By Associated Press
Republished from Newsday
Police in Pittsburgh attack anti-recruitment protesters with tasers, dogs and pepperspray
PITTSBURGH – Two women protesting the war in Iraq were taken to a hospital Saturday after police broke up an unauthorized march involving about five dozen people on a busy one-way street near an Army recruiting station.
David Meieran, who helped organize the protest, accused police of “inappropriate and excessive force.”
Sgt. Clint Winkler, a supervisor on duty, told The Associated Press that one woman who would not leave was subdued with a Taser. He also confirmed that a police dog bit another woman on the leg when she refused police orders to disperse.
Both women and a man involved in the march were arrested, Winkler said.
“They were told to disperse, peacefully disperse, and failed to do so, so we started down the sidewalk—officers in front, K-9’s behind us, and started pushing the crowd down the sidewalk,” Winkler said. He said the march broke up after the arrests.
The recruiting station was not open at the time.
VIDEO OF TASER ATTACK
EYE WITNESS ACOUNT:
"a women in the crowd was grabbed, hit, pepper sprayed in the face while on the ground, and then tasered, all while three large cops stood around her. She is currently in the hospital and we are unsure of her condition. A male protester was also arrested, pepper-sprayed and tasered. An overwhelming police presence started ordering people to disperse from the sidewalk, and a police dog began pursuing people. Cops hit and shoved people, while the dog lunged forward and bit a 68-year-old grandmother who was walking away with her back to the dog. The police also let the dog bite a videographer, who narrowly avoided injury as the dog only got his pants. Further outrages occurred as the police grabbed a 17 year-old girl off the sidewalk and slammed her to the ground. Her crime? She questioned the legality of their earlier actions. Pepper spray also hit a group of children and the police knocked over a man in a wheelchair. "
IN RELATED NEWS:
Taser-related deaths top 100
"Non-lethal" weaponry in action - the bodies are piling up
There were 103 Taser stun gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report.
In the first three months of this year, there were 13 Taser-related deaths – compared with six in the same period last year, the report said.
The stun guns have been touted as less lethal than other ways of subduing combative people in high-risk situations, but Tasers have come under increasing scrutiny as a number of deaths have been blamed, at least partially, on the devices.
Republished from Newsday
Police in Pittsburgh attack anti-recruitment protesters with tasers, dogs and pepperspray
PITTSBURGH – Two women protesting the war in Iraq were taken to a hospital Saturday after police broke up an unauthorized march involving about five dozen people on a busy one-way street near an Army recruiting station.
David Meieran, who helped organize the protest, accused police of “inappropriate and excessive force.”
Sgt. Clint Winkler, a supervisor on duty, told The Associated Press that one woman who would not leave was subdued with a Taser. He also confirmed that a police dog bit another woman on the leg when she refused police orders to disperse.
Both women and a man involved in the march were arrested, Winkler said.
“They were told to disperse, peacefully disperse, and failed to do so, so we started down the sidewalk—officers in front, K-9’s behind us, and started pushing the crowd down the sidewalk,” Winkler said. He said the march broke up after the arrests.
The recruiting station was not open at the time.
VIDEO OF TASER ATTACK
EYE WITNESS ACOUNT:
"a women in the crowd was grabbed, hit, pepper sprayed in the face while on the ground, and then tasered, all while three large cops stood around her. She is currently in the hospital and we are unsure of her condition. A male protester was also arrested, pepper-sprayed and tasered. An overwhelming police presence started ordering people to disperse from the sidewalk, and a police dog began pursuing people. Cops hit and shoved people, while the dog lunged forward and bit a 68-year-old grandmother who was walking away with her back to the dog. The police also let the dog bite a videographer, who narrowly avoided injury as the dog only got his pants. Further outrages occurred as the police grabbed a 17 year-old girl off the sidewalk and slammed her to the ground. Her crime? She questioned the legality of their earlier actions. Pepper spray also hit a group of children and the police knocked over a man in a wheelchair. "
IN RELATED NEWS:
Taser-related deaths top 100
"Non-lethal" weaponry in action - the bodies are piling up
There were 103 Taser stun gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report.
In the first three months of this year, there were 13 Taser-related deaths – compared with six in the same period last year, the report said.
The stun guns have been touted as less lethal than other ways of subduing combative people in high-risk situations, but Tasers have come under increasing scrutiny as a number of deaths have been blamed, at least partially, on the devices.
