Communities United Against Police Brutality EMERGENCY ALERT October 25, 2003 **********************************************
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! JUSTICE FOR PHILANDER RALLY ATTACKED--BRYCE WILLIAMS ARRESTED!! Just a short while ago this evening, we were holding a rally at the new jail in downtown Minneapolis to demand justice for Philander Jenkins, the young man who was beaten and sexually assaulted in Hennepin County jail 23 days ago. Our main concerns are that Philander still has not had a medical examination and that Philander remains in isolation, in the clutches of those who have abused him, and allowed no contact with his family. Our rally was a perfectly legal First Amendment-protected event. We were careful to leave plenty of space at the doors for people visiting the jail to be able to enter and leave. However, the deputies were clearly paranoid as they were unlocking and locking the doors to let people in. The depth of their paranoia became apparent when they suddenly rushed out the door of the jail with some of their Minneapolis Police Department buddies in tow and grabbed Bryce Williams out of the crowd. Bryce had been doing nothing but chanting along with us--he wasn't even holding a sign. They ran up and said, "Bryce Williams, you are under arrest." They started shoving some of us around while trying to knock Bryce to the ground. However, Bryce didn't fall and they yanked him through the door. They claimed they had a warrant for his arrest but all they showed were mug shots from the last time he was arrested and released without charges! Bryce's attorney, Jill Clark, was able to come down to the jail immediately. We learned that Bryce is being held on a warrant for "making terroristic threats"--this tells you how the USA Patriot Act has come to our doorstep. Bryce is a board member of CUAPB and is a commissioner with the African American Men's Project. A police brutality survivor himself, he does extensive work in the community to get justice for many other police brutality survivors. He is a key leader in the movement agasint police brutality. He is also part of Philander Jenkins' legal team and was just in the Hennepin County jail yesterday visiting Philander. Don't you think that if he had a warrant, as jail staff are claiming, they would have arrested him yesterday? This so-called warrant is as bogus as it gets! Again we must prevail on you to take action to ensure Bryce's safety in the jail and to ensure that Bryce receives justice. PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS: 1) Call the jail at 612-348-5112, ext. 0 and tell them you are concerned about Bryce Williams. No need to be nice or pleasant. Just tell them right out--he had better come out in the same shape he went in! 2) Call Lt. Ahlgren, the desk sergeant who was on duty and who had Bryce arrested. His number is 612-348-8034. Tell him, "how dare you have Bryce Williams arrested while three rapists still work at your jail" or some other appropriate message. 3) Come to court on Monday, October 27 at 1:30 p.m. for Bryce's arraignment, room 1156 BUT PLEASE CALL OUR HOTLINE AT 612-874-7867 MONDAY MORNING after 8:30 a.m. to confirm this date and time. 4) Call the City Attorney's office at 612-673-2010 starting Monday and tell them to DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST BRYCE WILLIAMS! Thank you for your efforts! ___________________________________________________________ Communities United Against Police Brutality 2104 Stevens Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404 Hotline 612-874-STOP (7867) http://www.CharityAdvantage.com/CUAPB Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- __________________________________________________________ Sign-up for your own personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup CareerBuilder.com has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job search http://corp.mail.com/careers REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
