Welcome to the Police State

Although it has received scant attention in the media (shocking), I wanted to share some second-hand experiences of what happened in NY last week.

As everyone knows, numerous protesters converged on NYC to voice their displeasure with the Bush administration. Predictably enough, many arrests ensued. No doubt, many, indeed, the vast majority of these arrests were justified: protestors illegally blocking streets, throwing projectiles, disobeying police orders, etc. If you do that you should expect to end up in the pokey. But in some instances the NYPD took things a step too far.

During several illegal rallies, police indiscriminately used large orange netting to herd people into containment pens, whereupon they were all arrested. Unfortunately, not everyone who was herded into these pens were participating in the protests. For instance, at one such protest at Bryant Park library, the police used the netting to arrest everybody in the park. This included people sitting on the steps of the library (a common activity in NY), pedestrians passing by, and those simply or playing in the park.

After being arrested all of these arestees were sent to an old industrial site where the floor was coated with asbestos and motor oil. These people, including the many innocent bystanders, were kept there for upwards of 40 hours without being charged with a crime or allowed a phone call. Moreover, many were denied medical treatment and they were given almost no food (an apple and a peanut butter sandwich). 

This was such a blatant violation of constitutional rights that a judge ordered the city to release anyone who had been held for more than 24 hours. The city refused. Later that day, the judge again ordered the city to comply and fined New York $1,000 a day for each prisoner held for more than 24 hours. At last the city began to release these people (many were released without ever being charged). 

I first heard these tales last week from friends who were there.  I figured many of them were probably exagerations and borne of typical "protestor vs. pigs"-type frustrations with the NYPD.  But I have now heard the same story too many times for it to remain in doubt, and the Washington Post and AP have corroborated many of the details.  The NYCLU is currently pursuing legal remedies, and my friends there assure me than evidence they've seen supports this story.

I wanted to share it here, because this seems too important to be ignored completely. I also encourage anyone who is deeply troubled by such activity to send in a contribution to the NYCLU to help defray their costs for working to ensure this never happens again. 

EDIT:  I just came across a very good first-person account.