About Veritas. ([Athens, Georgia]) 1970-1970 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1970)
4 Police brutality in Athens Veritas thanks the United Free Press for the permission to reprint some of their material. This permission does not reflect compliance of the UFP with Veritas' policy. This newspaper believes that police brutality has been and continues to be practiced by the Athens and Clarke County Law Enforcement agencies. This article is the first in a series which will present the data supporting our belief. The series on police brutality is an effort to correct what we consider the false conclusion of the April, 1970 term of the Clarke County Grand Jury. The Grand Jury's conclusion is quoted on page 8 in the June 26 edition of The Daily News: "This Grand Jury viewed with great concern, reports of brutality by law enforcement personnel and sought diligently to ascertain the authenticity and extent of these allegations. While there were isolated evidences of poor judgment, some over reaction, in the handling of an unusual, potentially volatile, tense situation, the low incidents of super ficial injuries and the absence of any permanent injuries would seem to indicate that average restraint was exercised by those persons charged with the responsibility of law enforcement." The following items comprise a partial list of complaints alleging police brutality. The reader is asked to decide for himself whether or not "average restraint" was used by law enforcement officers during the recent demonstrations and at the present time. (1) Tear gas or "Mace" was sprayed under the solid door of a stockade cell occupied by approx imately forty men who were arrested on the sidewalk near Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday, May 12, 1970. The first unannounced and unwarranted gas Something rotten in the Athens Sanitation Department Veritas thanks the United Free Press for the permission to reprint some of their material. This permission does not reflect compliance of the UFP with Veritas' policy. Have you ever thought about what happens to your garbage when you dump it in the trash can? Do you think that picking it up would be a miserable job? Well, you're right. But in Athens the job has a lot of man-made misery. The United Free Press found out about this misery by talking with one of the men who collects our trash. He told us about his thoughts and plans, but mostly he spoke about the bad working conditions facing the men at the Athens Sanitation Department. For example: Safety of Vehicles: Many of the vehicles have no horns and have bad brakes. Some of the men fear for the safety of the children on the streets where they work. A University of Georgia graduate student who once worked as a trash collector stated that he had to "stand up on the brakes of his vehicle" in order to make it stop. Also, the individual "cars" on the garbage "train" are not equipped with brakes. We were told that there are brakes available for the cars and that this would make the train safer. Dirty Work: We all know that picking up trash is a dirty job, but the problem is worse in Athens because there are no showers for the men to use after they come in, nor are they supplied with uniforms. (This fact was brought out by one of the candidates for council in the recent election.) Cold Days: The vehicles are unheated and have no windows, and the city does not furnish any cold weather clothing Low Pay: Roughly four fifths of the workers make a gross pay of less than $75 for a 40 hour week After deductions for taxes and Social Security, this places the average garbage man's takehome pay near the Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1970 (Part I of a Series) black comm ^ Fact or fiction? ^ FREEDOM attack occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on May 13. At 1:00 a.m. a second cloud of gas was sprayed into the overcrowded cell. The cell has four small windows approximately eight feet from the cell floor. Forty-two men tried to bury their faces in the concrete floor of the cell in an attempt to escape the irritating effect of the gas. The women who were arrested on the same night reported that they were gassed without warning or reason in their cell on the second floor. (2) Indiscriminate use of Mace was practiced by Sgt. R. L. Lumley at the Clarke County Jail on the evening of May 15, 1970. Between 10:00 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. he was observed squirting 2, then 4, then 2 more sprays of Mace into a cell block built for 32 but at the time occupied by 95 men. Dr. Clark, M.D. was attending the injuries of the demonstrators at the time of the third macing. His eyes grew red and teary. When asked if the gas was causing his eyes to smart, Dr. Clark replied that it was. (3) At 11:55 p.m. on May 15, 1970, Sgt. R. L. Lumley removed the Reverend Frank W. Hutchison from the cell block in the Clarke County Jail and without stating any reason, placed Reverend Hutchi- S3OOO per year poverty level. No Insurance: Because of the low pay, the vast majority of the men cannot afford health insurance or participation in the pension plan. Long Hours: The average sanitation worker puts in about 55 hours a week. This means that he works 15 hours beyond the national average but he is paid at the regular rate; there is no extra rate of pay for overtime Discrimination: The trash collector we interviewed daimed that there is discrimination within the depart ment in the form of easier jobs for whites. He stated that Whites are frequently assigned to the leaf and limb pickup work which demands far less physical exertion than does the regular trash can duty. How can these conditions be improved? The citizens of Athens can help by putting all trash in bags, by securing and covering trash cans, and by keeping dogs on chains. But the city government can do the most. The garbage man should be put on an equal footing with the city's firemen and policemen. They should come under the protection of the Civil Service Commission, They should be paid a living wage. The job is dirty, the hours are long, and the pay is very small. son in a solitary confinement tank. For two hours Reverend Hutchison was denied toilet privileges. Concerning the three items listed above, we simply ask the reader to consider honestly the following two questions: Is the gassing of defenseless, crowded human beings in a jail cell without any warning the use of "average restraint"? Was the Reverend Hutchi son justifiably mistreated? JUST A MIN-KNIT 10^ tytf''' Casual Bbop 301 E CLAYTON ST. ATHENS. GA.
