Since the photograph of the man who attacked me is above, I've decided to cut and paste my article explaining what happened to the comment section. Hopefully this will convince any of you who think this was a "staged photo" or that "i deserved it". All I have to say to any of the skeptics out there is open your eyes and wake up! The story has already been backed up by several witnesses and was reported in the Washington Post.

Here's the full story:

On Monday, April 17th, 2000 at about 8:30 am near the corner of 18th and K I was beaten by a plainclothes officer (not sure if fed or mpd) after photographing him going crazy though the streets hitting people over the headwith his baton. At the time I didn't even think it wasa cop! Wearing my Independent Media Center badge, I photographed this man, who I believed was an motorist angry about the traffic disruptions. After seeing me about to take the photograph of him, he lunged towards my neck with his hands and proceeded to club me at least two times with this club like device and pushed me to the ground. He then hit me several more times and wrestled the camera from my hands. I called for police to arrest this man still believing this was a case of road rage. Upon arrival the police officer (not sure if MPD,secret service or another agency) informed me that the man was a plainclothes
officer.

The camera at this point had been knocked to the ground and the plainclothes officer attempted to
stomp on it. He was able to crack the frame, but the camera slipped out from under his foot. As he was about
to stomp down a second time I was able to swipe the camera and throw it back into the crowd. The footage escaped and while damaged the photo of this man attacking me did turn out.

The officer was extremely unhappy that he was unable to destroy the camera and, in turn, I received several more blows to the head. This continued for I believe about 20 seconds. I have little recollection of this time period and believe I may have briefly lost consciousness. My glasses were ripped from my face and i yelled for them back as they dragged me away yelling for medical attention after realizing the extent of my head wound and thrown into a pile of people that the police may have intended to arrest.

They made no effort to get me medical attention more or less smirking when I made this request. (medical attention was only offered later on after I had called a cab and was speaking to the media) As I laid bleeding extensively huddled in the fetal postion the medical team for the collective pulled me away to the sidelines and treated me for severe head wounds. I was bandaged up to stop the bleeding (by this point I had blood running down my face into my ear and onto my pants) and then helped to the opposite corner where we called cab to bring me to the hospital. At this time I was extremely dizzy and shakey.

At the hospital, I was treated and released. As a result of the attack I required 7 stitches and have a minor concussion.

The man was in a beige trench coat with a pin stripe dress shirt underneath. He was older and larger and apparantly had a chain with id hanging from his neck. He was away from any police line and just going crazy. I need you help - I know some of the witnesses from the event were from NY (syracuse I believe) and the medics who treated me were from NYC. I was wearing jeans and a green shirt covered by a black trashbag - well, before the cops ripped it off me and had on glasses with black plastic frames. If any of you out there think you saw this take place, please email ASAP
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Below is some info on the media coverage - if any of this sounds like something you may have witnessed, please email me.


Immediately after my attack I was interviewed by the Washington Post (see Tuesday, April 18's paper), C-SPAN, and CBS News and possibly others. C-Span aired my complete statement about the incident while I sat there in a bloody and bandaged mess while the CBS Nightly News aired a brief quote from me stating that the the attacked was entirely unprovoked. David Montgomery of the Washington Post presented the following account in the April 18 edition of the Post:

"In one, near K & 18th Street NW, Rob Fish, 21, of Stanhope, NJ., said he was taking pictures of
police activity. He said an undercover officer hit him with a billy club, knocking him down. 'I got
thrown to the ground and hit over the head,' Fish said.

Fish was left with a stream of blood running down his face, straining his jeans and green shirt.
Several friends tended to his wounds."

Later in the day, I took part in a closing press conference called by the protest "organizers". At the conference I told my story and was interviewed byseveral other media outlets. The press conference was also broadcasted in full on C-Span. There may also be video footage of the beating that was broadcasted in the NYC area. Tuesday morning my story aired on "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman.-

Please email if you witnessed this attack or have any information! or were a reporter on the scene.

Rob Fish