really noticed they messed with was my photographs. All my photographs were just, like, torn through and all over my room. [The policeman] kept asking me about the photographs."

"When I was allowed to enter the building, to get stuff out, when I got to my room, my room had been thoroughly searched," said Moffat. "My computer was gone. I was informed that the Department of State had taken my computer for evidence. I couldn't find my phone list that was posted on the wall. I couldn't find a notepad with a bunch of my notes in it. I couldn't find this little book with a lot of phone numbers in it."

Residents stress that this incident happened just a week after they had begun circulating petitions about police surveillance cameras that had been installed in the neighborhood. Francisville, which abuts the newly affluent areas of Fairmount and Spring Garden, has seen a rise in police presence and in residents being asked for identification in their own neighborhood and in front of their homes. "It's clear to me that you don't have to be doing something wrong in order to be targeted by the police," said Andrea Okorley. "The fact that we were communicating with our neighbors about the presence of surveillance cameras was threatening enough."

These residents have called on press to not only hear their story, but to deepen coverage of increased police presence in the city – and the ways in which the city is driving out residents who have lived there for generations. "I want to go home," says Jennifer Rock. "But this is not an isolated incident. So many others are losing their homes or their freedom – and they can't be here to speak today."

Homeowners were released from custody at 3am after being held without charges for up to 14 hours. They are being told they will no longer be able to access their property without violating a trespassing law.

June 14th 8:10 AM Philadelphia. Homeowners were released from custody after being held without charges for up to 14 hours early this morning. The 4 were taken into custody yesterday after police arrived at their door without a warrant demanding entry to the premises. Upon being refused entry without the proper paperwork they arrested the homeowners and forced entry to the premises. After arresting the homeowners the police proceeded to call the Department of Licenses and Inspections which found the property in violation of various codes and permits and ordered the building cleaned and sealed. Homeowners were told they will have 1 hour at ten am to retrieve personal belongings before their home is sealed. Officials claim that the homeowners will no longer be able to access their property without violating a trespassing law. Police cruisers sat watch in front of the property all night long. Homeowners were released at 3:30 in the morning. Representatives of the homeowners will be present to make a statement while they retrieve some of their possessions. The police operation was led by 9th district Commanding Officer, Captain Wilson.

There will be a press conference and community meeting on Monday night, 6pm, at the playground at 19th street and Wiley.

Homeowners had been circulating petitions calling upon Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Ramsey to attend community meetings on the use of excessive force, surveillance cameras, and the new "stop and frisk" policy. The mayor and police chief have declined to attend these community forums, but instead have seized the home and possessions of those who question "Stop and Frisk," and are currently holding them in jail. While many civil liberties advocates and residents of affected neighborhoods have questioned the new police tactics, few imagined that simple criticism of a city policy could result in the seizure of one's home and subject residents to arrest.

See http://www.phillyimc.org/en/node/68912 for more info.

JUSTICE FOR SEAN BELL AND ALL VICTIMS OF POLICE VIOLENCE!! COME OUT TODAY! APRIL 25th - VOICE YOUR OUTRAGE!!

PEOPLES' JUSTICE for Community Control and Police Accountability is calling for a rally and community speak-out in front of the Queens DA's office TODAY at 5:30 pm @ the Queens DA's Office 125-01 Queens Blvd. (between Hoover Ave & 82nd Ave.) E or F train to Union Turnpike

In Nov. 2006, Sean Bell was murdered by the NYPD in a hail of 50 bullets. His friends - Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman - were seriously injured. 3 of the officers involved were acquitted of all charges in a bold affront to the human rights of Sean Bell and all of us.

The NYPD's murder of Bell and attempted murders of Benefield and Guzman are NOT isolated or random events. They represent the continued targeting of communities of color by the police and the lack of accountability for police misconduct and abuse.

Endorsers (list in formation):
Allianza Dominicana, Audre Lorde Project, Black Radical Congress-NY, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Center for Constitutional Rights, Congress for Korean Reunification, Critical Resistance, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), DJ Chela, Domestic Workers United (DWU), El Puente, FIERCE, Fr. Luis Barrios – St. Mary's Episcopal Church (West Harlem, Manhattan), Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC), Hasan Salaam, Hip Hop Caucus, Immigrant Justice Solidarity Project, Iglesia San Romero de Las
Americas, International Action Center, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), Justice Committee, Lynne Stewart Organization, Make the Road by Walking, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Mano a Mano, May 1st Coalition, National Hip Hop Political Convention, New Abolitionists, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, October 22nd Coalition, Parents Against Police Brutality, Party for the People, Rebel Diaz, Regeneracion, Revolting in Pink (R.I.P), Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities (RIPPD), Sylvia Rivera Law Project, VAMOS Unidos. War Resisters League, Where We Live Radio Program/WBAI-FM NY.

For more information about today's rally/community speak-out, Peoples' Justice, and other cases of police violence go to:
www.peoplesjustice.org and www.myspace.com/peoplesjustice or email info@peoplesjustice.org.

________________________

Rally will include performers & speakers who have been directly affected by police brutality, including:
* Speakers will include: Juanita Young (founder of Parents Against Police Brutality, and mother of Malcolm Ferguson who was killed by the NYPD plainclothes officer in March 2000); City Councilperson Charles Barron; Margarita Rosario, activist & mother of Anthony Rosario & aunt of Hilton Vega who were killed by 2 NYPD detectives in 1995 (the detectives were former bodyguards of Giuliani); Jesus Gonzalez from Make The Road NY & the Bushwick 32 case; Nicholas Heyward Sr, whose son Nicholas Heyward Jr was killed by the NYPD in 1994 when he was 13; Allene Person, mother of Timur Person, who was killed by NYPD 2 days before his 19th bday; JoAnn Mickins, mother of Corey Mickins killed after being shot 27 times by plainclothes officers; family member of Fermin Arzu, Honduran immigrant worker & father of 3 who was killed by an off-duty cop; Lisa Claudio, fiancée of Jayson Tirado, who was killed by off-duty NYPD officer in road rage case; Ryan Nunez's mother, whose 16 year old son Ryan was attacked by NYPD while eating at McDonalds exactly 1 year after Sean Bell was murdered.
* Performers will include: Rebel Diaz & Spiritchild of Movement in Motion

At the Sylvia Rivera Law Project's after-party following its fifth anniversary celebration last night, two members of the community were violently arrested and others were pepper sprayed by police without warning or cause. The two folks who were arrested remain in police custody and should be arraigned tomorrow. (More details of the incident can be found below in the press release.)

We ask that people show up tomorrow, Thursday, starting at 9:30am and continuing throughout the day to call for the immediate release of and the dropping of charges against the people who were arrested. The arraignment court rooms are at 100 Centre St (Directions: No. 4 or 5 train to Brooklyn Bridge Station; No. 6 train, N, R or C train to Canal Street; No. 1 train to Franklin Street; M1, M6 and M15 bus lines are nearby. 100 Centre Street is one block north of Worth Street, three blocks south of Canal Street.) Ask for directions to the arraignment rooms at the info desk when you enter.

For more information or to receive updates via email or text message, contact Jack at jack@srlp.org, who should be at court and have email access throughout the day.

PRESS RELEASE:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Jack Aponte (jack@srlp.org, 347-247-1526)
Naomi Clark (naomi@srlp.org, 917-907-4870)

Police Brutality Strikes Fifth Anniversary of Sylvia Rivera Law Project

NEW YORK - On the night of Wednesday, September 26, officers from the 9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked without provocation members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and of its community. Two of our community members were violently arrested, and others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (www.srlp.org) is an organization that works on behalf of low-income people of color who are transgender, gender non-conforming, or intersex, providing free legal services and advocacy among many other initiatives. On Wednesday night, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a celebration and fundraising event at a bar in the East Village.

A group of our community members, consisting largely of queer and transgender people of color, witnessed two officers attempting to detain a young Black man outside of the bar. Several of our community members asked the officers why they were making the arrest and using excessive force. Despite the fact that our community was on the sidewalk, gathered peacefully and not obstructing foot traffic, the NYPD chose to forcefully grab two people and arrested them. Without warning, an officer then sprayed pepper spray across the group in a wide arc, temporarily blinding many and causing vomiting and intense pain.

"This is the sort of all-too-common police violence and overreaction towards people of color that happens all the time," said Dean Spade, founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. "It's ironic that we were celebrating the work of an organization that specifically opposes state violence against marginalized communities, and we experienced a police attack at our celebration."

"We are outraged, and demand that our community members be released and the police be held accountable for unnecessary use of excessive force and falsely arresting people," Spade continued.

Damaris Reyes is executive director of GOLES, an organization working to preserve the Lower East Side. She commented, "I'm extremely concerned and disappointed by the 9th Precinct's response to the situation and how it escalated into violence. This kind of aggressive behavior doesn't do them any good in community-police relations."

Supporters will be gathering at 100 Centre Street tomorrow, where the two community members will be arraigned. The community calls for charges to be dropped and to demand the immediate release of those arrested.

- END -

Gael Guevara, a collective member of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, is personally organizing efforts to raise money for Mariah Lopez’s bail. Note that this is a personal effort and not one being organized by SRLP or another organization; therefore, donations must be made in one of the following ways:

1. Stop by the SRLP office, where Gael works, to drop off the money early next week - 322 8th Ave, 3rd Floor, NYC (the entrance itself is on 26th Street).
2. Make a donation directly from your bank account using PayPal.com, sending it to the account of jesse(*at*)tmcnetwork(*dot*)com
3. Credit card donations can only be accepted through the PayPal account of merch(*at*)tmcnetwork(*dot*)com; however, PayPal charges a fee for credit card transactions, so free bank account transactions sent to the jesse account is preferred if at all possible.

As of early Saturday afternoon, $576 of the $1500 bail had already been raised, with $924 left to go. Since bail is only paid to ensure that the defendant won’t flee the charges, the money will be returned at the end of the trial and will then be split between the New Jersey 4 campaign of FIERCE! and the Safe OUTside the System Collective of the Audre Lorde Project. So your one donation will actually be a donation to three important causes at once.

For more info on the case or the fundraising efforts, please contact Gael at wapinpana(*at*)yahoo(*dot*)com.

Early in the morning on July 17, Mariah Lopez, a young Latina transgender woman and community activist, got arrested after she went to the police department to file a complaint about getting beaten up in the West Village. She has been in jail since then, held on bail ($1.500) that she cannot afford to pay.

Since she has been in jail, we have had reports that:

* She was first taken to a women’s jail, then ordered to drop her pants to show her genitals so they could decide if she belonged there. When she refused a ‘genital check,’ she was moved to a hospital and then lock-in (isolation) in a men’s jail.
* She had her clothing, bra, and underwear withheld from her.
* A male prisoner sexually harassed and assaulted her.
* An officer assaulted her.

Mariah’s lawyer got her case moved up and is making an argument about her bail this Tuesday. She has asked that as many people as possible come to court because a strong showing of community support will help her argument. It also means a lot to Mariah to know that there are people on the outside who care about what’s happening to her.

The details:
Tuesday, August 7
Criminal Court, 100 Centre St., Part B on the fourth floor (all the way to the right)
The time is never sure, but it will probably in the late morning—be there by 10:30!

Please come if you can—your presence will increase the chances that Mariah will get out of jail and cut short the abuse she’s facing there!

Gabriel Arkles
Staff Attorney
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
322 8th Ave. 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 337-8550 ext. 113
fax (212) 337-1972

-------------------------------------------------
also, go to www.myspace.com/justice4erika to add the Justice 4 Erika Keels Campaign as your myspace friend.

2. Get organizations you're in or connected to sign on to the letter. (Organizations should email Justice4Erika@gmail.com to confirm their support.)

3. Come to the demonstration on Thursday, June 14 at noon @ 6th and Arch in Center City Philadelphia.

4. Sign up for email updates on the campaign (email Justice4Erika@gmail.com)

5. Spread the word. Write letters to local newspapers. Ask everyone you know to sign on to the letter.

in love & struggle,
Timothy

For those of you who don't know the details, here is some background information:

On March 22, witnesses saw an assailant intentionally run over Erika Keels four times after ejecting her from his car at Broad and Thompson streets in North Philadelphia, killing her and leaving the scene. A medical examiner’s report supports these eyewitness accounts. But police have ruled the death of this 20-year-old African American transwoman an accident and have refused to conduct an investigation. The driver, Roland Button, was later apprehended, but he has yet to face criminal charges—even “hit and run.” When Ms. Keels’ friends, who are themselves trans, questioned police officials about the classification of her death as an accident, they were asked to disclose their “birth” names and told they were “trying to make something out of nothing.”

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i made it into a zine because it feels important to share it with people. comment or let me know if you want a copy.

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