My name is Aaron Robin. I am a student at columbia college. i walked out of class on thursday on my way to federal plaza thinking that i was doing my part as a patriot to excercise my first amendment right. I guess I was wrong. Apparently we no longer posses the first ammendment right.
I stood at the protest and listened to all the speakers that had something to say against the war. I also noticed a small pro-war rally off to the side. Which made me happy because i felt like i was really seeing democracy work, not everyone has to agree, but we all have the right to say our piece. Even though I think this war is the most horrific display of mass murder since hiroshima and nagasaki people still have the right to agree with that. It's just to bad that rich white republicans controll the media and the poor man has no means of getting his message out besides taking to the streets.
After the gathering at federal plaza, I marched towards lake shore drive with some 15,000 of my brothers and sisters. WE SHUT DOWN LAKE SHORE DRIVE! The peoples actions scream that we don't want this war!, yet fuhrer Bush has shown us over and over again that he is deaf to democracy.
After a 4 hour march on lake shore we were cut off by poice from access to michigan ave. which makes me wonder who the police are protecting. we where forced to walk, corralled like cattle back down to michigan and chicago by police on horseback.
when we got to chicago and michigan police had cut us ( a small group of us, probably about 2,000) off from the rest of the crowd. by the time we were able to turn around we had realized that we were surrounded by thousands of stormtroopers ("police") on everyside. people began to get scared as the police rushed in about 5 feet and started to brutalize kids unprovoked. We had asked the police if we could leave people were crying and screaming to be let go. Everybody could see that the police had penned us in and trapped us for the purpose of mass arrest. It was a terrifying situation.
The police yelled at us to remain where we were and we would be allowed to march. so we remained calm and sat down figuring that they might be able to arrest us but at least they wouldn't brutalize us. We were wrong. A short time later the police rushed in swinging and grabbed everybody in site and started arresting.
I saw 16 year old females being cracked in the face with batonS WHILE SITTING DOWN! I don't care if your a cop or not, you don't hit a woman. Than i saw them coming after me, i got up to run but felt a lead glove around my neck and a sharp crack on my right wrist. I knew right then that it was broken. i screamed for th officer arresting me not to twist the wrist that he just broke but he continued to aggrivate the injury by twisting as hard as he could. and whispering in my ear that he couldn't wait to get me in a dark alley. the officers badge number is 1892 and his unit number is 010 shame on you officer friendley!
i than spent four hours in a paddy wagon with little ventilation while my fellow arrestees passed out due to lack of air.a good 25 minutes of our paddywagon incarceration was spent in a dunkin donuts parking lot while the officers stopped to get what we could only make out as a bear claw and a glaze.
after that i was transferred in to a cell with the same 28 people for another 4 hours before i was let go. no phone call, no food, no medical attention. no rights! the chief of police station walked me out and assured me i was being let go without charges because i "was a nice guy" and that my arm wouldn't be an issue. I went directly to a hospital to get x-rays, which i have copys of and get casted, than it was straight back to fridays protest where i was allowed to speak (i was the last speaker).
i hope this helps.
i guess the CPD haven't changed theyre tactics since the democratic convention 35 years ago.
Sincerely Aaron