Andrew lives in Philly and was visiting his family in AZ. In fact he was visiting his brother, Bernie, (left on the picture), who has been incarcerated in federal prison in Arizona (since prisoners are often sent to facilities far from their families). The van they were driving was pulled over for having "a dim license plate light." I should mention, this was at the end of the month, when officers are often pressured to make quota on traffic stops, fines, arrests, etc.. It's easier to fine/charge someone who would not have the means of fighting their charge in the legal system (and often people of color fit this description). After asking the officer some normal questions that any citizen is entitled to, my friend was asked to produce his ID (though he wasn't the driver). The whole family was made to sit on the curb and he could not because of his long standing back problems (I know about these first hand from times I've played sports with Drew). When he offered to kneel he was arrested, the police officer did not read him his rights and he was repeatedly told to shut up. He was held in prison on bail. When he asked to pay the bail with any of his 4 credit cards the prison claimed they only had 1 of 4 which was not authorized for such a payment and so processing was delayed by many hours. His cell phone was confiscated as "evidence" and he was not allowed to stay with his cousin who was now a "witness". Since then he has had to fly back to Arizona multiple times to dispute the matter in court ... otherwise he will be charged with a misdemeanor, which will stay with him for the rest of his life.
He just texted me to say that he was found guilty by the judge, but the judge couldn't say why; sounds to me like a small town judge way too cozy with the police.
Andrew is now hoping to appeal to a federal court and to sue the police department for unlawful arrest.
No comments:
Post a Comment