Last March, I wrote about Wes Brain's situation where he was arrested two days after the March 5, 2003 student protests for disorderly conduct that allegedly took place during the event.
Just heard that the charges were dropped!
The City of Ashland has dismissed all charges against union activist Wes Brain who had been arrested on March 7 for his participation in the Books Not Bombs rally of March 5, 2003 in Ashland, Oregon. Brain had been a videographer documenting the event and his video tape shows some very questionable tactics employed by the Ashland Police. The story was first reported by the Rogue Independent Media Center A public broadcast on cable television will be premiered in July. This is a must see video which clearly shows an out of control police department that just plain didn't know what the hell they were doing back on that fifth day of March of 2003.After waiting over 3 months, this announcement to dismiss seems way, way overdue. Although the arraignment took place in less than two working days, the time frame after that was slower than a siesta and the whole slowdown questions the speedy trial process as guaranteed in our 4th amendment. Also questioned is the guarantee against an undue arrest. There are many questions left lingering in this dismissed trial, so many that the City of Ashland now needs to step forward with some answers.
Who is the anonymous pregnant woman who went to the police with a complaint? Her action and the (unreported) complaint by her husband made to Mayor Alan DeBoar were key to an arrest in the first place. How can this be? How can hearsay lead to an arrest? Who is this woman and her complaining husband? They need to step forward. Brain has some video footage they need to see!
Why did the City of Ashland make an arrest on a Friday afternoon two days after the event? Mr. Brain was embarrassingly handcuffed at work at Southern Oregon University, placed in an Ashland police car and then taken and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Medford. Some say a Friday afternoon arrest is designed to keep one in the slammer over the weekend. Why was bail set at $10,000? Brain is a long time resident, employed at Southern Oregon University for over 11 years, and is buying his Ashland home. The arrest at work and the extraordinary bail are absurd and require an explanation.
Here is the full text of the article
http://rogueimc.org/2003/06/865.shtml
City of Ashland v. Brain -- Charges Dropped!
court reporter, 17.06.2003 14:50
The City moves to dismiss the two charges of Disorderly Conduct, and the single charge of Interfering with a Police Officer pending in this matter as Plaintiff has insufficient evidence to obtain a conviction on this charge. -Eric A. Kaufman, OSB#01065, Attorney for Plaintiff
The foregoing Motion to Dismiss is hereby: ALLOWED
Dated this 17 day of June, 2003 -Allen Drescher, Municipal Judge
Charges Dropped Against Ashland Videographer!
The City of Ashland has dismissed all charges against union activist Wes Brain who had been arrested on March 7 for his participation in the Books Not Bombs rally of March 5, 2003 in Ashland, Oregon. Brain had been a videographer documenting the event and his video tape shows some very questionable tactics employed by the Ashland Police. The story was first reported by the Rogue Independent Media Center A public broadcast on cable television will be premiered in July. This is a must see video which clearly shows an out of control police department that just plain didn't know what the hell they were doing back on that fifth day of March of 2003.
After waiting over 3 months, this announcement to dismiss seems way, way overdue. Although the arraignment took place in less than two working days, the time frame after that was slower than a siesta and the whole slowdown questions the speedy trial process as guaranteed in our 4th amendment. Also questioned is the guarantee against an undue arrest. There are many questions left lingering in this dismissed trial, so many that the City of Ashland now needs to step forward with some answers.
Who is the anonymous pregnant woman who went to the police with a complaint? Her action and the (unreported) complaint by her husband made to Mayor Alan DeBoar were key to an arrest in the first place. How can this be? How can hearsay lead to an arrest? Who is this woman and her complaining husband? They need to step forward. Brain has some video footage they need to see!
Why did the City of Ashland make an arrest on a Friday afternoon two days after the event? Mr. Brain was embarrassingly handcuffed at work at Southern Oregon University, placed in an Ashland police car and then taken and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Medford. Some say a Friday afternoon arrest is designed to keep one in the slammer over the weekend. Why was bail set at $10,000? Brain is a long time resident, employed at Southern Oregon University for over 11 years, and is buying his Ashland home. The arrest at work and the extraordinary bail are absurd and require an explanation.
When arrested at work an employee is forced to use vacation time. That was also required for arraignment and a pre-trial hearing. That vacation time is gone forever and the City of Ashland needs held accountable. And what about damage to Mr. Brain's reputation? The front page headline story in the Ashland Daily Tidings on March 11. 2003
has Ashland Police Lt. Rich Walsh describing Brain as having "terrorized" the anonymous pregnant woman. That word terrorize has a much different meaning than it did two years ago and its use by the Ashland Police is irresponsible. In the same newspaper story Walsh is further quoted as saying, "She was really upset. Wes Brain was yelling at her and she appeared scared to death." This statement is a lie as Brain's video clearly shows. Again, the Ashland Police Department needs held accountable for this untrue statement about one of its citizens.
So in closing and to say it again, this is now all a question of accountability. Even though this trial will not take place in a courtroom this does not relieve the city from disclosing to its citizens. You see, Ashland v. Brain is about all of us in many, many ways. Civil Rights violations by local police are never acceptable.
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Earlier IMC story & newspaper story
17.06.2003 15:39
Here is the original story as posted on the Rogue Independent Media Center:
http://rogueimc.org/2003/03/179.shtml
Here is the front page headline story in the Ashland Daily Tidings on March 11, 2003:
http://www.dailytidings.com/2003/news0311/031103n1.shtml
reporter>
Great news!
17.06.2003 16:37
Way to go Wes....
We were all rooting for you. Hope to see you all in Sacramento! Everytime we stand up to the current facist regime we get closer to getting rid of them. It's good to know that there are some courts that still abide by the constitution.
Your friends from Portland Indymedia.
Z>
Go get 'em Wes.
18.06.2003 09:19
When do we get to see the video here in Grass Valley California on Foothills Community Access Television, Channel 11?
I'll pick a copy up at the CAT awards Friday? or is it done yet?
Miles Everett>
e-mail:: everett@fcat.tv
Homepage:: everett@fcat.tv
Repression in Ashland
18.06.2003 12:18
The arrest of Wes brain on obviously flimsy charges was designed to stifle dissent and honest reporting of the events which Wes was videotaping. That the Ashland police arrested Wes at work two days later on a Friday is inexcusable, and I hope Wes sues the city for lost time, defamation of character, and anthing else a good legal team can document. Some officers of the police department and Mayor DeBoer are both reactionary and out-of-step with a majority of Ashland residents. Serious changes need to be made in the city government and in the police department.
Citizens-activists like Wes Brain are the backbone of our American democracy. Ashland is lucky to have him and the many citizens who are community activists.
George Hutchinson>
e-mail:: gbhutch@peoplepc.com
Mainstream Coverage
18.06.2003 15:15
Here is the story as reported in the Ashland Daily Tidings newspaper (note: the typo "Brian instead of "Brain" was not made in the print edition). http://www.dailytidings.com/2003/news0618/061803n3.shtml
Media Watchdog>
ABO TiME!
20.06.2003 14:54
ABOUT TIME!
20.06.2003 14:58
Damn Straight! As one who did see "the video", I was convinced that there would be no case once the DA saw it.
It shows Wes doing his job and conducting himself in a professional manner-- concerned about the young people being harassed by the cops, yes, but professional nonetheless.
This story should not end here, however. Wes was subjected to embarassment and tension, and thrust into the public limelight in a way he probably did not want to be thrust... I hope he sues the hell out of the City of Ashland, its police Department and that lying woman who claimed he "terrorized" her.
The charges were bullshit.
George Mann>
e-mail:: georgeandjulius@att.net
Homepage:: georgeandjulius@att.net
Corrupt Cops Cuff Anti-War Kids
Today, the police force of San Francisco spent their day throwing kids in jail. The citizens of this fair city feel safer already, I'm sure.I took these pics while the kids were chanting
"Can't take the power from the power of the youth 'cause the power of the youth don't stop!"
Are all San Francisco cops corrupt? Oh no! It's only Chief Sanders and Alex Fagan Sr., and Fagan Jr., and...!
The kids were waving flags and protesting in Market St. which is something that cannot be done unless you have a permit, especially during rush hour. So they got thrown in the paddy wagon.
I finally heard back from Wes Brain about his arrest last week. Turns out, there was a scuffle of sorts during the protest that was the basis for his arrest.
Again, officially, he was not arrested for videoing the conference per se. (Whew!)
That said, it would still appear that he was arrested for approaching a woman in her car and asking her to be more careful after she almost hit several student protesters. If speaking to people who almost hit you with their cars is now a crime, I suppose we'll all be brought in sooner or later.
The Lt. Police Chief quoted in the article stated that he feels that the rights of people in cars driving by protesters are more important than the rights of the protesters to not be hit by them. This better not be upheld in the courts or it will be open season on protesters.
The cop also admits that Brain was singled out because the cops were familiar with him and recognized who he was -- while they had no way of going after the rest of the crowd because they didn't know their identities. Freaky.
According to witnesses (see clip below), Brain also took the liberty of chastising police officers about traumatizing children. (Perhaps not the best idea -- yet, arguably not illegal activity.)
Here's what Wes wrote back to me:
Below is a quick update, mainly in the form of the story reported in the Ashland Daily Tidings, our local newspaper. I have received much support and the room packed full of community supporters at Monday morning's arrainment was absolutely fantastic! Words could never explain how that felt. Here is the story. If you click on the link you'll see a photo.Most Grateful for the solidarity,
Wes-
Here's an article with all of the details from the
Videographer pleads 'not guilty'
By Sean Wolfe and Myles Murphy for the Ashland Daily Tidings.
Brain, who works for Southern Oregon University as an environmental health and safety technologist, was arrested by Ashland Police at his workplace, two days after the protest...He was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, and one count of impeding police. He was then jailed and released on $10,000 bail.
At his arraignment today in Ashland, Brain was backed by a packed house of
supporters and fellow demonstrators. Brain pleaded not guilty to the charges, and asked for copies of the police reports.A trial date is expected to be set after April 1...
Even though at least 6OO people were breaking laws in the un-permitted march
- mainly obstructing traffic - only one man was arrested at the time. That arrest was an act of conscious civil disobedience on the part of Southern Oregon University freshman Cameron Brooks. Brooks, a criminology major, was
arrested after ignoring Ashland Police Department demands to remove himself
from the street.Since then, two others have been charged for alleged criminal action during
the march.A 20-year-old transient Jeremy Dahl was cited for obstructing traffic and
causing a public alarm, and Brain's arrest.According to Ashland Police Lt. Rich Walsh - who was the incident commander
during the march - police were more than justified to single out Brain and Dahl because they "terrorized" a woman attempting to drive through the Plaza area between Oak and Pioneer at the time of the march. The woman - who police declined to identify - was frightened when Brain and Dahl repeatedly jumped in front of her car, and Brain allegedly yelled at her. With a child in the car, and herself pregnant, the woman was very alarmed, Walsh said."She was really upset," Walsh said. "Wes Brain was yelling at her and she
appeared scared to death."We have someone terrified in a car because of these two individuals," Walsh
added. "That incensed me. That woman had more rights at that point in time
than they did."Brain said he had approached a vehicle after it had nearly run down two
protesters."I said to her, lady, slow down, these are our kids. But I didn't yell at her," Brain said.
The police report confirms Dahl's arrest as stemming from actions at that time and place, about 1:30 p.m. at East Main and Pioneer streets. However, the police report on Brain's arrest places his alleged criminal activity at 2:24 p.m. between Mountain Avenue and Southern Oregon University, not at Oak and Main, where he allegedly frightened the unidentified pregnant woman with a child in her car.
"People need to understand what civil disobedience is." Walsh said. "When you get out in the road and block traffic, you're committing a crime."
According to Walsh, another point which led to Brain's late arrest was the fact that police officers knew him and could identify him later, while the majority of the crowd was relatively anonymous...
According to Walsh, police attempted to clear a lane for vehicle traffic. One man refused to get out of the lane. This led to police placing a woman under arrest. When another man attempted to intervene, he was also arrested. Then police lost control of the crowd.
"About 20 protesters jumped in and pulled the officers off the second person and helped him escape," Walsh said. "It happened pretty quickly. Those officers showed incredible restraint at that point - they backed off."
John Fricker, a sound engineer living in Ashland, said the scuffle began as the result of three officers attempting to clear a lane after protesters had passed through the Pioneer Street intersection.
Fricker, who said he attended the demonstration as "a peacekeeper," said he
saw officers Teresa Selby, Phil Gray, and School Resource Officer Mike Vanderlip approach the demonstrators from behind, asking them to move out of the left lane."My immediate response was to follow them as the mass of people was very
large and my initial thought was that their task was impossible," Fricker said.The scuffle began, according to Fricker, when officers approached a couple and spoke to them.
"At first the couple did not respond and then it appeared one officer placed their hand on the shoulder of one of the pair. One protester turned, and the other appeared to trip and fall. It appeared that the couple and one officer then fell to the ground," Fricker said.
At that point according to multiple eyewitnesses, a female demonstrator was
thrown to the ground. Another protester was then thrown against a parked car
by Gray.At that point a group of protesters - roughly 20 - surrounded the officers and called for calm.
"The officers were together at all times, and I did not see any protester grab, block, or attack an officer," Fricker said.
Brain said he was about 80 feet away from the incident, and filmed the latter part of the events. He has not yet released a copy of his video to The Tidings, pending advice from his attorney.
A family of demonstrators who arrived at the courthouse today to support
Brain said they also witnessed the fracas.Edgar Morton, 33, said he saw two officers wrestling two individuals to the ground, and that they were approached by a third person, who was "sent
headfirst into a parked car by Officer Vanderlip."At that point Morton, his wife and roughly 18 other demonstrators surrounded
the three officers. Morton's two children, aged 4 and 10, also witnessed the
scene."At this point the officers were no longer physically dominating the kids because they were aware of their surroundings," Morton said.
Morton said he saw Brain approach the officers with his video camera.
"He told the policemen they should be ashamed of themselves for traumatizing
little children," Morton said.Margaret Morton, Edgar's wife, said she found the whole scene intimidating.
"All the kids were screaming and crying," she said.
Paul Morton,10, concurred with his mother's view.
"When I saw the cops start throwing people down, it made me angry, and then
I got scared," he said.
Here is the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.dailytidings.com/2003/news0311/031103n1.shtml
Videographer pleads 'not guilty'
By Sean Wolfe and Myles Murphy
Ashland Daily Tidings
The recent arrest of videographer Wes Brain is just one of the many
controversies now bubbling up from the March 5 protest event in Ashland.
Brain, who works for Southern Oregon University as an environmental health
and safety technologist, was arrested by Ashland Police at his workplace,
two days after the protest.
"My presence with the video camera was very much there, and my gut reaction
is that the police didn't like that," Brain said.
Wes Brain (with cap) awaits the start of his arraignment proceedings with a
full crowd of supporters this morning in Ashland's Municipal Court. Photo by
Denise Baratta
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brain, who is also a union shop steward, said he attended the rally to shoot
footage for Rogue Valley Community Television. He was charged with two
counts of disorderly conduct, and one count of impeding police. He was then
jailed and released on $10,000 bail.
At his arraignment today in Ashland, Brain was backed by a packed house of
supporters and fellow demonstrators. Brain pleaded not guilty to the
charges, and asked for copies of the police reports.
A trial date is expected to be set after April 1.
Following his arraignment, Brain said he looked forward to "justice being
done."
"This will be a big trial. It's not just about me, or about Cameron
(Brooks), but a lot of people being booked up across the U.S. right now,"
Brain said.
Even though at least 6OO people were breaking laws in the un-permitted march
- mainly obstructing traffic - only one man was arrested at the time. That
arrest was an act of conscious civil disobedience on the part of Southern
Oregon University freshman Cameron Brooks. Brooks, a criminology major, was
arrested after ignoring Ashland Police Department demands to remove himself
from the street.
Since then, two others have been charged for alleged criminal action during
the march.
A 20-year-old transient Jeremy Dahl was cited for obstructing traffic and
causing a public alarm, and Brain's arrest.
According to Ashland Police Lt. Rich Walsh - who was the incident commander
during the march - police were more than justified to single out Brain and
Dahl because they "terrorized" a woman attempting to drive through the Plaza
area between Oak and Pioneer at the time of the march. The woman - who
police declined to identify - was frightened when Brain and Dahl repeatedly
jumped in front of her car, and Brain allegedly yelled at her. With a child
in the car, and herself pregnant, the woman was very alarmed, Walsh said.
"She was really upset," Walsh said. "Wes Brain was yelling at her and she
appeared scared to death.
"We have someone terrified in a car because of these two individuals," Walsh
added. "That incensed me. That woman had more rights at that point in time
than they did."
Brain said he had approached a vehicle after it had nearly run down two
protesters.
"I said to her, lady, slow down, these are our kids. But I didn't yell at
her," Brain said.
The police report confirms Dahl's arrest as stemming from actions at that
time and place, about 1:30 p.m. at East Main and Pioneer streets. However,
the police report on Brain's arrest places his alleged criminal activity at
2:24 p.m. between Mountain Avenue and Southern Oregon University, not at Oak
and Main, where he allegedly frightened the unidentified pregnant woman with
a child in her car.
"People need to understand what civil disobedience is." Walsh said. "When
you get out in the road and block traffic, you're committing a crime."
According to Walsh, another point which led to Brain's late arrest was the
fact that police officers knew him and could identify him later, while the
majority of the crowd was relatively anonymous.
Even before the march, APD officials were concerned about what might happen
when children and young adults from Ashland Middle School, Ashland High
School, and Southern Oregon University gathered for the march.
"Based on the information I had, i didn't know what to expect," Walsh said.
"I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst."
In a written statement, Brain detailed what he did the day of the protest.
"That day I shot one hour and 41 minutes of raw footage which shows the
colorful march and rally with 500 or 600 (some say more) students
demonstrating that money for war should instead be spent on education (books
not bombs)," Brain wrote.
"This footage shows some of the things not reported by the local mainstream
media like the SWAT team that was called in from a neighboring county to
square off against our peacefully protesting students. This footage looks
like it is taken from another planet, I mean can you imagine riot cops
squaring off against young kids?… My footage also shows the tail-end of a
scuffle in the street which shows the Ashland police throwing people to the
ground. I did not capture the beginning of this incident but do have an
interview of someone who says she saw it from the start and that the police
instigated the scuffle."
The SWAT team in question was actually a mobile response team and an arrest
team - 26 in all - contributed by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department,
according to county sheriff Mike Winters.
With respect to the scuffle, police and demonstrators have come forward with
different accounts.
According to Walsh, police attempted to clear a lane for vehicle traffic.
One man refused to get out of the lane. This led to police placing a woman
under arrest. When another man attempted to intervene, he was also arrested.
Then police lost control of the crowd.
"About 20 protesters jumped in and pulled the officers off the second person
and helped him escape," Walsh said. "It happened pretty quickly. Those
officers showed incredible restraint at that point - they backed off."
John Fricker, a sound engineer living in Ashland, said the scuffle began as
the result of three officers attempting to clear a lane after protesters had
passed through the Pioneer Street intersection.
Fricker, who said he attended the demonstration as "a peacekeeper," said he
saw officers Teresa Selby, Phil Gray, and School Resource Officer Mike
Vanderlip approach the demonstrators from behind, asking them to move out of
the left lane.
"My immediate response was to follow them as the mass of people was very
large and my initial thought was that their task was impossible," Fricker
said.
The scuffle began, according to Fricker, when officers approached a couple
and spoke to them.
"At first the couple did not respond and then it appeared one officer placed
their hand on the shoulder of one of the pair. One protester turned, and the
other appeared to trip and fall. It appeared that the couple and one officer
then fell to the ground," Fricker said.
At that point according to multiple eyewitnesses, a female demonstrator was
thrown to the ground. Another protester was then thrown against a parked car
by Gray.
At that point a group of protesters - roughly 20 - surrounded the officers
and called for calm.
"The officers were together at all times, and I did not see any protester
grab, block, or attack an officer," Fricker said.
Brain said he was about 80 feet away from the incident, and filmed the
latter part of the events. He has not yet released a copy of his video to
The Tidings, pending advice from his attorney.
A family of demonstrators who arrived at the courthouse today to support
Brain said they also witnessed the fracas.
Edgar Morton, 33, said he saw two officers wrestling two individuals to the
ground, and that they were approached by a third person, who was "sent
headfirst into a parked car by Officer Vanderlip."
At that point Morton, his wife and roughly 18 other demonstrators surrounded
the three officers. Morton's two children, aged 4 and 10, also witnessed the
scene.
"At this point the officers were no longer physically dominating the kids
because they were aware of their surroundings," Morton said.
Morton said he saw Brain approach the officers with his video camera.
"He told the policemen they should be ashamed of themselves for traumatizing
little children," Morton said.
Margaret Morton, Edgar's wife, said she found the whole scene intimidating.
"All the kids were screaming and crying," she said.
Paul Morton,10, concurred with his mother's view.
"When I saw the cops start throwing people down, it made me angry, and then
I got scared," he said.
Sadly, I had to create a "March 5, 2003 Student Protest Aftermath" category today. The article below, combined with other accounts I heard reported last week, have led me to believe it to be necessary, unfortunately.
Wes Brain is the producer of the Labor TV show OPEU D4 Productions and is on the Executive Board of SEIU503...At approximately 2:45 p.m. on 3/7/03 while at work for the Safety Department at Southern Oregon University I was sitting at my desk when an Ashland Police Department Officer stuck her head around the doorway and asked if I could talk to her for a few minutes. Since the Safety Dept. (occupational health and safety services for university employees) shares the same building with the SOU Security Dept. it was not strange at all seeing Ashland Police in our building. In fact I know many of the officers and although there are a few bad cops on the local force most of them do a good job, I have always thought.
I walked out back to the small porch attached to our building and noticed there were three officers in attendance. Since no one said anything I started the conversation, "What's Up?" The reply was most surprising: "Mr. Brain, put your hands behind your back. You are under arrest for disorderly conduct." They failed to reveal it, but later I found out that the charges for diorderly conduct are twofold with an additional impeding a police officer charge. Two days later as I write this I am still in utter shock and disbelief...
Since anything I say can be used against me, and since I have not talked to my lawyer yet, and since I am paranoid that the FBI monitors my electronic messages, and since I believe our system of justice is fundamentaly corrupt... I will only give you the short and sweet version right now...
On 3/5/03 in Ashland Oregon there was a very successful and well attended peace march and rally called "Books Not Bombs", and ours was part of a national day of action against the impending Iraq war by students all across the U.S.. Our new Rogue Valley Independent Media Center had the best local media coverage of this event:
http://www.rogueimc.org/2003/03/143.shtml
So on the day in question I took 4.5 hours of vacation time to be a journalist and video tape this event (activists never take real vacations, they use such time for peace and justice). Here in Southern Oregon we broadcast regular programming on Rogue Valley Community Television (RVTV), that's our access televison station and the show highlights progressive issues about Labor, Human Rights, and the Environment (M & W, 6PM, Ch.#31)...
That day I shot one hour and 41 minutes of raw footage which shows the colorful march and rally with 500 or 600 (some say more) students demonstrating that money for war should instead be spent on education (books not bombs). This footage shows some of the things not reported by the local mainstream media like the SWAT team that was called in from a neighboring county to square off against our peacefully protesting students. This footage looks like it is taken from another planet, I mean can you imagine riot cops squaring off against young kids? Blanked from coverage in the local press, it happened. My footage also shows the tail-end of a scuffle in the street which shows the Ashland Police throwing people to the ground. I did not capture the beginning of this incident but do have an interview of someone who says she saw it from the start and that the police instigated the scuffle.
Well, two days later on March 7th they came and arrested me, I told you that part... I have no idea why. But am fearful that the war on terrorism is more a war against anybody who speaks out against the war mongering and foolish, corporate bought & paid for leadership of this country. Period.
Stay tuned. Arrainment is 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 11 in Municipal Court here in Ashland. More vacation time required, damn it, so that I can prove myself innocent and stand proud for protecting our First Ammendment Rights here in little ol' Ashland, Oregon. It is an important fight and I am ready for the cause. Please come to the court arrainment. Attendance of supporters is encouraged and appreciated.
Wes Brain
Brain@mind.net
