I Fought The Law - Part 1
So, several months ago, I mentioned "the incident". Well, today the incident has been completely resolved, so I'm going to pretty openly explain what happened and the resolution, as this should save time in the long run.
After the cut is the detailed notes I took the day of the incident, grammatical errors, typos and everything, and it explains what happened. Part 2 of this will be up shortly, and will explain how things have been resolved.
7/12/2009
Prior to 11:50am - I was with my wife in Morristown all weekend, house sitting for my parents, and putting up hay for them on Saturday. Over this weekend, I had taken Zantac, Claritin, Tylenol, and fiber bills.
11:50am - We(Maia and I) get home to our apartment in Greeneville after housesitting in Morristown.
My allergy attack has gotten worse, so I decide to take some Sudafed.
We also decide to go eat lunch at Italian Village(historical note, we had our rehearsal dinner at the former site a little over 2 years ago, so it *was* a special restaurant for us), since we don't feel good, and just want to sit and read.
Noon - We get to Italian Village, and order our food. My allergies or sinus torubles are drying out a little, but still pretty bad. I blow my nose in napkins a lot. We sit at 4 person table in the center, toward the back(probably 3 tables from the back).
Around 1pm - I'm not exactly clear on the time. A man comes over, probably in his 30's, wearing blue jeans, and a dark shirt. He is sitting at a table nearby with a woman. He throws some unidentified medicine down on our table(yellow pills in bubble packs), and says that I am disgusting, and that I'm ruining his dinner. I am not exactly clear on what he said, but he returned to his table. I did not respond immediately because I was not clear what had happened until he sat back down.
I blew my nose again louder. Also, at this point, I speak, mostly to my wife, and say "fuck you asshole" in reference to the man who dropped the medicine on the table. The man is sitting at the last booth on the side the cash register is on, probably 3rd one back(there is a gap with a door before more booths begin).
He looks over, clearly irritated. I close my laptop(which I had been using to read) and pack up. I am irritated, and this shows in how I close the laptop and pack up. I indicate to my wife that I would like to leave, and get up, with my backpack and cell phone to go pay the bill. We had not received a check yet, but I was hoping they would take care of that at the cash register.
The man comes over to our table and blocks my path, and is very, very, close to me, and in my face. He tells me to stop cursing in front of these children(referring to children in the restaurant). I tell him to get out of my face, and that I just want to pay my bill. I am very irritated at this point.
I move my left arm out to brush past him so I can leave. My hand makes light contact with him. At which point he yells out, "That's assault" and immediately grapples me to the ground.
At this point, I am struggling, and I yell some angry things, including a few curse words, trying to get away from this man. I feel more people on me, and at some point, I am informed that this man was an undercover cop. I can tell there are more people, and I guess they were sheriff's officers, since we had seen them eating lunch there earlier. Anyway they are handcuffing me and I scream in pain several times. I demand to be read my rights, and they laugh at me. The man who assaulted me says, "You have the right to be polite", and I think he also says, although this wasn't clear, that "I had the right to be arrested for assault". I yell that this isn't communist Russia at this point.
They repeatedly yell at me to move my arm, but they are on top of it, so I can't, so they force it behind me while they are still on me so they can handcuff me. They tell me to get to up, but I can't, and when I do move, they get violent again, so finally, I somehow make it on my feet and they take me out to patrol car, and search my pockets and remove my wallet, keys, and swiss army knife. One of the officers in uniform makes a comment about my "girlfriend" and I inform him that she is my wife.
I am placed in the car and left for a several minutes. The male uniformed officer comes out(in addition, there was a female uniformed officer too), and begins driving to the police station.
At several points in the drive he repeatedly states, "You've been to jail before. I know who you are." and he threatens that "at the jail, there will be a lot more than 3 people to beat me up". I tell him I haven't been in jail and I would like a lawyer. He says I have been to jail and that I can have one after booking. He again makes several accusations that I've been to jail a lot and mentions that I will potentionally get beat up again.
Once at the jail, they remove me from the car, walk me around it where my pockets are again searched and several receipts are removed from my pockets. The officer in uniform pulls my id out of my wallet, and I am instructed to sit in a chair. I do not speak, or move, unless told to, for fear of further beatings from these people. At some point, when I am in the jail, while another male officer(smaller build) takes down some info, I think, I'm not really sure what's going on.
The officer informs him that it was for assault, but the other officer(presuambly the man in blue jeans who beat me up) would come and take care of that, and if he had his way it would be for assaulting an officer. At this point, the officer who brought me to the jail makes the comment, "Hamblen county, maybe I don't know you" while looking at my driver's license.
At this point, the another person asks if I will give them trouble if the remove the handcuffs. I nod no, I think, and they do, they also remove my engineer's ring and wedding band at this point. My hands are in pain from the cuffs. I don't dare move though. The cop informs me that I "ruined his lunch." The only statement I make is to him, "You ruined my lunch." The officer chats with other people about what he was eating(I think a calzone he said).
At this point, I am escorted to a cell of some sort, and told to remove my shoes. They also ask if I have a belt, I do. They ask me to remove it, so I do. I go sit in the cell.
4:30-4:50pm(approximately)
I am left until about 4:30-4:50. There is a clock, in the room I was brought into first that I can see from a window in the empty cell. The smaller built officer returns(who worked at the jail I guess) and takes me to the room I was initially brought into. I am asked several questions of identifying information(social security number, level of education, medicines, allergies, that sort of thing), and given several print outs to sign. The smaller built officer explains they are just about what I would given in the cell, and that sort of thing. I sign 7 documents total. A female officer comments that she has never been to Baltimore, Maryland, presumably since I am wearing a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from Baltimore.
After signing the documents, the officer(the same one who had asked the questions about social security numbers, etc.) puts on some light blue rubber gloves and takes me over to machine to scan my fingerprints(this is not explained and it only becomes obvious once I see the monitor with my fingerprints: I am still only moving when spoken to at this point).
After this, the smaller built officer tells me to go get my shoes. I do so. I also get my belt, I am afraid though, since he didn't specifically mention it. I show it to him and ask if that was okay, he says it was.
I ask him who I need to talk to about what happened. He said I would be arrainged at 8:30am Monday morning. At this point, I am lead outside of the jail, and told that I am free under bond. My wife, my dad, and a friend of the family, Dick Tuttle, is waiting outside. The officer who lead me out empties the materials they took from my wallet onto a bench, and I look for my wedding band to make sure its there, and then put the rest in my pocket.
At no point was I given a phone call or opportunity to make one, or have any rights explained or read to me. I see my charges on the paper I am given, and this is the first I have known about exactly what I was charged with, I think: Assault, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest.
My dad explains that Marvin Cambpell(another friend of the family, and my parents next door neighbors) said I needed to get pictures, and go to see a doctor to be checked out. We drive to Laughlin Memorial Hospital to be admitted in the Emergency Room. We take pictures in their lobby as best we can with cell phone cameras. Eventually I go back to see the doctor. I have a urine sample taken, blood taken, and x-rays. The nurse determines that I have a fever of 101 degrees. The doctor, immediately after checking my ears determines I have a bad sinus infection.
During this visit, an officer Crum comes by, because I told the nurses why I was there(assaulted by the police), and they had to report it. I explain to officer Crum that I am very nervous about talking to the police at this point. There is another man behind him in a tan uniform. I am afraid this is a Greene County Sheriff and I am very nervous. Officer Crum explains that since an arrest was made, that he wouldn't be there long. If I wanted to file charges, he said I would have to talk to the police chief, and that this would be an Internal Affairs issue. He is polite. After a short conversation he leaves. I later discovered that the man with him was a State Trooper, which makes me feel a little better.
Around 8:30pm, I am given a set of prescriptions, and directions for my bruises and other conditions by a nurse, and sign a paper. I am told to call a number to get my bloodwork results. My dad explains that Marvin has said I need to go to the arraignment, and ask for charges to be read, ask for a continuance so I can seek legal counsel, and if that does not work, plead Not Guilty. I am not guilty, so this is easy, except my fears of being railroaded. At this point, it is 9:37pm, Sunday, July 12th, and I am writing this down so I can remember exactly what happened.
After the cut is the detailed notes I took the day of the incident, grammatical errors, typos and everything, and it explains what happened. Part 2 of this will be up shortly, and will explain how things have been resolved.
7/12/2009
Prior to 11:50am - I was with my wife in Morristown all weekend, house sitting for my parents, and putting up hay for them on Saturday. Over this weekend, I had taken Zantac, Claritin, Tylenol, and fiber bills.
11:50am - We(Maia and I) get home to our apartment in Greeneville after housesitting in Morristown.
My allergy attack has gotten worse, so I decide to take some Sudafed.
We also decide to go eat lunch at Italian Village(historical note, we had our rehearsal dinner at the former site a little over 2 years ago, so it *was* a special restaurant for us), since we don't feel good, and just want to sit and read.
Noon - We get to Italian Village, and order our food. My allergies or sinus torubles are drying out a little, but still pretty bad. I blow my nose in napkins a lot. We sit at 4 person table in the center, toward the back(probably 3 tables from the back).
Around 1pm - I'm not exactly clear on the time. A man comes over, probably in his 30's, wearing blue jeans, and a dark shirt. He is sitting at a table nearby with a woman. He throws some unidentified medicine down on our table(yellow pills in bubble packs), and says that I am disgusting, and that I'm ruining his dinner. I am not exactly clear on what he said, but he returned to his table. I did not respond immediately because I was not clear what had happened until he sat back down.
I blew my nose again louder. Also, at this point, I speak, mostly to my wife, and say "fuck you asshole" in reference to the man who dropped the medicine on the table. The man is sitting at the last booth on the side the cash register is on, probably 3rd one back(there is a gap with a door before more booths begin).
He looks over, clearly irritated. I close my laptop(which I had been using to read) and pack up. I am irritated, and this shows in how I close the laptop and pack up. I indicate to my wife that I would like to leave, and get up, with my backpack and cell phone to go pay the bill. We had not received a check yet, but I was hoping they would take care of that at the cash register.
The man comes over to our table and blocks my path, and is very, very, close to me, and in my face. He tells me to stop cursing in front of these children(referring to children in the restaurant). I tell him to get out of my face, and that I just want to pay my bill. I am very irritated at this point.
I move my left arm out to brush past him so I can leave. My hand makes light contact with him. At which point he yells out, "That's assault" and immediately grapples me to the ground.
At this point, I am struggling, and I yell some angry things, including a few curse words, trying to get away from this man. I feel more people on me, and at some point, I am informed that this man was an undercover cop. I can tell there are more people, and I guess they were sheriff's officers, since we had seen them eating lunch there earlier. Anyway they are handcuffing me and I scream in pain several times. I demand to be read my rights, and they laugh at me. The man who assaulted me says, "You have the right to be polite", and I think he also says, although this wasn't clear, that "I had the right to be arrested for assault". I yell that this isn't communist Russia at this point.
They repeatedly yell at me to move my arm, but they are on top of it, so I can't, so they force it behind me while they are still on me so they can handcuff me. They tell me to get to up, but I can't, and when I do move, they get violent again, so finally, I somehow make it on my feet and they take me out to patrol car, and search my pockets and remove my wallet, keys, and swiss army knife. One of the officers in uniform makes a comment about my "girlfriend" and I inform him that she is my wife.
I am placed in the car and left for a several minutes. The male uniformed officer comes out(in addition, there was a female uniformed officer too), and begins driving to the police station.
At several points in the drive he repeatedly states, "You've been to jail before. I know who you are." and he threatens that "at the jail, there will be a lot more than 3 people to beat me up". I tell him I haven't been in jail and I would like a lawyer. He says I have been to jail and that I can have one after booking. He again makes several accusations that I've been to jail a lot and mentions that I will potentionally get beat up again.
Once at the jail, they remove me from the car, walk me around it where my pockets are again searched and several receipts are removed from my pockets. The officer in uniform pulls my id out of my wallet, and I am instructed to sit in a chair. I do not speak, or move, unless told to, for fear of further beatings from these people. At some point, when I am in the jail, while another male officer(smaller build) takes down some info, I think, I'm not really sure what's going on.
The officer informs him that it was for assault, but the other officer(presuambly the man in blue jeans who beat me up) would come and take care of that, and if he had his way it would be for assaulting an officer. At this point, the officer who brought me to the jail makes the comment, "Hamblen county, maybe I don't know you" while looking at my driver's license.
At this point, the another person asks if I will give them trouble if the remove the handcuffs. I nod no, I think, and they do, they also remove my engineer's ring and wedding band at this point. My hands are in pain from the cuffs. I don't dare move though. The cop informs me that I "ruined his lunch." The only statement I make is to him, "You ruined my lunch." The officer chats with other people about what he was eating(I think a calzone he said).
At this point, I am escorted to a cell of some sort, and told to remove my shoes. They also ask if I have a belt, I do. They ask me to remove it, so I do. I go sit in the cell.
4:30-4:50pm(approximately)
I am left until about 4:30-4:50. There is a clock, in the room I was brought into first that I can see from a window in the empty cell. The smaller built officer returns(who worked at the jail I guess) and takes me to the room I was initially brought into. I am asked several questions of identifying information(social security number, level of education, medicines, allergies, that sort of thing), and given several print outs to sign. The smaller built officer explains they are just about what I would given in the cell, and that sort of thing. I sign 7 documents total. A female officer comments that she has never been to Baltimore, Maryland, presumably since I am wearing a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from Baltimore.
After signing the documents, the officer(the same one who had asked the questions about social security numbers, etc.) puts on some light blue rubber gloves and takes me over to machine to scan my fingerprints(this is not explained and it only becomes obvious once I see the monitor with my fingerprints: I am still only moving when spoken to at this point).
After this, the smaller built officer tells me to go get my shoes. I do so. I also get my belt, I am afraid though, since he didn't specifically mention it. I show it to him and ask if that was okay, he says it was.
I ask him who I need to talk to about what happened. He said I would be arrainged at 8:30am Monday morning. At this point, I am lead outside of the jail, and told that I am free under bond. My wife, my dad, and a friend of the family, Dick Tuttle, is waiting outside. The officer who lead me out empties the materials they took from my wallet onto a bench, and I look for my wedding band to make sure its there, and then put the rest in my pocket.
At no point was I given a phone call or opportunity to make one, or have any rights explained or read to me. I see my charges on the paper I am given, and this is the first I have known about exactly what I was charged with, I think: Assault, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest.
My dad explains that Marvin Cambpell(another friend of the family, and my parents next door neighbors) said I needed to get pictures, and go to see a doctor to be checked out. We drive to Laughlin Memorial Hospital to be admitted in the Emergency Room. We take pictures in their lobby as best we can with cell phone cameras. Eventually I go back to see the doctor. I have a urine sample taken, blood taken, and x-rays. The nurse determines that I have a fever of 101 degrees. The doctor, immediately after checking my ears determines I have a bad sinus infection.
During this visit, an officer Crum comes by, because I told the nurses why I was there(assaulted by the police), and they had to report it. I explain to officer Crum that I am very nervous about talking to the police at this point. There is another man behind him in a tan uniform. I am afraid this is a Greene County Sheriff and I am very nervous. Officer Crum explains that since an arrest was made, that he wouldn't be there long. If I wanted to file charges, he said I would have to talk to the police chief, and that this would be an Internal Affairs issue. He is polite. After a short conversation he leaves. I later discovered that the man with him was a State Trooper, which makes me feel a little better.
Around 8:30pm, I am given a set of prescriptions, and directions for my bruises and other conditions by a nurse, and sign a paper. I am told to call a number to get my bloodwork results. My dad explains that Marvin has said I need to go to the arraignment, and ask for charges to be read, ask for a continuance so I can seek legal counsel, and if that does not work, plead Not Guilty. I am not guilty, so this is easy, except my fears of being railroaded. At this point, it is 9:37pm, Sunday, July 12th, and I am writing this down so I can remember exactly what happened.