my personal account of police injustice on j10
first off, i wish i could personally thank each individual who showed up to the jails/gave money at the show/in any way showed support. it was truely unbelievable walking down that hallway and seeing 15 of my closest friends waiting there patiently for our release...
as creations end finished our second to last song, i received word that the police had sown up in attempt to shut us down. as we stopped the song, mid-breakdown, gene bursts into words of anger and disgust with the fact that while these police officers were shutting us down, they could be out stopping a drug deal, or preventing a rape. he was simply explaining that we were karmless kids, finding better things to do with our time. as he fiished up his speech with "fuck capitalism. fuck cops. thank you." 5 or so cops rushed the stage in attempts to silence his words. they grabbed him by his arm and hurried him out the door. as i took note of this, i hurdled my drums in attempt to stop this injustice from occuring. if youve forgotten we live in the united states of america. THE LAND OF THE FREE. it is our constitutional right to be able to say whatever we want where ever we want. as i shout at the cops that this is unjust, and simply rediculous, one of them forcely shoves me back instructing me to "get the fuck back". i then alerted him that unless i was being detained they could not legally control my movement. as i was saying this i received a blow to my neck by one of the superior looking cops. showing off how they had control of the situation. as i recovered, i was shoved out the door onto the ground, and handcuffed. without even knowing my offense, i was dragged into the back of the squad car. but before i sat down the officer had the kindness to tighten my cuffs, as though i could have possibly escaped. as i was alone in the back of the car, i had an incredibly postive attitude, remembering who my friends were. as i saw gene being cuffed and brought to my car, i only got more excited. i was glad to have a companion to atleast be able to ride with. while inside the car the cops surrounded us, shinning their flashlights in our eyes calling us idiots, and other such verbal abuse. right before we departed to the station, the mob began to disperse, and my hopes dropped, thinking everyone was merely going home. little did i know they were heading straight to the jail.we got to the jail, and withstood a detailed search. i was then hurdled into a holding cell. everyone i spoke with was in on some bullshit charge. lawrenceville must have been low on their quota. soon enough gene joined me and the festivities began (for the time being). an elder hispanic man entered our cell referring to it as his "hotel room", and immeditly started engraving his name into the 1 walled toilet. as i was peeing this same man peered over my shoulder commenting on the size of my penis. we were refered to as the "rock and roll boys". me and gene were soon after separated. the cell i landed in had about 40 inmates in it. there were 6 benches. all taken. there was not even enough room to stand without hovering over someone elses space. if needed to take a shit, all of the toilet paper was being used as pillows. at one point me and gene were able to communicate through the windows of our cells. just when my morale was dropping, we somehow received word that all of our friends were outside having a party, and pizza was on the way. at that point i felt untouchable. and untouchable was something to be. this was of course until we heard word that our bond was $400 each. as much faith as i had in my friends, i just couldnt imagine them pulling that off in a single night. as the clock hit 2am, i looked at that cell as my home for the night. some point througout the night a 63 yr old homeless man attempted to use the "wrong bathroom". without any warning he was tackled, and a foot pressing his face to the ground. because he needed to use the fucking bathroom?! with a bone noticeably out of place, he was refused medical attention. me being infuriated, with nothing i could do decided i would be here for a while, so i might as well pass the time with a little shut eye. with my shoes as pillows, my head in the "bathroom", i took comfort between two homeless inmates. the floor was disgustingly cold. with both the smell of the toilet and the homeless man snoring on my face, it was hard to even think about sleep. but at some point, i eventually stared snoring myself. i awoke to someone very excitedly asking me if i was the one being called by the security gaurds. in a daze, i gathered my laceless shoes and my pants hanging off, due to losing my belt during the search. within 30 minutes, i had my stuff back and walked through sliding doors...awating was joe stein. i dont think i coud have ever been so happy to see a familiar face. as we shared stories and explanations, i entered a hallway, knewing what awaitied. i bursted into emotion, as i relized what all they had been through. i could not believe that people were still waiting for us. some of which i had met that same night. to think that kids i barely knew dropped $50 like it was nothing, then refused to leave the jail unil we were let out is absolutly baffling. i have never had such an appreciation for hardcore and everything which it entitles. throughout the rest of that night, a smile did not leave my face. a bunch of kids managed to raise $800 in a matter of a few hours is absolutly amazing. that they had the heart and motivation to be there with us as long as it took. as i think about what they went through to get us out, i almost shead tears. you have no idea how much it means. i cannot begin to express my appreciation.
to eveyone who was harrased, or is just fed up with police oppression please do not let this stop here. do not think you posted about it in your livejournal and think youve done enough. call the station and file a complaint. we are going ourselves to the jail on tuesday, we would like to have as many kids as possible, so if you would like to come, please let someone know. mine and genes court dates is sepetmber 16th. our plan is to flood the court and demand these bullshit charges be dropped. please join us in defending what we know is true.
to read another, more detailed, account of the story go to: www.livejournal.com/users/wearethekids
i did not assault an officer. gene did not incite a riot.
as creations end finished our second to last song, i received word that the police had sown up in attempt to shut us down. as we stopped the song, mid-breakdown, gene bursts into words of anger and disgust with the fact that while these police officers were shutting us down, they could be out stopping a drug deal, or preventing a rape. he was simply explaining that we were karmless kids, finding better things to do with our time. as he fiished up his speech with "fuck capitalism. fuck cops. thank you." 5 or so cops rushed the stage in attempts to silence his words. they grabbed him by his arm and hurried him out the door. as i took note of this, i hurdled my drums in attempt to stop this injustice from occuring. if youve forgotten we live in the united states of america. THE LAND OF THE FREE. it is our constitutional right to be able to say whatever we want where ever we want. as i shout at the cops that this is unjust, and simply rediculous, one of them forcely shoves me back instructing me to "get the fuck back". i then alerted him that unless i was being detained they could not legally control my movement. as i was saying this i received a blow to my neck by one of the superior looking cops. showing off how they had control of the situation. as i recovered, i was shoved out the door onto the ground, and handcuffed. without even knowing my offense, i was dragged into the back of the squad car. but before i sat down the officer had the kindness to tighten my cuffs, as though i could have possibly escaped. as i was alone in the back of the car, i had an incredibly postive attitude, remembering who my friends were. as i saw gene being cuffed and brought to my car, i only got more excited. i was glad to have a companion to atleast be able to ride with. while inside the car the cops surrounded us, shinning their flashlights in our eyes calling us idiots, and other such verbal abuse. right before we departed to the station, the mob began to disperse, and my hopes dropped, thinking everyone was merely going home. little did i know they were heading straight to the jail.we got to the jail, and withstood a detailed search. i was then hurdled into a holding cell. everyone i spoke with was in on some bullshit charge. lawrenceville must have been low on their quota. soon enough gene joined me and the festivities began (for the time being). an elder hispanic man entered our cell referring to it as his "hotel room", and immeditly started engraving his name into the 1 walled toilet. as i was peeing this same man peered over my shoulder commenting on the size of my penis. we were refered to as the "rock and roll boys". me and gene were soon after separated. the cell i landed in had about 40 inmates in it. there were 6 benches. all taken. there was not even enough room to stand without hovering over someone elses space. if needed to take a shit, all of the toilet paper was being used as pillows. at one point me and gene were able to communicate through the windows of our cells. just when my morale was dropping, we somehow received word that all of our friends were outside having a party, and pizza was on the way. at that point i felt untouchable. and untouchable was something to be. this was of course until we heard word that our bond was $400 each. as much faith as i had in my friends, i just couldnt imagine them pulling that off in a single night. as the clock hit 2am, i looked at that cell as my home for the night. some point througout the night a 63 yr old homeless man attempted to use the "wrong bathroom". without any warning he was tackled, and a foot pressing his face to the ground. because he needed to use the fucking bathroom?! with a bone noticeably out of place, he was refused medical attention. me being infuriated, with nothing i could do decided i would be here for a while, so i might as well pass the time with a little shut eye. with my shoes as pillows, my head in the "bathroom", i took comfort between two homeless inmates. the floor was disgustingly cold. with both the smell of the toilet and the homeless man snoring on my face, it was hard to even think about sleep. but at some point, i eventually stared snoring myself. i awoke to someone very excitedly asking me if i was the one being called by the security gaurds. in a daze, i gathered my laceless shoes and my pants hanging off, due to losing my belt during the search. within 30 minutes, i had my stuff back and walked through sliding doors...awating was joe stein. i dont think i coud have ever been so happy to see a familiar face. as we shared stories and explanations, i entered a hallway, knewing what awaitied. i bursted into emotion, as i relized what all they had been through. i could not believe that people were still waiting for us. some of which i had met that same night. to think that kids i barely knew dropped $50 like it was nothing, then refused to leave the jail unil we were let out is absolutly baffling. i have never had such an appreciation for hardcore and everything which it entitles. throughout the rest of that night, a smile did not leave my face. a bunch of kids managed to raise $800 in a matter of a few hours is absolutly amazing. that they had the heart and motivation to be there with us as long as it took. as i think about what they went through to get us out, i almost shead tears. you have no idea how much it means. i cannot begin to express my appreciation.
to eveyone who was harrased, or is just fed up with police oppression please do not let this stop here. do not think you posted about it in your livejournal and think youve done enough. call the station and file a complaint. we are going ourselves to the jail on tuesday, we would like to have as many kids as possible, so if you would like to come, please let someone know. mine and genes court dates is sepetmber 16th. our plan is to flood the court and demand these bullshit charges be dropped. please join us in defending what we know is true.
to read another, more detailed, account of the story go to: www.livejournal.com/users/wearethekids
i did not assault an officer. gene did not incite a riot.