[Peace-discuss] Police Pepper Spray & Injure Youth walking home from B-Ball

[Brian Dolinar]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Danielle Chynoweth <chyn at ojctech.com>
Date: Apr 4, 2007 8:54 PM
Subject: [CUCPJ Announce] Police Pepper Spray & Injure Youth walking home
from B-Ball
To: announce at communitycourtwatch.org

Last Friday around 8:30 pm, police pepper sprayed and roughed up a youth
heading home with two other kids from Basketball at Douglas Center.  The kid
was bleeding and couldn't breathe from the spray.  He has been arrested on
obstruction of justice charges.  (read more: http://www.ucimc.org/node/1200)

The police continue to say their reason for the stop is because Douglas park
was closed. NOT TRUE.

I called Douglas Center today and was clearly told by a park official that
Douglas center has activities on Friday night until 11 pm and that the park
closes at midnight.  I asked "Is the park closed at that time [when the
Center is open]?"  She said "no the park closes at midnight."

Readers of the News Gazette and Daily Illini saw:

"Police said the youth was walking through Douglass Park after dark when the
park was officially closed. When officers tried to stop the young man, he
would not stop and he then allegedly took up a fighting stance, and police
are trained to use as much force as necessary to carry out their duties"
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/print/2007/04/04/youths_arrest_sparks_heated_debate_at_council_meeting/

A 17 year old black man "was arrested Friday night on charges of resisting
arrest as he walked through Douglas Park after the park was closed."  ...
http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2007/04/04/News/Man-Takes.Racial.Issues.To.Council-2821687.shtml

 "Some say police used too much force arresting 17 year old Brian Chelsey.
He was walking through the park after hours when officers stopped him."
http://www.illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=5131

Readers think "why was this kid walking through the park when it was
closed?" and assume ill intent.

The news has to stop printing what the police say as fact (like the DI &
WCIA) or not checking the veracity of police statements (like the NG).  It
is amazing to me how false info from the mouths of police can fly around
this community with every news reporting repeating the last one.

The police should be called on their story - it is not true.

- Danielle

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-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com
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