11 September 2011
The US police state in action:
A statement by the International ID Network on the arrest of John Sargis
John Sargis, who is one of the most active members of the International ID network in the USA and took part, in 2006, in the local elections under an overtly Inclusive Democracy program for Paterson, NJ, was attacked and arrested for obstruction-a disorderly persons offense by the local police during Obama’s visit to Paterson to view flood damage on 4/9/2011. Despite the fact that John did not use any violence against the police, the conditions of his arrest, as described by his statement below, were particularly violent, involving also what amounts to a sexual assault, obviously aimed at depriving him of a citizen’s dignity and making him understand who the real boss is: the state and its organs. The police state is intent on creating criminals of ordinary citizens. The International ID network condemns this show of brutal force against one of its members, which only makes clear once more the real nature of representative “democracy” against which we fight in order to replace this parody of democracy with a real democracy really controlled collectively by its citizens, what we call an Inclusive Democracy.
4 September 2011
Statement by John Sargis
I was riding my bicycle along a supposedly (I did not know it as there were no signs to let me know) secure road and reaching almost the end when I was stopped by a police officer who grabbed my bike as I was stopping, telling me the road was closed and I could not go further. I told him to get his hands off my bike and said I wanted to continue since the end of the road was about five meters away, what's the problem? He said I could not go any further. After some back and forth discussion and I asked to see his supervisor (which never happened), two other police converged on me, sticking their fingers in my chest, pushing me. I told them to get their hands off me. As I was arguing with them, because they did not tell me why the road was closed, I did not see any floods on the road, another cop came towards me and grabbed my arm. I pulled it away and said “what is wrong with you?” Then the cop who initially confronted me said “Get off your bike, turn it around and start walk backwards.” I told them I will do as you tell me. I said to them I am getting off my bike, I am turning it around and now I am walking backwards as you order me to. All hell broke loose. They grabbed my bike again, swarmed me and started yelling at me and calling me smart ass, smart ass, smart ass. I said to them I did as ordered why are you doing this? Then they again began pushing me and grabbing me. The police officer and his fellow aggressors saw the contradiction of his statement and got violent. I was telling them I was following orders. I did what they told me to do, and I held my ground. Then three of them jumped me. The cop who initially grabbed my arm got it again and I thought he was going to break it. Another had me in a head lock and another one put the cuffs on so tight I have bruises and swelling on both wrists. There was a member of the secret service watching the whole operation and as they were pushing me to a wall I told him he was a witness-ha! They threw me against a wall and started searching me. The cop grabs my genitals and penis and pulls them hard and caused me a lot of pain. I screamed what the fuck you doing, that is not necessary. He said, “I'm gay”. So I said you finally admit it. And I got more pressure on my back and head. They put me in a police cruiser and I stayed almost 6 hours locked up in a filthy, sewer stinking putrid cell with debris all over the cell--toilet paper, a peanut butter sandwich smeared on the floor and juice cartons in the toilet. The steel plate for a bed was rusty and dirty. There was no mattress on it. The jail cell was unfit for human habitation. The charge is obstruction disorderly persons offense, and my bike and Ché Guevara cap were impounded. As of this date I got my bike and cap returned and have retained a lawyer. The police state does its job of criminalizing its citizens.
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