Page 5
^ Veritas
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 article is the second in a series
which will present the data demonstrating
police brutality toward the Black community
on a day-to-day basis.
The series 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
Athens Daily News:
"This Grand Jury viewed with great
concern, reports of brutality by law enforce
ment personnel and sought diligently to
ascertain the authenticity and extent of these
allegations. While there were isolated eviden
ces of poor judgment, some over-reaction, in
the handling of an unusual, potentially
volatile, tense situation, the low incidents of
superficial 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 first case of police brutality
cited below is the kind that wounds the body
as well as the human spirit. This brutal story
of what happened to a Black lady, a
grandmother, is reported exactly as stated in
her affidavit which was attested by the
Reverend Clayton D. Wilkerson, The Rever
end Wesley G. Griffin and notorized by The
Reverend Amos J. Jackson. The grandmoth
ers's name is withheld for her own security.
The second case of police brutality that
follows is the kind that also kills the human
spirit. This spirit killing brutality happened to
a highly respected Black man, his alert ten
year old grandson, and the other members of
the family. In both cases 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.
(I)The Case of the Black Lady, a Grandmoth
er...
"Yesterday, April 30, which was
Thursday, I came from work and stopped at
my aunt's home on Glenn Avenue. I sat there
a while and heard the police had arrested
some boys on Broad Street. I told my
husband that I was going home to see if my
son was there.
"When I got to Susie Fuller's store
on Broad Street the police had about seven or
eight boys against the store. I looked to see if
any of them was my son.
"I did not see him and walked
down to Broad Acres apartments to my
daughter's home, and two of my grandchild
ren were out in the crowd. My daughter was
looking for them. I got one of them and my
daughter had the baby in her arms. By this
time the police had started spraying tear gas,
so my daughter and I went around the
building to my other duaghter's home. We
turned the fan on and put the babies before
the fan to try and get the gas out of their
eyes.
"We went back on the porch to sit.
My son was inside on the sofa watching
television.
"There were policemen in the
parking lot. We were just sitting and watching.
After a while the policemen disappeared from
the parking lot and came around the building
PEACE Fact or fiction?l'
—nr I
and up to the porch where we were sitting
and standing.
"One or two of the officers asked
us to come on. I asked, 'come on for what?',
and he said, 'so we can identify you.' We
walked off the porch and started to the
parking lot. I asked 'what is this all about, I
just got off work.' The office said, 'no you
have been running and hiding all day.' I said,
'I have been at work all day and I have not
been runningand hiding, my daughters have
been at work all day too.'
"When we got to the parking lot,
one of the officers asked another if he could
identify all of us. He said, 'yea' and called off
the names of two or three persons. Then the
officer asked if he was sure he could identify
all of us and again the officer said, 'yes' and
told him to look them all up. Then I spoke
again and said, 'you have no right to lock up
me and my daughters for we have not done
anything, and my daughters have children
here.' One of the officers said, 'you should
have thought about that when you were
raising hell.'
'The officer grabbed me, there was
a ditch near where I was standing and the
officer jerked me across the ditch. My
daughters were standing there and they
screamed, 'don't arrest my mother.' don't
take my mother, she has not done anything,'
my other daughter said, 'she just came to my
house, you mean she cannot come to see me.'
"By this time my daughters grab
bed me, all the while saying, 'don't arrest my
mother.'
"Two officers grabbed my daugh
ters and another grabbed my other arm. I
looked back and they were beating my
daughters. The oldest daughter was knocked
down and the officer continued to beat her. I
screamed, 'don't hit my daughter any more,
and turn me a loose.' I started struggling
trying to get free, like any other mother
would have had she seen the police beating
her children.
"The officers started beating me.
My husband came up and askea 'what is
wrong officer?', that's my wife you are
beating and my daughters. You already have
my son inside on the sofa. One looked at my
husband and said, 'yes, you are in it too and
started beating on him.'
"They knocked my youngest
daughter down on the ground, sprayed tear
gas in her face and said, 'get up BITCH.'
"Two officers had my daughters
and pushed all of us in the car and said they
were arresting us and charging us with
Resisting Arrest. I asked, 'how could I be
resisting arrest when I have not done anything
to be arrested for?' I was only sitting on my
daughter's porch."
(2) The Spirit killing brutality of a Black man,
a grandfather and his grandson...
This incident of police -brutality
was touched off by a fight involving some
young boys in Bethel Homes on July 7th
between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. One of the boys
was hit by a rock. The police were called. The
ten year old grandson had been in the group
but had not taken part in the fighting. But
being a good samaritan type, the grandson
went out to help tell the story to the police.
The two police officers picked him up and
without looking for his mother, carried him
to the Court House. The sister of the
youngster telephoned the grandfather that the
police carried her brother away. The grand
father drove two miles to the Court House
and arrived before the police officers. When
the police officers arrived, they rushed the ten
year old grandson upstairs, while telling the
worried grandfather and mother that they
could not come up to the Sheriff's office
unless they were the parents of the young
man. When they finally did get into the
sheriff's office the grandfather and mother
were asked to get behind the counter in a
little pen. One of the police officers told what
had happened as though he was an eye
witness. The grandfather did ask the police
officer if he saw what had happened. The
police officer did not answer. On July 9,
1970, the grandfather wrote the following
letter to the Chief of Police, the Judge of
Juvenile Court, and the Chairman of the Civil
Service Commission. As of this date, the
grandfather has not received the courtesy of a
reply.
"I, (name withheld) would like to
report an incident that took place in the
Bethel Home Apartments July 7, 1970
between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Something
happened involving some little boys. My
grandson was not a part of the group. All eye
witnesses said that he did not do anything,
even the little boy who was hit. This is what
my family and I would like to know: Why did
the two policemen carry my grandson to the
Court House without trying to contact his
mother? Only a little knock on the door. Yet
they allowed the other parents to carry their
sons. My grandaughter saw them pass the
window, called me and I drove more than two
miles and reached the Court House before the
Police did. What can be done here in Athens
to trust and respect our police officers when
they intentionally distrust us and mistreat us.
I was told they, the police officers, were new
men and did not know their job. Why should
we suffer or have to suffer because an officer
does not know? I am very much disturbed.
My grandson may never forget what was done
to him. Please look into this. I am reporting
this to everyone that I think can correct this
type of action. Os course we are hurt beyond
any correction. Maybe some other little boy
will not be treated like our little boy was
treated."
The reader is asked: Did the police
officers use average restraint and responsible
courtesy in these cases? If not, what should
be done to insure that this doesn't happen
again? Please send your comments to this
newspaper.
