I got this following message by email this morning from my friend and fellow Arise board member Keely:I went to the rally yesterday and I wanted to update you all.
People have been VERY hostile to this information getting out, many listserves that I am on have been home to heated debate with area residents making exclamations like "Come on this is Not L.A." Or " There Is no story. It was made up" to "if its true why is in not in the police blotter"--Come on, since when have the police kept record of their own brutality??!!?? These things do happen--even in th happy valley!
The following is information of what allegedly took place in Downtown Northampton this past weekend.
Here is the information as it was told by Al's best friend Aaron @ yesterday's rally:
Al is a Black Disabled Veteran. He was arrested at Urban Outfitters for alleged shoplifting. Aaron believes that when the police brought him out of the store and around the corner there were reports of Al yelling "You are really hurting me!" It is at that point that Aaron believes (based on eye witness accounts) that the beating ensued. It is believed that Al received many blows to his face (and probably body as well). Aaron reported that he was notified of the arrest and proceeded to gather bail money. Aaron arrived at the Police station sometime after the arrest (I'm not sure how much later--it might have even been the next morning?) Aaron said that he was here to bail Al out. The officers began processing bail. It was at that point that an officer went to go retrieve Al and found him unconscious (later to be deemed in a coma) in his cell. Al was NOT breathing at this point in time and the officer returned to report to Aaron that he "had come bad news," It appeared his friend had suffered a Massive Heart Attack. Aaron said that it was was clear at that point in time that Al had NOT been monitored while locked up. The police were ONLY aware of Al's condition because they had gone to retrieve him for bail. Once at the Hospital Aaron was disturbed to see the extent of Al's injuries.
Al's bottom jaw was injured so badly and that it was knocked so far to the right that "Al can look down to the side and see his own jaw!" His upper lip was completely split open horizontally and his eyes were swollen shut. Al's family came to Cooley Dickinson and they, as well as Aaron and members of Poverty is Not a Crime, have reported that all doctors and nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital who have cared for Al have said "There is Nothing wrong with this man's heart. He did not have a heart attack" Aaron reported that Al has no spleen and due to this feels pain much more intensely than most. Aaron said that the medical professionals believe that Al's body went into a coma as a way of coping with the intense pain he was experiencing. It is not known for how long Al laid on the cell floor, not breathing, nor the extent of brain damage due to an extended period of time with no oxygen going to his brain. Al is currently at Cooley Dickinson, in and out of consciousness.
Action MUST be taken!!! Please make the following phone calls:
Mayor Higgins should have an earful--413.587.1249
WE MUST PUSH FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION!
Police Chief Russell Sienkiewicz---413.587.1100
The arresting officers AND the officers that left Al bleeding and unconscious in a cell should be suspended without pay effective immediately
Even if you are NOT a resident of Northampton I urge you to make these phone calls--because we ALL do business in that town, purchase items in that town, are patrons at its stores and restaurants, or work in Northampton! We ALL have a stake in protecting our Disabled Veterans! We ALL deserve to feel safe.
20 comments:
Thanks for posting this! It's been hard to figure out what's really going on between all the back and forth
Never mind the back and forth, that is expected when there is not disclosure or media coverage. Certainly do call the numbers and contact the local media outlets to ask them to investigate.
I personally know the officers that were involved and they DID NOT beat this man. Stop spreading your filth. Where are all the witnesses? ONE person states it happened? Choose your battles; fight for something that is TRUE and what you BELIEVE in.
Wow, why doesn't someone try to get factual information before going and posting something so horrible about law enforcement. How about just try knowing that the police station doesn't hold prisoners overnight, the jail does... the police department and house of corrections are different agencies. Al was at the jail at the time his "friend" came to get him. So, one, don't blame the police for whatever happened when he got to the jail. Two, "eye witness accounts" mean nothing. Try getting the real story instead of hearsay. Morons.
I personally dont know who the officers were that responded to this incident, however, I was a Police Officer in Northampton for a number of years and what you have written in your blog could not possibly be true. First and foremost, there is a major error in your "story". All prisoners are video and audio monitored continuously and physically checked EVERY 15 minutes during the time he/she is in custody. Its the way it was done before 1990 when I started and continued to be done when I left the department in 2004.
Second and more importantly, in this community and in the law enforcement community, the Northampton Police Department is known for how well the people in custody are treated by these officers. When I worked there, I personnaly had prisoners tell me on numerous occasions that they appreciated how respectfully they were treated while there and how they had not experienced the same treatment in dealings with other police departments. I can say without reservation, that in the 14 or so years I was with the department, NO ONE was ever a victim of brutality at the hands of the Northampton Police Department and I can not even begin to fathom an event happening like you described in you blog. You really should check some facts before you start tapping your fingers on a keyboard. Social Justice is one thing....Defaming an agency to raise some eyebrows is another.
get the truth before posting please. Any comments from "the staff" of the hospital would be false at this time due to HIPA regulations. Why are you causing trouble where there is none?
Certainly looking for the truth-- I did not get my info about the alleged vicxtim from staff but from someone who went to visit him in the hospital.
Having first hand knowledge of this alleged case I am outraged by the false information you are feeding the community. You have simply fabricated his injuries and the statements you claim staff have stated. Frankly, you are the one doing the injustice here. Try to put your time, energy, and sense of goodwill into things that have actually taken place. You have no credibility here. How can you sleep at night?
Of course people have the right to be anonymous, but if you have firsthand info about this case, why not share it? I also am not claiming "staff" said anything. What I did was post an email I received from a friend who had been at a rally in Northampton about this situation. The email repeated information heard at the rally. If that info was not correct, please say how and in what way.
If you have not seen or heard the "Facts" as you call them, then why do you post them? All you are doing is causing harm to the police department and the people who take care of "Al". I would think in this day and age that making false statements would be very risky in terms of a court case.
You do claim that the PD and hospital staff said and did certain things only on hearsay. Why do you not speak of the entire story? Why do you only speak of harm caused by others to encite a riot towards the PD? If you are to speak of this incident and people's right then you have the responsibility to tell everything. Not just the version you want people to know about, but the true version.
What about "Al's" conidtion at time of the arrest and what he really was arrested for? Where are these picutres you claim to have showing the damage to "Al's" face? What about the life choices "Al" has made that lead to his arrest? Where is your medical degree proving that you know the body's reaction to pain?
All your post does show is your lack of credibility and the trouble maker your truely are. Maybe someday you will understand the damage your actions and false reporting causes. When the PD and hospital file a liable case against I will make sure there is a rally in town so that everyone knows what you did and that the whole truth will be told.
Mr. Anonymous strikes again.
can you say HIPPA....JACHO...CAN YOU SAY PATIENT CONFIDENALITY???? HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT....AND BY THE WAY DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CASE? Dont speak of something you know nothing about and stop and I do mean STOP with the fiction because you dont know the truth...you are not in a position to say a word...so stop and have some respect for everyone. If this was your family would you be as fiction as you are now? I think not!
maybe people are posting anoymously because you will post false things about people and don't want you to damage their lives as you are doing to the PD and hospital staff. As one person said where are the pictures of the abuse you claim to have? You have that other disturbing picture above. Why not one that proves what you write about? Maybe becuase it is lies? I too hope that you are called out in public about the lies you tell. You also cliam you do not write anythign anythign about what the staff at the hospital says but you did mention that the staff at the hospital states that his injuries are not cardiac in nature. Please make up your mind or your fairy tale. Is it that the staff said something and you wrote about it or that you never wrote about the staff at the hospital saying anything? You seemed to be very confused as to what YOUR story is.
OK, I'm done with posting comments that say the same things over and over and are from the same one, maybe two people.
how one sided of you.
I will post anything new that someone has to say...but do not feel obliged to post the same thing over and over. You've made your point and let's hope the truth will come out.
To anonymous,
Did you skip over the words, "alleged" and "I believe" not to mention other phrases in the report sent? What makes you an authority, while criticizing others for reporting their information? Why should anyone believe your word over theirs? You've stated your opinion, fine, but don't assert that you know the facts, unless you were there.
You stated that you know the police involved. Who are they? or are you afraid to name them and perhaps lose your attempted image of credibility?
It is time for an independent investigation. The lawsuit filed will disclose the names of the officers involved and seek justice based on fact. However, unless you are willing to establish any credibility at all here, by naming the officers you "know," I see no reason for any further comments from you, "new" or not.
For your information, holding police officers accountable for their work, good or bad, is good for the police ultimately, along with the rest of us. Defending the police summarily, without the full facts on specific situations, is irresponsible and indicative of your biases.
Don't people relize that more then one person is posting here? I have posted three comments myself but this last post combines mine with one I did not write. Can you not get over the idea that more then one peson here knows this is a lie? The poeple here know AL, where there, and/or have seen picutres. More then one person people more then one. I do like how this comment got posted but any trying to get th real story out gets rejected by someone claiming to be reporting the story. Here alleged means rumors and dmamge is being done by rumors as in high school.
If this person was so horrible and not wanting the "truth" to get out she could merely moderate the comments on this blog and not publish ones questioning her.
She's passing on an email she received. She reports, you decide..
tmp00 she is not posting all the comment written. She has refused many I wrote proving her lies and the type of person she is. It wasn't until we went to a forum she has no control over did she start to post cooments that disagree with her. Her hand was forced into acknowledging that maybe at least she was wrong. Thsi was not until after her damage was done. Now we are wating for the apology the PD and Cooley-Dickinson employees deserve.
PalmerPearl
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