Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, December 14, 2011
Occupy Clergyman Claims He Was Brutalized by SPD
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 12:25 PM
In a blog post, a man identifying himself as the Rev. John Helmiere of Seattle's Valley & Mountain spiritual community offers a vivid account of what he says happened to him at the West Coast Port Shutdown protests on Monday:
I was brutally beaten by my brothers on the Seattle Police force as I stood before an entrance to Pier 18 of the Seattle Port in my clergy garb bellowing, “Keep the Peace! Keep the Peace!” An officer pulled me down from behind and threw me to the asphalt. Between my cries of pain and shouts of “I’m a man of peace!” he pressed a knee to my spine and immobilized my arms behind my back, crushing me against the ground. With the right side of my face pressed to the street, he repeatedly punched the left side of my face for long enough that I had time to pray that the crunching sounds I heard were not damaging my brain. I was cuffed and pulled off the ground by a different officer who seemed genuinely appalled when he saw my face and clerical collar. He asked who I was and why I was here, to which I replied, “I’m a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe another world is possible.” He led me shaking to a police van where began a 12-hour journey of incarcerated misery.
Read the whole thing. I'm checking with the Seattle Police Department on these claims and allegations...
4
i was standing there watching -- and that isnt' the way it looked to me. there is a difference between truth and exaggerated truth. sorry
6
Jeebus, buncha barbarians posting today...
Tell me again why it's okay for cops (or anyone, for that matter) to beat the shit out of a person for exercising their rights as Americans?
Tell me again why it's okay for cops (or anyone, for that matter) to beat the shit out of a person for exercising their rights as Americans?
8
@6, since when have our rights as Americans included shutting down businesses we don't like? The port protests were the left-wing equivalent of people blocking the doors to Planned Parenthood.
9
On a related note, I noticed yesterday afternoon that there were still several tents in the courtyard of the SCCC campus. Are there any plans by campus adminstrators and police to clear these out?
10
I suggest he spend his time at Children's Hospital raising funds for children who's prayers are being ignored.
11
A Dartmouth and Yale man, I see.
@9, I understand those remain as educational tents where SCCC profs volunteer to do educational seminars on protests' place in American civic life. Watch for an Occupy rally at SCCC Friday, followed by a two-block march, in protest against Pike/Pine gentrification.
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2011/1…
@9, I understand those remain as educational tents where SCCC profs volunteer to do educational seminars on protests' place in American civic life. Watch for an Occupy rally at SCCC Friday, followed by a two-block march, in protest against Pike/Pine gentrification.
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2011/1…
12
OWS is quickly becoming a joke. The protest tactics are not changing anything. Discussion topics of inequality have been slapped around for years LONG before OWS began. Of course the organizers of OWS don't have the maturity nor history to know other tactics. Being young and pretty has its advantages, but effecting serious change in the over all society for the Good is not one of them. MIC CHECK: It's time to rethink the tactics.
13
@8 Did you even click through the link to read what he was there protesting? And there is a difference between health services and business, so I find fault with your analogy. Unions and community leaders protested the opening of Walmart in Bremerton in the 90's. They fought it for years. Protesting in this area against corporate interests has a long history, but yes, you go ahead and act like the Occupy movement invented it and this is the worst thing ever and everyone deserves to be beaten senseless by the police.
14
i tend to disagree with this particular tactic as well. but my feelings are more out of frustration for a movement i enthusiastically support.
[offensive condescending rant]
but at some point you fucking idiots will realize that hippies of faith have been the ones out front on every issue of equality and justice since our country began. if that sounds fruity and stupid to you, promptly kill yourself.
furthermore, this guy is not your average clergy. he's technically an atheist.
"My conception of God, inadequate as it may be, is better described as the Love that generates creativity and community, than as a super-man judging us from a heavenly skybox. "
but by all means, keep the cynical circle jerk alive and long live the status quo!
cunts.
[/offensive condescending rant]
[offensive condescending rant]
but at some point you fucking idiots will realize that hippies of faith have been the ones out front on every issue of equality and justice since our country began. if that sounds fruity and stupid to you, promptly kill yourself.
furthermore, this guy is not your average clergy. he's technically an atheist.
"My conception of God, inadequate as it may be, is better described as the Love that generates creativity and community, than as a super-man judging us from a heavenly skybox. "
but by all means, keep the cynical circle jerk alive and long live the status quo!
cunts.
[/offensive condescending rant]
15
Fuck me, you people are seriously cold.
I don't see why this is any less (or any more, granted) serious than the rest of the allegations of police brutality against peaceful protesters.
Still, I can't really judge until we've got more information. Zealous religionists do like to make themselves out to be martyrs, after all.
I don't see why this is any less (or any more, granted) serious than the rest of the allegations of police brutality against peaceful protesters.
Still, I can't really judge until we've got more information. Zealous religionists do like to make themselves out to be martyrs, after all.
17
@8 - The people have the right of assembly and the right of free speech.
The cops have the right to ARREST, not 'beat down' Americans who are exercising these rights.
Srsly, why is this still happening?
The cops have the right to ARREST, not 'beat down' Americans who are exercising these rights.
Srsly, why is this still happening?
18
Good lordy what a bunch of babies. "Rights" oh I see, you bought into that crap about America, "Land of the free home of the brave." I see that explains a lot about the "They hit me, those mean police HIT ME!" attitude. I got NEWS for you sweet heart. The American power elite DO NOT have your best interests at heart. Act accordingly.
19
@17 this is happening because we don't live under the rule of law. the authorities do what they want, when they want & there is no avenue to hold them accountable for the laws the break.
20
Oops, I thought he was a Liberation Theologist.
My bad.
Really, I thought he was looking for a beating. I really did.
My bad.
Really, I thought he was looking for a beating. I really did.
21
@11 - No shit? A protest of "gentrification" of the Pike/Pine corridor???
Wow. I suppose one person's progress is another's "gentrification", even if that means getting rid of dilapidated shit in exchange for greater density and improved quality.
Perhaps Mad Max is the ultimate goal.
Wow. I suppose one person's progress is another's "gentrification", even if that means getting rid of dilapidated shit in exchange for greater density and improved quality.
Perhaps Mad Max is the ultimate goal.
23
Reminds me of my kids.
When my son his bored, he'll start bugging his older sister, ignoring her requests that he stop, until eventually she kicks him in the head. Then he comes crying to me demanding justice, to which I reply "I'm not getting involved."
When my son his bored, he'll start bugging his older sister, ignoring her requests that he stop, until eventually she kicks him in the head. Then he comes crying to me demanding justice, to which I reply "I'm not getting involved."
24
@13, oh my fucking God, I had no idea that some ineffectual nonentities were protesting Walmart somewhere out in Walmartland. For years! Wow. That makes it all better.
25
@19 gotta recognize the problem before there is any hope of fixing it. and the first step is to realize that everything we are taught to believe about our country is a lie. the question becomes... what is the path to that realization? look at the mobilization against conservatism in states where republicans are in power. yeah, the populace is getting beaten over the head (sometimes literally), but they are mobilized & active & they know their government doesn't represent them. look at what is happening in places where democrats are in charge (i.e. washington). the same basic policies are being enacted, but much more slowly & liberals sit back & wonder why the democrats are so 'ineffectual' while doing nothing to change things. this is why i support the democrats losing power. when they are in power, they enact republican proposals & we all take it. when they are not in power, the republicans enact more extreme versions of the same policies & people rise up.
27
Not that it excuses the alleged police brutality, if it actually happened, but is this guy really ordained clergy, or is this a self proclaimed title?
28
@19: Dude, I've been reading your comments and have some genuine feedback for you.
You are living in a cynical, naive, and depressive bubble.
You obviously have little or no inside experience with authorities or corporations or the wealthy and powerful people you lecture us about. Most of your ideas seem to come from other people - academics, hippies - who also have no direct experience or insight into how power really works in this country. Acknowledging your ignorance about power is the first step towards learning anything useful about it.
Also, you are needlessly (and sadly) undermining yourself with your gloom and doom. People in all walks of life are a mixed bag, sometimes delighting, sometimes disappointing, and usually falling far short of of anyone's ideals. That will always be true, humans are humans, and that's ok. You'll be a lot happier if you accept humanity on its own terms, and build up your politics from there.
You are living in a cynical, naive, and depressive bubble.
You obviously have little or no inside experience with authorities or corporations or the wealthy and powerful people you lecture us about. Most of your ideas seem to come from other people - academics, hippies - who also have no direct experience or insight into how power really works in this country. Acknowledging your ignorance about power is the first step towards learning anything useful about it.
Also, you are needlessly (and sadly) undermining yourself with your gloom and doom. People in all walks of life are a mixed bag, sometimes delighting, sometimes disappointing, and usually falling far short of of anyone's ideals. That will always be true, humans are humans, and that's ok. You'll be a lot happier if you accept humanity on its own terms, and build up your politics from there.
29
@28 you know shit about me & what my experiences are & where my ideas come from, so go fuck yourself. and if you try to insultingly crawl inside my head again, expect more of the same from me. have a day.
31
@27, he's definitely for real, a Methodist ordained Elder. He and his wife Freddie are both top-notch Ivy League educated, and leaders of a kind of high-functioning hippy-dippy Christian ministry based in Columbia City. Not at all my cup of ultrasincere tea, but my dad would have loved loved loved it.
32
I meant @seandr, of course.
I'm pretty sure the Boston Tea Party was a protest against specific businesses and their practices, @fnarf.
Seattle Police only intervened when the protesters blocked all routes of traffic. I haven't been online lately. Has the mayor denouced SPD as bullies yet? Has Rich ONeil declined to comment yet?
I'm pretty sure the Boston Tea Party was a protest against specific businesses and their practices, @fnarf.
Seattle Police only intervened when the protesters blocked all routes of traffic. I haven't been online lately. Has the mayor denouced SPD as bullies yet? Has Rich ONeil declined to comment yet?
33
I'm pretty sure the Boston Tea Party was a protest against specific businesses and their practicesJesus fuck.
34
RE: the Planned Parenthood comment-- anybody ever seen police beat the crap out of anti-abortion protesters at a Planned Parenthood? I haven't.
35
As much as some of you must hate the dirty hippies, a beating isn't the correct police response to anything, no matter how many laws are broken, unless it's required to subdue a violent subject or protect officers' safety. That may or may not have been the case here, but this reactionary idea that people who block traffic deserve whatever the paramilitary police decide to do to them is a little sickening.
36
So we should treat reverends differently now? This rev is a joke, oh noes, I spent 12 hours in jail for breaking the law!! Im a holy man, im untouchable!
I swear, most of these protesters are so dumb that they honestly think that if you are doing nothing but standing in the middle of the road, that you cant be arrested.
I swear, most of these protesters are so dumb that they honestly think that if you are doing nothing but standing in the middle of the road, that you cant be arrested.
38
Shove your Jesus shit up your ass.
Occupy is STUPID and so is anyone still associated with the occupy bowel movement.
Occupy is STUPID and so is anyone still associated with the occupy bowel movement.
39
@34 "anybody ever seen police beat the crap out of anti-abortion protesters at a Planned Parenthood? I haven't."
Never seen, but that doesnt mean it doesnt happen.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/1…
http://youtu.be/5hZyBN2WMqo
Never seen, but that doesnt mean it doesnt happen.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/1…
http://youtu.be/5hZyBN2WMqo
40
@39 Well the first link mentions the newspaper article where a police officer was injured due to Peter D'Attilio resisting arrest, so wouldn't that justify police using physical force? And the second link shows a police officer knocking a phone out of a pro-life protesters hand. I'm not sure how that qualifies as the police beating the crap out of someone.
41
@24 you're an adolescent hiding behind a keyboard. I haven't actually heard you say anything worthwhile. "boo fucking hoo?" Who says that? Do you have friends? Do people like you? I don't, and from your lame tone, I imagine that you may be the only one that likes you.
42
I would cite you as a failure of the U.S. public school system, except the "taxation without representation" thing is so drilled into American kids' heads, they think that's the ONLY thing that started it. The Boston Tea Party protested the fact that colonists had no say in the UK's taxation policies or in its centralized control over the colonies' economy.
I'm pretty sure the Boston Tea Party was a protest against specific businesses and their practices
I would cite you as a failure of the U.S. public school system, except the "taxation without representation" thing is so drilled into American kids' heads, they think that's the ONLY thing that started it. The Boston Tea Party protested the fact that colonists had no say in the UK's taxation policies or in its centralized control over the colonies' economy.
44
@41, yours was the first Slog comment that made me laugh out loud in a while. While I don't share the "boo fucking hoo" sentiment, the image of Fnarf being called out as "an adolescent hiding behind a keyboard" is wonderfully hilarious.
And yes, I know you could have meant "adolescent" non-literally, but it's still hilarious.
Hint: http://www.google.com/search?q=site:slog…
And yes, I know you could have meant "adolescent" non-literally, but it's still hilarious.
Hint: http://www.google.com/search?q=site:slog…
45
@40 I'm not sure how that qualifies as the police beating the crap out of someone.
Its based upon how Occupy Seattle typically defines assault.
By all means, sort through the search and cherry pick whatever you want.
http://tinyurl.com/7x9mx64
Its based upon how Occupy Seattle typically defines assault.
By all means, sort through the search and cherry pick whatever you want.
http://tinyurl.com/7x9mx64
46
they obviously didn't beat this bitch enough cause he's talking about it.
down south when they give you a beatdown you stay beatdown.
down south when they give you a beatdown you stay beatdown.
48
@27: He's for real; he's a United Methodist pastor in the Rainier Valley/Columbia City area (and apparently pretty well-known and regarded in those circles).
49
@45 I'm not sure what you are trying to communicate to me here. The first three results are about police brutality in Sri Lanka for a couple accused of cattle theft. Or am I cherry picking?
50
HAHA! John, if you read this, take heart. I tried to slog through the comments, but apart from some juicy epithets being thrown around, found most of it empty-headed. Don't let it get you down. People blather when they have nothing to say. They might as well match their words to the level of their thinking: Ugh! Grrr! Rahr! Mmm!
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