Do you promise to tell the truth?

Lawyers lined the side of the prosecution in the court room yesterday. Besides the DA, they had the city attorney, the state DA and a handful of others. The DA, being whispered advice from the city attorney, started with Officer Crisp, who was not so truthful. He stated that Jonas "darted across three lanes of traffic". Well this one wasn't a lie but an exaggeration. He did cross the street, but that section of the road has a light on each side of the bridge and, before 8am on the Haywood Road bridge is not exactly what you would consider heavy traffic. The "three lanes of traffic" apparently included the turning lane. He also did not indicate any specific car or pedestrian hampered by "the protester". When asked by our attorney, Bill Auman, if he questioned Jonas if he was a part of the Climate Convergence group that had protested the Bank of America just two days prior or if he was a member of Veterans for Peace or any other local activist group. Crisp stated that he did not ask him any questions. Which was a flat out lie.
When Sergeant Riddle took the stand, being a seasoned man on the force for over thirty years, he told his untruths using the "I don't recall" response. Auman asked Riddle if he said "I'm sick of this crap" and "You're gonna' get your fifteen minutes of fame, buddy". "I don't recall sayin' that". In my opinion, Riddle has been on the force too long and is overdue for retirement. A friend of ours was pulled over by Riddle one evening. Our friend had a doll holding a sign that said "Impeach Bush and Cheney" propped up to show out the back of his hatchback. He told our friend, "I like your doll" in a sarcastic tone. When asked why he was being pulled over, Riddle barked at him about having a reason and told him that his head light was out. He says that Riddle appeared agitated, as he did when he was arresting Jonas.
The circus went on, with WLOS filming everything. (How can I get a copy of that?) The Asheville Citizen-Times was there along with reporters from the Asheville City Paper and the Mountain Express. Additionally a handful of bloggers took notes and absorbed the spectacle. Our attorney had about five arguments, all technicalities, why the case should be dismissed. One by one the judge overruled our lawyer. The prosecution centered it's case on highway blogging being a dangerous distraction to motorists. But, Jonas wasn't arrested for endangering motorists, which they did not prove anyway, he was arrested for blocking the sidewalk. A fact they also did not prove.
In the end, the judge sided with justice and found that they did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jonas broke the ordinance. He was found not guilty. When Jonas was questioned by WLOS whether he would resume highway blogging he stated he would and he would bring a buddy. "Blog with a buddy". Good advise for any protester.

And now for the verdict.........

Today was a beautiful day. For some. For a couple of homeless men, not so beautiful. As we awaited Jonas' case to be called this afternoon, we listened as one man was convicted of trespass and sentenced 10 days in jail along with another man found guilty of "soliciting alms". As I listened I forgot about my husband's minor city code violation charge. Yet these charges never make the papers, never are discussed during political debates and these men are never on Oprah.
But truth and justice prevailed on our side today. Today, it was a beautiful day for us. Jonas was found "not guilty" today of the charges! Our lawyer, Bill Auman, could not have done a better job.
There are already articles about it:

DailyKos
Asheville Citizen-Times
Mountain Express
Asheville On The Ground

I will write more later. I need time for this to sink in.

Jonas goes to court...again

Court has been postponed once again.

Jonas arrived shortly before 9am at District Court 1. I arrived shortly after. Clare joined Jonas near the back of the court room. Another supporter and a reporter entered next. The woman bailiff was kinder than the one there at the previous court date. She asked everyone to put their cell phones on vibrate and then went around to make sure no one needed anything. The other lady told you to shut your phone off and didn't care if anyone had any questions.

After the defendants started making their pleas, two other people, there to support Jonas, walked in the court room. We all watched with pity as some mousy disabled man was handcuffed and forced to walk past the leering crowd twice. I'm not sure what his charge was, I could not hear very well in the back of the room. Next time I will sit closer. Clare, wanting to hear better, moved closer to the front.

Once again, Jonas' charge was the most ridiculous on the docket. Of course that is our opinion. I'm sure many others there thought their charge was ridiculous as well.

At after 10, his lawyer had not arrived yet. But when he walked in, his was the next case heard. At this point, the DA tells them that the officer (not sure if he was talking about Crisp, Riddle or both) called in sick. That's right, he (they?) called in sick to court. If Jonas had been sick, it would have been considered a "failure to appear". If a civilian plaintiff had done that, the case would have been dropped.

I question if they were truly sick, or if this is some sort of tactic.

What? What? What?

The statement by the Asheville Police Department raises further questions. If they felt that Jonas was a danger to traffic, why did they not tell him that when they arrested him? Especially if that was the original police complaint. Why did Officer Crisp need Sergeant Riddle to arrest him? Is he not a law enforcement officer? And how can one person impede traffic?
After freeway blogging for two months now, I have never seen cars slow down to honk. They 'keep on a truckin'.
Due to the changing circumstance, we will not be making any further statements at this time regarding this specific incident. But we will continue to freeway blog, and so will others.

This Picture was taken by Kindra on 8-20-07 on the Flint Street Bridge in Asheville.

Asheville Police Department Press Release

The following is a statement by Asheville Police Department Chief of Police, Bill Hogan:

The Asheville Police Department is a professional, well trained, and accredited agency that is committed to protecting individuals’ Constitutional rights. Our Department has assisted with untold rallies and protests to protect citizens’ opportunity for free speech while maintaining the safety of all individuals present. The press release attached below describes the facts surrounding this case. Expressing one’s opinions must be done in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights and safety of others. In this case, the actions of Mr. Phillips was impeding the flow of traffic and endangering motorists by holding a sign over Interstate 240 during rush hour traffic which could have caused a serious traffic crash. It is unfortunate that this event and the motives of the officers have been misconstrued to represent an act by the Asheville Police Department to deprive someone of their Constitutional rights.

Chief Bill Hogan

For Immediate Release

Aug. 20, 2007

Asheville Police Department

Contact: Police Chief Bill Hogan

Phone: 259-5901, or 552-1900

E-mail: whogan@ashevillenc.gov

APD responds to concerns about charges against West Asheville man

ASHEVILLE – The Asheville Police Department has received several inquiries about the Aug. 15 arrest of an Asheville man who was holding a sign on the Haywood Road Bridge over Interstate 240, and was subsequently charged with impeding the flow of traffic.

A review of the incident including interviews with the officers discloses the following:

Shortly before 8 a.m., during rush hour on Aug. 15, a person flagged down APD Officer Russell Crisp, who was in his police car on Haywood Road, to inform him that a man was standing on the I-240 overpass and obstructing traffic.

The department had received multiple complaints over a two-week period last month about individuals holding up signs at that same spot.

Officer Russell Crisp arrived to find Jonas Phillips, 35, was holding his sign over the I-240 overpass. When Officer Crisp arrived at the location, Mr. Phillips walked across three lanes of traffic on the bridge, thereby impeding the flow of traffic on Haywood Road.

After Officer Crisp caught up with Mr. Phillips, he asked Mr. Phillips how long he intended to be there. Mr. Phillips replied that he would be there until he had to go to work.

At this point, Officer Crisp called his superior, Sgt. Randy Riddle, who came to the overpass and informed Mr. Phillips that he was in violation of Sec. 16-2 of the city’s municipal code pertaining to "Obstruction of streets, sidewalks by persons prohibited."

Sec. 16-2 reads in part:

It shall be unlawful for any person, singly or in a group, to:

(1) Obstruct or cause to be obstructed vehicular or pedestrian traffic on the streets or sidewalks or in parks or other public areas within the corporate limits of the city.

Mr. Phillips was charged and arrested for being in violation of that code, and the department is also examining whether he may also be charged for violating an N.C. Department of Transportation law that prohibits hanging signs on an overpasses, which poses dangers for motorists passing below.

The officers can attest that as Mr. Phillips held his sign over the edge of the bridge, drivers on the interstate were slowing down and honking their horns, which also created a traffic hazard and impeded the flow of traffic. Interstate 240 on the west side of the city is often congested, especially at rush hour, and this congestion heightens the potential for accidents.

"This city and this police department pride ourselves on protecting people’s right to free speech, as long as they don’t infringe on the rights, safety and freedoms of others," Police Chief Bill Hogan said. "It was not the content of the sign, but the risks posed to drivers that precipitated our actions."