[news] 'Arrested for Breathing'

[Pat S]

'Arrested for Breathing'
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0340/allah.php

Members and supporters of the politically-charged rap group dead prez (dpz), 
who were arrested Saturday afternoon in Crown Heights, allege the incident 
was police harassment. Clayton Gavin, a/k/a Sticman, one half of the 
controversial rap duo, his DJ, Umi Bem Niilampti, and two other associates, 
Samuel Murrain, a/k/a Ness, and Harris DeJesus, a/k/a D-Don, were in the 
midst of a photo shoot when they were detained for disorderly conduct and 
resisting arrest, among other charges, after refusing to show identification 
when queried by police. The cases against all but one of the defendants have 
already been dismissed.

According to Rosa Clemente, a dpz spokesperson and part of the Malcolm X 
Grassroots Movement (MXGM), at around 3:30 p.m., the group members were 
posing for a photographer in front of a Dean Street and Bedford Avenue 
building when they were approached by two female cops demanding their 
identification. In response, the group told the officers they were guests of 
a friend who lived at the address, and asked the reason for the ID request. 
Clemente says the police persisted, saying, "'What’s the problem, just show 
us ID,'" and that the rappers asked, "'For what? Why do we have to show you 
ID? There’s hundreds of people on this block, you ain’t asking them for 
ID.'"

dead prez claim that after this exchange the officers called for backup, 
more police arrived and the group was surrounded. Sticman says he repeatedly 
asked if he was under arrest, was told that he was not, but wasn’t allowed 
to leave or continue his work. "I was harassed and attacked by the police in 
my neighborhood," Sticman told the Voice. "I was never told anything about 
being under arrest. . . . There were no complaints. I wasn’t violating any 
laws other than the law of being black and being outside."

After the arrival of reinforcements, a sergeant ordered arrests. "He 
basically says, 'Arrest them all.' They arrest four people. They don’t 
arrest all the folks out there," says Kamau Karl Franklin, an MXGM attorney 
and dpz co-counsel along with Marisa Benton. "Something I found interesting 
was that the photographer who actually was taking the pictures, who is a 
white guy from England, wasn’t arrested at all. . . . He was just pushed to 
the side, and, luckily, he kept taking pictures."

"They also threw [Murrain] on the ground," says Clemente, "and put their 
knee on his head, and his head is on the sidewalk and he is visibly bruised 
and cut and they didn’t pick up his shoes, so he’s at the precinct with no 
shoes." In addition, both Sticman and Clemente say that DeJesus was roughed 
up and slammed against a vehicle.

Benton, a lawyer for the Legal Aid society contacted by dpz supporters, and 
the first attorney to see the men, finds the arrest curious. "The bottom 
line is they were arrested for breathing from what I could tell," says 
Benton. "Definitely, it was an unjustifiable arrest. I understand the police 
officers got nosy and tried to find a reason to question them and get their 
IDs. This is something that happens a lot."

The NYPD says that the officers were responding to a report of male 
trespassers at the location and observed a male urinating against a wall and 
several males congregated near a stairway. According to the police version, 
when the officers approached, and asked for ID to ascertain whether or not 
the subjects lived at the location, the subjects became disorderly and 
additional units were called in. The police also say that DeJesus kicked a 
female officer, causing her to sustain a minor injury to her left leg.

Franklin says that authorities alleged earlier that they saw suspicious 
movements—someone hiding something under a shirt—and that’s what prompted 
them to approach the group. He calls that assertion a total cover-up and 
lie. "It’s obvious what they were doing, they were taking pictures," he 
says.

Franklin says his clients were within their rights to refuse to give IDs 
without being given a reason. "There is no pass law," says Franklin 
referring to the one-time law in South Africa requiring all blacks to carry 
state-issued passes to enter urban areas. "They are not required to give ID 
[when] someone just walks up to them and demands ID, even if it’s a police 
officer. We have no basis for the initial stop."

Charges against Sticman, Niilampti, and Murrain were dismissed early Sunday 
and they were released from the Brooklyn courthouse without appearing before 
a judge. "As we are waiting for arraignment, we don’t see their names on the 
docket," says Clemente. "Then we go to get lunch, we come back. Stic, Umi, 
and Ness were released through the back door. They didn’t give them an 
explanation."

"Prosecution declined to prosecute," says Franklin. "Only [DeJesus] was 
held, and he is being charged at this present time with assault in the third 
degree, attempted assault in the third degree, menacing in the third degree, 
and harassment in the second degree—all misdemeanor charges. And the most 
amusing thing about the complaint is that there’s no charge here of 
disorderly conduct, no charge of resisting arrest, no underlying charges as 
to why they walked up to them in the first place and started demanding their 
ID."

DeJesus was arraigned, released without bail, and still faces charges. dpz, 
who were recently released from their Sony contract, just performed Friday 
night at the New School University as part of the ACLU College Freedom Tour, 
where NYPD and school police presence was reportedly heavy.

Listen to Dead Prez song samples from their soon to be released album "Get 
Free Or Die Trying" (Landspeed Records) here...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/nomikalmusic.htm

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