phill4paul
12-07-2014, 09:34 AM
WASHINGTON -- The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department this week convinced the local prosecutor's office to charge a prominent young Ferguson protester with misdemeanor assault because he allegedly made fleeting physical contact with a law enforcement official blocking access to St. Louis City Hall during a demonstration last month.
Rasheen Aldridge, a 20-year-old community activist, has been protesting in and around the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on a regular basis ever since then-police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. Last month, Gov. Jay Nixon (D) named him to the Ferguson Commission, a task force intended to address problems in the St. Louis region that were highlighted in the wake of Brown's death. On Dec. 1, Aldridge was at the White House to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss the relationship between law enforcement and local communities. (He later said he left the meeting "disappointed" with Obama, whom he used to consider his "idol.")
One video of the alleged misdemeanor assault appears to show Aldridge, in a gray cap, attempting to gain access to St. Louis City Hall along with a number of other demonstrators on Nov. 26, less than 48 hours after the grand jury decision was announced. At the time, the public building was on lockdown because authorities thought someone in the crowd may have had spray paint.
Aldridge -- who is just 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds, according to court documents -- seems to be trying to open a City Hall door as a much larger city marshal stands guard. The marshal then appears to shove Aldridge, and the protester's hand touches and perhaps pushes the official.
Soon after the incident, police in riot gear wielding pepper spray would break up the demonstration around City Hall, claiming that the entire daytime assembly was unlawful because a few demonstrators "made contact" with law enforcement.
Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the Office of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, emphasized that the third-degree assault charge against Aldridge is the "lowest-level misdemeanor available under the law." Aldridge has not been arrested, according to Ryan. Instead, she said, "He'll get a note in the mail, just like a parking ticket."
Ryan said that the prosecutor's office had a duty to evaluate the case after it was referred to the office by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
"When we've got evidence that somebody has violated the law, then we review that evidence, and if we believe we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, we will charge somebody," Ryan said. "All over the county, protesters are being arrested for violating the law, and it's unfortunate. But there are peaceful ways to protest without shoving city marshals or without hurting police officers."
"This has nothing to do with the protest or the speech or anything that anybody was saying," Joyce said. "You can say anything you want, but what you can't do is physically, you know, touch someone or push them or shove them or spit on them. And so that's the line, and that line was crossed here."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/06/rasheen-aldridge-assault-charge_n_6278964.html
Rasheen Aldridge, a 20-year-old community activist, has been protesting in and around the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on a regular basis ever since then-police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. Last month, Gov. Jay Nixon (D) named him to the Ferguson Commission, a task force intended to address problems in the St. Louis region that were highlighted in the wake of Brown's death. On Dec. 1, Aldridge was at the White House to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss the relationship between law enforcement and local communities. (He later said he left the meeting "disappointed" with Obama, whom he used to consider his "idol.")
One video of the alleged misdemeanor assault appears to show Aldridge, in a gray cap, attempting to gain access to St. Louis City Hall along with a number of other demonstrators on Nov. 26, less than 48 hours after the grand jury decision was announced. At the time, the public building was on lockdown because authorities thought someone in the crowd may have had spray paint.
Aldridge -- who is just 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds, according to court documents -- seems to be trying to open a City Hall door as a much larger city marshal stands guard. The marshal then appears to shove Aldridge, and the protester's hand touches and perhaps pushes the official.
Soon after the incident, police in riot gear wielding pepper spray would break up the demonstration around City Hall, claiming that the entire daytime assembly was unlawful because a few demonstrators "made contact" with law enforcement.
Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the Office of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, emphasized that the third-degree assault charge against Aldridge is the "lowest-level misdemeanor available under the law." Aldridge has not been arrested, according to Ryan. Instead, she said, "He'll get a note in the mail, just like a parking ticket."
Ryan said that the prosecutor's office had a duty to evaluate the case after it was referred to the office by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
"When we've got evidence that somebody has violated the law, then we review that evidence, and if we believe we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, we will charge somebody," Ryan said. "All over the county, protesters are being arrested for violating the law, and it's unfortunate. But there are peaceful ways to protest without shoving city marshals or without hurting police officers."
"This has nothing to do with the protest or the speech or anything that anybody was saying," Joyce said. "You can say anything you want, but what you can't do is physically, you know, touch someone or push them or shove them or spit on them. And so that's the line, and that line was crossed here."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/06/rasheen-aldridge-assault-charge_n_6278964.html