textfiles/magazines/ATI/ati353-5earlymidweekcrisis.txt

Hi There,
Rather than start writing a zine for this weekend,
I give you a story in this morning's Post. It is in some
ways better than anything I could pull from journal
notes, but in others they did a horrible job, because
the corporate thugs inside the post insisted that
Manny Fernandez not only vet this story through
my legal counsel and me, but through a second
reporter who is friendly with Police Chief Ramsey.

Sincerely,
Marco Frucht
aka, the prime anarchist.

e&p ati zine since 1988
tech for http://mke.indymedia.org
& ask me about the nammys
( http://nativeamericanmusic.com )
http://www.frucht.org/music/mp3notcom.html

[  insert poem here  ]

"It is  scary  to confront
the military,  because the
military  teaches  you  to
submit to orders even when
you object.  I may not  be
a hero, but I know that it
takes  courage to  disobey.
I  know  that  it  demands
courage to say "no" in the
   face   of  coercion."

 -- Stephen Funk







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begin biased story which gives a myth of balance
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A D.C. police officer accused of hitting an antiwar demonstrator 
several times with his nightstick Saturday has  been placed on 
desk duty while his actions are investigated.

The officer, whom police did not identify, was shown on WRC-TV 
(Channel 4) appearing to strike the man, Marc  Frucht, as Frucht 
was held down by other officers. Police officers at the scene 
have said that Frucht ignored three orders to get on the sidewalk, 
then resisted  as officers attempted to handcuff him, according to
Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham, who heads the department's 
internal affairs division.

Frucht, however, said yesterday that he was tackled by police after 
taking photographs of other officers who  were handling a demonstrator 
roughly. His attorney, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, said Frucht suffered 
welts and bruises and was later taken to the hospital by  police.

Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney for the D.C.-based Partnership for 
Civil Justice, said that police attacked  marchers without cause 
three times Saturday and that dozens of marchers were injured in 
the confrontations.

But Newsham said the incident involving Frucht is the only one of 
the weekend that has spawned an internal  investigation. The city's 
Office of Citizen Complaint Review had received no complaints as 
of yesterday about police actions during the weekend's three major  
events, which drew thousands of people.

D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said there might be "training 
issues" raised by the officer's conduct,  but he also said that 
officers were in a tense situation and that demonstrators threw 
rocks and spit at them during the protests.

"Certainly we'll listen to what the officer has to say" and then 
make a decision, Ramsey said. "But I'm not  just going to hang this 
guy out to dry just because someone made an allegation."

The antiwar coalition International ANSWER organized a rally and 
march Saturday to oppose the U.S. occupation  in Iraq. Police 
estimated that as many as 30,000 attended. Marchers left a rally 
at Freedom Plaza, at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, about 
2:30 p.m.  The march route spanned several blocks of downtown, 
targeting companies that activists say stand to profit from the 
war and media outlets whose  coverage they criticize.

Verheyden-Hilliard said marchers were hit by officers with nightsticks 
three times Saturday, including once  on Ninth Street NW near the main 
public library and later on 18th Street near the rear of the march.

The incident involving Frucht, 39, of Milwaukee, happened on 18th 
Street near K Street when the march was  almost over. Frucht said 
he was trying to take photos of a woman he said he saw being attacked 
by police. He said an officer on a bicycle then told him to leave the  
area.

As Frucht turned to leave, he said, a group of officers tackled him. 
He said he was struck repeatedly by at  least one police baton.

"I remember vividly three hits, and I began praying, 'I hope this 
stops soon,' " said Frucht, who added that  he did nothing to provoke 
the officers. "I feel like it was beyond excessive force. . . . It 
felt like an act of wilding."

Police said the video aired by WRC-TV Saturday night appears to show 
the officer with two hands on his  nightstick, poking at Frucht's 
head six or seven times while Frucht lay on the pavement. Afterward, 
the video shows Frucht with a red mark on his head, apparently where  
he was struck. Frucht was one of three people arrested during the march.

Newsham said investigators from the department's Civil Rights and 
Force Investigation Team -- on standby  during the protests -- 
responded to the scene shortly after the incident. After watching 
the footage later that day, he said, they were able to identify the 
officer  involved.

The officer has consulted with an attorney and made a statement to 
investigators. He is now in "non- contact" status, without dealings 
with the public, Newsham said.

Newsham said that after completing their investigation, police will 
hand the case over to the U.S. attorney's  office. If the U.S. 
attorney declines to prosecute the officer, he said, the department 
will consider taking administrative action against him.

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end biased story which gives a myth of balance
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