I have just been forwarde the photo of rob fish being assaulted by a police officer, this is disgusting and it should be easy enough for the DC police force to find the perpetrator of this mindless violence, however i think as the politics in the governing state stands at the moment, they are most likely to to deny all knowledge as usual .I think Rob should sue.
Michelle Hamilton, UK

suck it.

Fascism in the sense of Storm Troops or Ku Klux Klan power is not likely in this country. Nor is military dictatorship in the sense of Pinochet. But the constant deification of the police by TV, leading to such things as the acquittal of the four cops in New York in the Diallo Case, makes a police state a real possibility.

This is probably a staged photo. If it isn't, he probably didn't hit you enough times. What do you expect from a cop when you go to an anticipated civil disturbance? Cops handing out lollipops? Didn't you learn anything from Seattle? You deserve what you ask for!!!

Rob,
This photograph is absolutely amazing. I am a photographer who looks at images day in and day out. This one image along with your story could and should become very very famous. Please continue to mail it out relentlessly and we will pass it on. Love and Peace to you in your recovery.
thank you for your intelligence, creativity and courage.
Scott Hess
Petaluma, CA

great thinking! Most of us photographers would have shielded our heads with the camera. Got to get this photo all over the web. This happens all the time and is rarely documented. make t-shirts! Rampaging Pig.

I find it difficult to believe that this type of thing is becoming common in the U.S. I associate this type of stuff with third world dictators. I think violence has become an accepted part of life and I find this horrifying. In my student activist days in Britain, attention was paid to other people's points of view. I will long remember marching to Aldermaston with Bertrand Russell and many others. Violence against the marchers was not even an issue.

I saw the protests on TV and was disturbed by the police given free rein to employ their "Training" among protesters. It appeared to me by the Video I did see that the clubbing occured against protesters either smaller in stature or retreating. The poloce appeared to have to give full extension of their club wielding arms. this indicates to me that they had to reach to employ defensive measures, which thereupon makes it a Offensive measure. This is not the tactic of a peace officer, but is the tactic of a Military program.

Using undercover police to use brute force in a protest is something I would expect to see in a dictatorship
I hope Rob is Ok


Peace

Let's get real! Our side provoked the police. If we do not want to live in anarchy, we
need our police forces. They serve us. Our battle is not with the police. I feel sorry that
they have to be the mayo in the sandwich between our demands and the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and
whatever else we protest. Our voice was heard, make no mistake. Instead of hating the
cops who were trying to do their job, let's use that energy instead to recruit our neighbors
to our cause. What would you have had the police do? Refuse to obey orders and lay
their jobs on the line? Did you lay yours on the line? And what would you have the Chief
of Police or the mayor do? Allow us to storm the meetings and disrupt them? We don't
need to do that and if we had been permitted to do so, we would have been the violent
ones, becoming our own enemy by forcibly preventing what is after all a legal procedure.
We did what needed to be done and provoking the police probably made us more
enemies than friends. If you want to win, keep the peace, stay within the legal guidelines
as much as possible, and persuade the uninitiated that our cause is just. We don't need to
convince the police. They've got a tough job to do (every day). Also, note that they
intercepted some folks with really dangerous toys. I am grateful for their vigilance. I
would not have wanted to see the personal injury or property damage that might have
occurred if the police had not intercepted those anarchists or whatever they were. That
does not advance our cause. If you think the police of this country are unprofessional and
cruel as a group, you've got a screw loose in my opinion. If you think there are a few bad
cops that look for a chance to behave brutally, I will agree, but the way to get rid of them is not
by suing or putting down the men in blue. It's a separate issue and should be done by
supporting and encouraging better pay and better psychological screening of recruits. I
personally would not want to be a cop and have to witness the pain and make the hard calls or put my ass on the line every
day like cops do, but if we are willing to pay enough, there will be more applicants to
choose from and we can raise the standards of expectation. Again, personally, though I
thrive on contributing to civilization, I would have a hard time being a cop and maintaining my positive
attitude if the very people I were trying to serve and protect were thinking (or saying)
"Pig" every time they see me. Let's grow up! I know some of the demonstrators agree
with me--the ones that gave flowers to the police, for example. This is not a police state,
but polarizing the police is one step in that direction. Those men and women are our
brothers and sisters; they have families and they know what fear is--maybe more than
most of us--and for all we know a good many agree with us, or would if their
consciousness were raised. Pissing them off and dissing them is not the way to do that.

By the way, I wasn't there and I do admire those that spent their time and money to be there. We did a reasonably successful protest in front of our local courthouse in solidarity with those who made the trip. Hang in there, folks. We're going to win this one!

There is a theory that the two sides of our faces reveal two sides of our minds, the dominant side (usually right) showing the public and most conscious thoughts and feelings, and the non-dominant showing our inner thoughts and feelings, the ones hidden from others and often from ourselves. Don't know how much validity this has, but the results of viewing this officer's face, one side at a time, are striking. The right side shows grim determination, the left side shows conflict, confusion, even sorrow and shame. It is not easy, but is it possible to see this man as a prisoner? He is jailed behind any number of walls, including the expectations others have of him, what he has been led to believe about what it takes for a society to survive, what he believes will happen to him or those he loves if anarchy is allowed to take root, what he believes it says about him if he allows others to defy him, etc. I would not ask Rob Fish, full of pain as he still is, to have compassion for this man. But I hope a few people can. Rob, I hope and pray that there will be no lasting deleterious effects from your injuries.
God's Peace,
Ann Shenk Wenger

Well it seems to me that we Do!!! put our ass on the line everytime we walk out the door. As a Taxpaying citizen i have the right for my laws to be changed to help the innocent. Do you honestly believe that all the people that got hit was becuase they asked for it?? (Almost like Rape Aintit......) As a African American All the time i get stopped becuase of driving while black. It has been documented. Also the Dialo Case i guess he asked to get shot 19 times . Some peole lose reality when it comes to change. As to reitierate the saying "I DO PUT MY ASS ON THE LINE!! IF THE COPS WERE MORE UNDERSTANING OF WHO AND WHAT THEY DO WE WOULD NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM." When people stand up it is a crime i wonder what the founding fathers would say if you said the same thing about leaving the british....

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
.
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

THEJOKERSWILD&THECOSMICSHADOWDANCER
CALLING ALL IN THE DIVINE RIGHT
TO JUSTICE AND PUNISHMENT TO
BACK THE INEVITABLE COMING OF
THE RETURN REIGN OF THE GREAT
REIGN REIGNING!!! SO ALL EVIL
CRIMINALS( BOTH cop,politician,
street hood,military hotshots,or
ALLother so called tough guys who
are for the most part cowerdly bullies
can join the wild joker & the cosmic
shadow dancer to fight it out with us
and our choosen few grand gladiators in..
THE SPECTACLE of SPECTACLES...THE SHOW of SHOWS
UNTO DESTINY'S GIVEN RIGHT TO BE!!!!
HEY ALL YOU PEACEFUL PEOPLE OUT THERE YOU ALL
SHOULD BE BACKING US THE MOST SO WHY HAVE YOU
NOT &WHY DON'T YOU NOW!!!open up the ARENA
AND THROW BAD COPS LIKE THIS ONE AS WELL AS
rotten CRIMINALS IN THE RING TOGETHER TO FIGHT
IT OUT MAN TO MAN FAIR AND SQUARE .......

This is crazy! I myself was in DC and was horrified to see what little rights we as citizens actually have. The police as well as any other agencies that were out there were way out of line. We as a whole need to stand up and shout NO MORE! We have rights and we should be able to exercise those rights each and every day regardless of whether or not other people agree, I thought that was what this whole country was about! People need to take back the power we once had in America.
Peace is much better than violence and that is what I saw from the protesters. I only encountered acts of violence when surrounded by police.

Wow. this post really brought out the headcases.

To those that say the police were "just doing their jobs." I would like to direct your attention to the Neuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals. That defense didn't work there either. I wholeheartedly agree with the gentleman who said he puts his life on the line every time he walks out his door. This is compounded by the color of his skin. Being white things are a little easier in that respect, however all of us are subject to the whims of a few power hungry individuals. At any time a cop could stop you in your car or on the street and contrive a reason (thanks "probable cause!") to violate your every right, or every orifice (see NY POLICE), or just plain beat the shit out of you, or (and yes folks this happens in AMERICA the beautiful) kill you. Most "law-abiding" citizens are led to believe if they're not doing anything wrong they have nothing to fear. Well more and more we are seeing how untrue that is. Wake up! I understand some of you having been born in different times and different classes have not seen the brutal reality most of the world faces. I've been very poor, Spent a year living in a homeless shelter, spent time in a brutal jail, etc. etc. I have seen the dark side of this country.

When Is ee this picture I see a man possessed. A tortured, lost zombie. When people decide to become cops, some do it for the right reasons. I believe they are in the minority. I believe most join because they feel lost, alone, and powerless. The police promise power- all you could want, instant family and friends, and everyone's respect...and fear. This appeals to young men and women who see cops deified, as someone said, in all forms of media from the time we are infants. From the time we can understand speech we are told if you get introuble find a cop- they will help you. I believe most police are under the influence of a drug more powerful than those they fight- power and righteousness.

How many times have you had a bad day and lashed out at a customer or coworker, or the guy at the drive-thru. Now imagine some customer insults you or questions your authority. And imagine you could do whatever you wanted to them.... hmmm. then imagine you were mentally unstable to begin with. Then imagine it was accepted by your employers, even encouraged. Maybe some of us would snap and beat the tar out of someone as well. Maybe it gets easier after the first skull you crack.

Police live in a world where everyone is a criminal. What kind of pathology does that create? Yes, I can feel compassion for them, but I WILL NEVER MAKE EXCUSES FOR THEIR DISGUSTING ACTIONS. If you are making excuses for them you need to wake the f--- up with a quickness.

Maybe you'll understand someday. Maybe you'll be driving, get pulled over, and ask in a nice, respectful tone, "what's the problem officer." Maybe you'll get a baton to the face as an answer. Then your tune will change.

I find it hard not to lash out at some of the ignorance I've seen. I hope to learn from my elder activists and journalists whose wonderful examples have energized me. Contrary to mainstream media we have proven we can be coherent, well spoken, peaceful, and law abiding. It's the cops that need to learn from us. Kudos and much love to you all. Stay strong brothers and sisters!

PS- why not rent some billboards in DC, put this photo up, and say,"HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN? WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE PEOPLE."

Since I know the cops read this website, I can be sure they have my number now. Oh well. :)

Peace,
John

The story and the pic are now on their way around the world. They've been posted to several usenet newsgroups for carrying binary attachments. It just seemed to me that the more people saw it the better chance of getting justice. And sending it in public where millions can see it seemed better than waiting for them to come to a web site. Others can do the same. This is the world's most powerful communications tool. Use it for all it's worth.

I am a veteran of the anti-war movement of the '60s. I know what it is like to be face to face, chest to chest with a cop in full riot gear. I watched the protest and rally on C-Span. I was extremely upset at the outright police brutality that I was witness to. I kept waiting for the fire hoses to be used. We didn't call them "pigs" for nothing. I have written to the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Force, the Justice Department, and the White House about the civil rights violation that were caught for all posterity, by my VCR. Get some lawyers and SUE,SUE,SUE. I'll be more than glad to testify against the cops. See you all in Philadelphia.

I am a white, middle age, middle class activist. My activism started 5 years ago with the Stop 55 movement. The experience has certainly changed my middle class perception of among other things, the police. But Mr. Fish's shocking picture speaks volumes about the future of resistance. It is clearly undeniable. This picture completes a seachange in my middle class belief system regarding the media, government and police.

I myself am an anarchist, and my own father is a cop. He discusses beatings in a laughing matter, like the peace protesters deserved it. I say, down with the police! It's time to reform our government.

it saddened me very much to see and hear the violent and anti-democratic repraisal steps that american police has taken against anti-WB demonstrators. it seems like the beginning of the end of the american freedom of expresion and it will most probably reverberate throughout the world in the sense that many governments that have restrained themselves to some degree in opressing disident views will feel less compelled to do so after seeing what "the big brother" is able to do.

it seems that "freedom of speech" is guaranteed only up to the point where the identity of the true and unelected rulers of the world is revealed and where people begin to see the connection between wars, famine and environment destruction and the decisions taken by those unelected rulers in their undemocratic but omnipotent institutions.

Keith must be a cop.

more saddened than i am with police brutality is the fact that some of you believe that their brutality was/is justified. i am sad to see people not able to think for themselves but instead, buying into all the propaganda about "police doing their jobs" as if they somehow have the right to beat someone to a bloody mess. as someone else mentioned, far too many police attacks are NOT an act of defense but rather, an act of offense. they are ATTACKS. i am also saddened to see the person who wrote that long rant about protestors getting what they deserved speaking in such a manner when he was not even there (as he mentioned)! instead, you took in what you see/read/hear through the corporate-owned mainstream media and use that as "proof" of the protestors "getting what they deserved." do you honestly believe that you are always getting straight facts? the media have the ability and the power to manipulate the "news" to suit one side or the other. unfortunately, the majority of the time, it is to suit the side of the powers-that-be (since they often own the media to begin with). perhaps if you were actually there, sir, you would have a different view on the matter.
additionally, perhaps if you were not white, you would have a different view on the matter - many people of colour face police brutality as a "normal" part of their lives. your comments are a glaring reflection of your privileges.
by the way, this officer who was beating the crap out of rob fish and others, will likely get away with a slap on the hand. some of the people i work with are actually police officers or police officers-to-be (as frightening as that is) and i have heard them talk about some of the people they know who are officers, their power-tripping violence, and the fact that they always get away with barely a slap on the hand, even when admitting that they were perpetrators of needless violence on innocent victims. chew on that.

I lived in the states all my life until four years ago and during that time I witnessed more police brutality in one week than all the time I've been in Europe. That old song, I Fought The Law and the Law won keeps coming to mind. Dammit, I'm so disgusted with some of the responses to this tragic incident. Where are your heads? I've come to the conclusion that many of these are from cops. They surely couldn't come from joe average american. The look on that madman's face is still etched in my mind. My heart goes out to the reporter who was doing HIS job and I hope and pray that slob that beat him is brought to justice...... that is if there's any left in that crazy country I most happily left behind.

I lived in the states all my life until four years ago and during that time I witnessed more police brutality in one week than all the time I've been in Europe. That old song, I Fought The Law and the Law won keeps coming to mind. Dammit, I'm so disgusted with some of the responses to this tragic incident. Where are your heads? I've come to the conclusion that many of these are from cops. They surely couldn't come from joe average american. The look on that madman's face is still etched in my mind. My heart goes out to the reporter who was doing HIS job and I hope and pray that slob that beat him is brought to justice...... that is if there's any left in that crazy country I most happily left behind.

The realities of the world we live in are striking. It seems the question is where does one learn to hate so much as to perpetrate violence upon another? I wish you the best Rob in seeking "justice."

i too was in dc ("the belly of the beast") for the demos and worked as a street medic with the medical collective. i personally witnessed similar acts of violence by the police. for the most part, with some exceptions, the mainstream media, as part of the global multinational corporate power structure did not in any way provide an accurate representation of what really happened there. their reporting either ignored the issue almost entirely in relation to the importance of what was happening there, or when they did choose to report on it, they indicated that the police were doing a great job maintaining order in the face of violent protestors. that was so totally untrue that it angers me each time i hear anything about it or read another article that blatantly lies to the people. but we have to wise up and recognize that the mainstream media are now themselves part of the problem, as they are in many cases mulinational corporate profit mongers themselves. when we have mega mergers between aol and time/warner, you have to expect that their best interests are not served by representing the accurate events which occurred when the people try to reform the system.

the event i relate is not just hearsay. i was actually there in the moment and personally witnessed the action go down at the corner of pennsylvania avenue and 15th street around 12:00 noon on sunday. I saw a phalanx of cops in riot gear, who had just off-loaded from a couple of buses, march down the street into a group of peaceful activists who were sitting in the street in an area in front of police barricades that had already blocked the street. behind the barricades were additional cops in gear. the people were doing nothing except expressing their right to free speech and to congregate as guaranteed in the constitution. the cops started beating them with billie clubs and dragging them and pummeling them and rolling them over and over on the concrete, scraping up their skin. i saw two men beaten repeatedly with clubs in the head, torso and back area. i helped pull one girl away from a huge cop who was screaming at me while i did it. this was a slender girl about 18 or 19 years old who had been billie-clubbed so hard in the stomach by this cop that she couldn't catch her breath to breathe and was having to vomit because of the force of the attack. i got her to a sideline, safer area and breathing again and then i ran to where a 59-year-old a.p. photographer had been beaten on the head by a cop with a club and who was bleeding from the head wound. he suffered a concussion from the beating. there was a large pool of his blood in the street. another man was kneeling next to him in the street and had placed a gauze dressing on his head. i pulled some additional dressings from my medic pack and reinforced the dressing and we got his head bandaged up. he had to go to the hospital and was brought there later by an associate of his. i went toward the two men lying in the street, but by that time some other medics from the medic team had moved into the area and were attending to them. one of the men had some fractured ribs from the attack and had to go to the hospital. i believe the other man also went to the hospital. this is how the cops "maintained order against violent protestors".

never for one moment forget that the police are not there to protect the people anymore. they are agents of the corporate capitalist state and their purpose is to guarantee the safety of the multi- national corporations and their delegate minions so that business and trade will not be hindered. also remember, as said by nationalist theorist alfredo rocco, "the fascist economy is an organized economy. it is organized by the producers themselves, under the supreme direction and control of the state". we must also realize that our "democracy" is only allowed to go so far, until it interferes with the global multinational plan for complete dominance of our Earth for their profit.

Rob, you were very brave in facing up to the face of the beast and in speaking truth to power. your picture showed the true face of what our "democracy" really looks like. keep on with your work and make sure that these "people" pay for their brutality.

in solidarity for an Earth restored,
marie

Since when do DC Cops go around wearing striped button-downs? Give me a freakin' break!

Fred (the one without the courage to leave his email address)
I didn't think he looked like a cop at first either. I honestly believed he was an angry motorist rampaging through the streets pissed that traffic was disrupted. While I was being beaten (or about to be) I called for police to help me and arrest this man. That's when I was told that (paraphrasing) "it's ok he's a plainclothes officer" and the beating continued. If you look closely at the picture you can see a chain hanging from his neck. Unfortunately my picture didn't show a few inches farther down his body. That was his id - whether it was a badge or id card I don't know for sure. Please don't be as naive as I initially was - this WAS a cop or a fed. Also, maybe this is naive too, but IF there are any responsible cops reading this (we know you're monitoring it!) and have any information, please take a hard long look at yourself and do what's right and help us identify this rougue cop/fed.

Thanks to everyone out there who has voiced their support

rob

I am dismayed to see the number of comments here that excuse the police violence or refuse to believe that the police, en masse, "just doing their duty," will and have beaten and killed people in this country without provocation. Did you miss the footage of Kent State or Jackson State, or the civil rights movement? Have you not read the Cointelpro documents? In DC, protesters did NOT provoke the police to violence. C-Span itself shows protesters sitting peacefully and having pepper spray put in their face at close range, protesters being beaten who were simply standing around, protesters kicked while on the ground. Moreover, police in some cases blocked protesters ability to retreat and then SHOT AT THEM with rubber bullets and tear gassed them. Is protest itself and non-violent civil disobedience defined as provocation? If the "State" is neutral, why does it defend only the World Bank and throttle its critics? WAKE UP!

We all have to remember, "THEY WILL ALWAYS BE READY", and so should we!

shouldnt have been at demo got what you deserved

What I meant was, he didn't deserve what he got

What happened to the trench coat? Did he take the time to take off his coat before he started beating you? Are those reflections off of glass in the picture? Wasn't it 8:30 am at the time of the beating? Why is the background dark? Why did you need a flash to take the picture if it was daylight? If someone showed me this picture and asked me what I saw I would say that it looks like a picture of a man standing behind a piece of plate glass, what he is doing I couldn't even hazard a guess. If not for the descrepancies between the picture and your story I would believe that it could have happened. Otherwise it is an interesting piece of fiction. There must have been alot of cameras at the demo, do you have any other pictures of this event?

To say that "you shouldn't have been there and got what you deserved" is ludicrous!

Rob was there and was outright ATTACKED by this man. Police are NOT supposed to act in violence the way they did in DC.

Anyone who suggests otherwise or who suggests that ANY of the peaceful protesters (who got beaten, pepper sprayed, tear gassed, run over by horse and motorcycle, not to mention 100's of post-arrest testimonies of violence and brutality by the hands of police and U.S. Marshals) actually deserved what they got should either be dismissed as a babbling idiot or dismissed as a police instigator.

Rob's story is backed up. Period. I'm only surprised (and grateful) that his roll of film survived the camera stomping.

Someone, somewhere, with access to the net, will recognize this man. Keep sending this picture out, Rob!

Pan,
a student videographer who was pepper sprayed by police.

I belive this story, my son was also beaten by the police, and he did not do nothing wrong, he was a high school student, and went to a victory party for a game won, and a fight brok out between two high school boys, and a neighbor called the police, and they came in like the Armey, and started beating up every kid there, they beat the x-police chief's boys within an inch of their lives, my Son was schocked at the horror of it, I went to the so-called review board, and the police were found that they did nothing wrong, these boys were hand cuffed and shacklled and they were beaten with sticks and flash lights, untill there were unreconizable, I for one am frighten at what this Country is coming to, im a white woman and my Son is white, I believe if he would of been black he would of been killed. The police can kill you dead in the street, and get away with it, they can shoot an unarmed man 48 times, over kill him, and get away with it, they can but a semi- automatic in the face of a 6 year old boy, I'am frightened at what is happening in this Country, is this America, the so-called land of the free, I think Not. Lucinda Krosnicki

Hey Sink

You blind? what's that in the officer's right hand about to come down on Mr. Fish's head? The camera was partially smashed and the film partially exposed. If you remember the weather was also dark and dreary monday morning. Thankfully the picture came out at all. The story is also backed up by the Washington Post account (see the mention in the story from 4/18) who interviewed the victim while he was waiting to be taken to the hospital. His description says it all. The story is also backed up by the many witnesses on the scene. There is also other footage that I'm sure has not been posted and will only turn up court -- like we want to give the cops and feds reading this site all of the cards. - come on now! This will be fought out in the courts not on this site. If you're such a skeptic that this could happen here in the US you're not paying attention. So please let's focus on finding this rougue cop

"Friend"

I know what I see in the "officers" right hand, what is it that you see? I still don't see the beige trench coat. You say that Mr. Fish's story is backed up by the article in the Washington Post, I would hardly call that backed up. A quote from a person can not corroborate that same persons story. I have not seen anything else from someone who saw this event. I have not read any witness account of this act. I have not seen any pictures of this beating taking place and I know that there were a lot of cameras around because I too was there. As far as showing your hand to the cops/feds that are reading your drivel, they will see it before any trial anyway whether you show it to them now or later. You know, come to think of it the only actual photo evidence of any kind of beating with sticks I have seen is a demonstrator swinging a sign at a cop on a motorcycle. As far as me thinking that it is not possible for an event like the one Mr. Fish descibed not taking place in this country you are wrong. I have seen things far worse happen in this land, most recently in news footage of the goings on in Seattle. Next time you post something please have the decency to identify yourself better than a friend of the the victim. Make up a name at least, it will show your creative side.

Sink

So sink what's your badge number? could you be the other officer on the scene we have a picture of? how bout a real name?

You want to elaborate a bit on that statement about you being there? If you were you wouldn't be such a skeptic. I was there too - well - during the aftermath so unfortunately, I won't be much help to Mr. Fish.

William: You really draw that fat a line between
the united states and all other countries???

The only major difference I can see here in the
states is a very strong myth of freedom. How long
will it hold up? Some kind of miracle it's lasted
us THIS long.


Fish: I saw you on CSpan. You deserve a purple heart of
sorts. Hope you heal well.

marco

William: You really draw that fat a line between
the united states and all other countries???

The only major difference I can see here in the
states is a very strong myth of freedom. How long
will it hold up? Some kind of miracle it's lasted
us THIS long.


Fish: I saw you on CSpan. You deserve a purple heart of
sorts. Hope you heal well.

marco

This guy probably beats his wife too. What a shame that this is what our police departments are coming to. No wonder most of us feel scared when we see police. Who knows if we are going to get ourselves beat senseless simply for existing and being a peaceful human.

I fucking hate cops. They drive me absolutely nuts. When the fuck is this world going to wake up?

How nice of you to say this attack was provoked when you weren't there! I agree that the focus is not the police per se. However, citizens need to be able to "petition their governments for redress of grievances," and engaging in protest and civil disobedience is not a provocation for undercover or any other kind of police officer to beat people. Nor was the agenda to storm the meeting, but to block delegates, nonviolently, from entering. Why don't you know that? And what "dangerous toys" are you talking about? The spices in the kitchen that was closed down and then called by the police components for making pepper spray? Or the so call molotov coctail that was a bottle containing fluid to wash pepper spray off of skin, and a rag? Where did you get your information? I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you're talking about.

Dictatorship?, facism?, martial law?,,, whatever .... enough whining! Maybe we can think of something constructive to talk about? But then again, maybe not.

This picture sums up the very idea of police in this country. Rob Fish was not committing any crime.
Neither was Rodney King, nor any of the innocent people that cops have shot in the back, nor the
man sodomized in the police bathroom while in custody.

Rob was particularly brave to have taken this picture while being beaten!! This picture should be the
poster for the IMF/WB/WTO demo in Washington, DC: April 2000. Non-violent protestors are
protected by the Constitution of the United States. What law is this policeman following?? Only
the law that protects multinational corporations from the people, the environment and the law
of soverign nations of the world.

Thanks to everyone who's responded in a productive manner :-)

If you saw the scene described at the corner of 18th and K Street on the morning of Monday, April 17, or can tell me anything about who this guy who beat me was, please email what you saw and your contact information to this new encrypted email address - ecology12 (at) trial.freedom.net.

Thanks again
rob

yo dude i was right behind ya in the first group of peaople to peacefully lookdown to try and stop the nonesense
i saw it all so if you want to call me go ahead , i'm sorry that this is late but it's better than never

Don't you see the panic in his eyes? What makes a man like this panic this way? I wonder who fears more what's going on: the beaten or the beater? They must be brain"washed" in order to make them think they are fighting for their life, or fighting the devil in person. They must have been convinced that the only way to get on with life is to step on the bug. They obviously don't believe in dialogue, they must have lost confidence in life. I'm really sorry for these guys. It's a photo that shows where humanity arrived at.
There are more people like that out there. One can expect from police that at least they are able to master their emotions. Otherwise they should better go to the theater or become miners or so.
At the same time this guy seems to like what he's doing, and that's upsetting of course. Hitting other isn't funny. To be like that, you must be able to detach yourself from the other human being. That hurt's as well and isolates this guy in his unreal world. Again I'm really sorry for him.

Plain clothed officer part spotted in Convergence raid see dc2.indymedia.org/display.php3

I fully agree- Sue the fat man!!! Togehter we can stop the atrocities. Police belong on BIKES and WITHOUT WEAPONS as in many other European countries. They are here to SERVE US!!!! This is what we are told, but it's all a bunch of bullshit propaganda. Cops are part of a club. On the whole, they are grossly undereducated and are attracted to this "profession" because they suffer severe inferiority complexes! Let's all report and pursue where and whenever we witness not only police brutality, but police "exemptions" for from all manner of civil law. I know it seems too huge a problem, but collectively we can make a difference!

More Images were found of this DC Detective
see dc2.indymedia.org/display.php3

Let's talk about generic, bourgeois, cowards. Who for the most part contribute nothing to the people except to further their own blind solipsistic pursuit of convenience, that is to say none. Protest is not expedient. There is no superficial advantage in poverty. So don't expect these people to back your cause, until it directly affects them. Which will be a far cry from now, given their easily interchangeable parts and views, that they received with their "Herd Conformity Pack: Conservative Model". Even if you show them proof, they'll respond with predictable "inflammatory" remarks, and the old standby that out here in the arid suburbs, America looks fine to me, and I'm going to keep it that way, don't pollute my. Needless to say these protests and meetings don't affect them in the least.
To me, these people are even more abhorrent than protesters, that don't even know what the acronym their refusing, means. These people are all still at square-one, because to them, the step is not necessary. To them, leading a valid life, is to look like your leading a valid life, and then you can die.
This all may sound like a huge generalization. But if you look at these peoples social environment, this is their fight, this is their protest. The battle for Mono-culture, the giant generalization.
So don't become upset by these people. They're as useless as the words speak.

You people are all crazy...if this is true im sure you deserved it. None of you people have any respect for the laws or the police. You should all be locked up....

this is very disgusting. It doesn't even look real

sarah Ottawa. Ontario