Last Updated on Sunday, 01 July 2007 19:04 Written by Chad Lichty Wednesday, 27 June 2007 08:46
This is horrible I hope everybody who reads this does something about it. We did. Email, Call whatever spread this everywhere!
- doUcarve
Take action!
From Transworld Skateboarding Site:
A
dispicable act of police brutality was committed on Go Skateboarding
Day by the Hot Springs, Arkansas Police Department. Video of the
incident is below. After you watch it, we ask ALL of you to flood their
phonelines and email address (below) with complaints regarding the main
policeman involved, Officer Joey Williams. You should also contact your
local news organizations to help spread the word. The more attention
this officer gets, the better for us.
Hot Springs Arkansas Police Department
Phone: (501) 321-6789
Fax: (501) 321-6708
Chief of Police, Bobby Southard
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
641 Malvern Avenue Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901
More news from http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?ref=rss&storyid=85285:
LITTLE ROCK, AR (AP) -- A police officer who appears to choke a
skateboarder and put two others in a headlock in a video posted online
has been put on administrative leave while police investigate,
officials said.
Hot Springs Mayor Mike Bush said Tuesday that
investigators have talked with witnesses who saw the officer, Joey
Williams, stop the skateboarders on a downtown city sidewalk last
Thursday. Skateboarding is banned in the area.
The video shows
Williams apparently choking one of the skateboarders after forcing him
to the ground, then later chasing and wrestling two others while
holding them in a headlock.
"Unfortunately, the video shows it pretty good," Bush said.
Bush
said he won't be sure of the city's next step until the investigation
is complete. The video, taken by Matthew Jon McCormack and another
unidentified skater, was posted Monday on YouTube, a popular Internet
site.
Williams can be heard threatening one person with pepper
spray if he moved, and several voices are heard asking why they were
being arrested. One person can be seen running from Williams, and
Williams later tells them they are fleeing and acting disorderly.
Williams
did not answer a request through the department for an interview and
did not respond to a phone message left at a home number in his name.
Police
spokesman McCrary Means identified two of those arrested as McCormack,
21, and Skylar Nalls, 19, both of Hot Springs. McCormack faces a
misdemeanor battery charge after allegedly pushing or striking a
67-year-old city employee during the altercation, Means said. Nalls was
cited for skateboarding and faces misdemeanor charges of fleeing and
obstructing governmental operations.
Four juveniles involved in the incident also face skateboarding citations and resisting arrest charges, Means said.
McCormack
disputed many of the police allegations, especially his battery charge.
He said he pulled on the city employee's arm after the man picked a
girl off her feet in a choke-hold.
Hot Springs is a resort town about 50 miles west of Little Rock.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|


