Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Friday, June 20, 2014
Free Women Self Defense Training til Aug. 9
Tiger Rock offering free self defense for women training till Aug.9th. Here is the full story from wfmynews2.com.You can see the original source here.
Tiger Rock Martial Arts in High Point wants to make sure every young woman is equipped with skills to protect themselves.
HIGH POINT, NC — If you have a kid going off to college at the end of the summer, you’re probably spending some time getting them ready.
You might be buying them new bedding, a new computer or teaching them money management. But don’t let their safety slip through the cracks, especially if you have a daughter.
Tiger Rock Martial Arts in High Point wants to make sure every young woman is equipped with skills to protect themselves.
The 30 days of free self-defense classes to young women has already started, but it runs through August 9, 2014.
The classes are at 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Young ladies, ages 14 to 20 years old can participate.
To reserve your spot, call 336-869-8399.
Tiger Rocks Martial Arts is located at 3755 Admiral Drive #104 in High Point.
Free Women Self Defense Training til Aug. 9
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Mesquite- Self Defense Seminar Next Tuesday
Women Self Defense training seminar next Tuesday in Mesquite. More from MesquiteLocalNews.com :
One in four women will be the target of an assault in her lifetime. If it happens to you, are you prepared to defend yourself? Do you know what to do? Will you be a passive victim or a fighter? Come to a free introductory workshop on self-defense and self-protection and learn how to fight back.
Guns & Guitars and Women’s Defensive Weaponry are sponsoring this workshop that is being given by John Hughs of Mesquite. John served in U.S. Embassies and Consulates in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, the Far East and Europe for 28 years. This afforded him the opportunity to study and teach self-defense techniques taught by world class self-defense experts. John will demonstrate basic self-defense techniques that can be mastered in a short period of time. These are skills that everyone should learn and practice in order to be prepared if your life is threatened.
Whether you are going off to college soon, moving out on your own, or simply going shopping in a large shopping center, you could potentially be a target. Maybe you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship. Most of us know at least one person who has been the victim of domestic violence. Learn the techniques and moves to keep you and your loved ones safe from harm.
This free introductory seminar will be held on Tuesday, June 24th at 6:00 p.m. at the Mesquite Vistas Clubhouse at Pinnacle Court and Oasis Boulevard. Space is limited, so please reserve your spot by calling Guns & Guitars at (702) 346-4867 or e-mail to 346guns@gmail.com or stop by the store at 1085 W. Pioneer Blvd., across from Wal-Mart and next to Dollar Tree.
Mesquite- Self Defense Seminar Next Tuesday
Monday, June 16, 2014
Alaskan Woman Teaching Women Self Defense to Children
Alaskan woman starts self defense class for young ones. Here is the story by juneauempire.com:
When men don’t ‘Choose Respect,’ women must choose self defense.
A local parent and mixed martial arts instructor decided to pair up and educate young girls on the basics of self defense in case they’re ever confronted by an aggressor. According to crime statistics, the chances of that happening is overwhelmingly high and would wreck any Alaska parent’s nerves.
In Alaska, 37 percent of woman are victims of sexual assault — three times the national average, according to 2012 FBI crime data. Alaska’s children aren’t much safer; they’re six times more likely be molested than their Lower 48 counterparts. Just because women and children are often smaller and weaker than their male aggressors, it doesn’t mean they have to be helpless. That’s the message parent Loretta Shilts and MMA instructor Harmony Morford want to share with Juneau’s parents and their teen daughters.
Morford is hosting a free self defense class for teen girls ages 13-19 on June 23 at Complete Warrior MMA Academy, located at 10001 Bentwood Place off Industrial Boulevard. The class will go over self defense as well as how young girls can establish personal boundaries with would-be attackers. According to Morford, 78 percent of sexual assaults are caused by someone the victim knew prior to the attack.
The self defense class for young women is more than a good idea — it’s a great idea. The course should help empower a demographic that often feels powerless while a sexual assault is happening.
Shilts went to Morford because of a situation involving her daughter. She and her family followed precautions like confirming a password when approached by people they didn’t know, and how to react to other “stranger danger” situations. Shilts did everything she knew to prepare her family. Still, it wasn’t enough.
“Sometimes, (sexual assault) happens in situations that you can never prepare your children for, and the best that you can do is take them somewhere where they can learn to defend themselves,” Shilts told the Empire.
If you’re the parent of a teen girl, make sure they attend this course. Encourage friends to do the same with their daughters. Staying alert and avoiding bad situations isn’t always enough. There’s bad men out there, and they prey on good people. Women have the right to protect themselves at all costs, but first they need the tools to do so. Morford’s class will provide just that.
• Empire editorials are written by the Juneau Empire’s editorial board. Members include Publisher Rustan Burton, rustan.burton@juneauempire.com; Director of Audience Abby Lowell, abby.lowell@juneauempire.com; Managing Editor Charles L. Westmoreland, charles.westmoreland@juneauempire.com; and Asst. Editor James Brooks,james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
Alaskan Woman Teaching Women Self Defense to Children
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Kid Gets Tased and Than Shot by Police Man
In my opinion this is a perfect example of an over zealous cop letting the fear go to his head and not thinking clearly. He could have very easily opted for the taser gun instead of shooting the kid. Though I admit I think this officer should be punished to the full extent of the law. Not all police officers are like this. I do understand that it is difficult being a police man but, if you can’t handle that type of stress without immediately opting for deadly force than you should not be a cop. Here is the rest of the story by SFGate.com:
Johannes Mehserle says he feared Oscar Grant was going for gun
Jaxon Van Derbeken
Updated 9:34 am, Saturday, June 14, 2014
Printable Version
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FontJohannes Mehserle testified Friday that he mistakenly shot Oscar Grant after concluding that the Hayward man was making a “digging motion in his right front pocket” for what he feared was a gun.
On the witness stand in San Francisco for a second day in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Grant’s father, the former BART police officer went through the events that ended in the death of Grant, who was unarmed, and eventually to Mehserle being convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Mehserle, 32, said he could not remember many details of what happened early Jan. 1, 2009, on the platform of the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, where he had responded to reports of a fight involving riders who had been taken off a train.
He said he had deployed his Taser twice on the platform to help make an arrest before shooting Grant, in what Mehserle has always maintained was the result of mistaking his service revolver for his electronic stun gun.
When he tried to deal with the 22-year-old Grant, who had earlier stood up on the platform in protest at being arrested, Mehserle said, he ran into problems.
First, he said, he pushed Grant back into a sitting position. Grant was mad about how he was being treated by another BART officer, Tony Pirone.
“I don’t know what is going on – just calm down, and we’ll figure it out later,” Mehserle recalled telling Grant.
Waukeen McCoy, attorney for the dead man’s father, Oscar Grant Jr., showed Mehserle a photo of a Taser’s red laser being pointed at the younger’s Grant’s upper thigh, near his groin area. Mehserle denied doing so intentionally, saying, “That’s not where you want to target.”
Mehserle handcuffed another man and returned to Grant. While Grant was on his knees with his hands behind his back, Mehserle said, he appeared compliant.
“It appears he is going along with everything,” the former officer said. “His hands were ready to be handcuffed.”
As he moved to cuff him, Mehserle testified, Grant violently pulled his right hand away. McCoy suggested that Grant may have reacted to abusive words from Pirone.
Pirone then pushed Grant to the ground. McCoy asked whether Mehserle had known that his fellow officer had his knee to Grant’s neck.
Mehserle replied that he was “100 percent” focused on Grant’s hands.
“Give me your hands, give me your hands,” he recalled telling Grant. “He wasn’t listening to me.”
“I was thinking, ‘Why won’t he give me his hands?’ That was a big concern,” he said. “I did not want to find out it was a gun. I didn’t want to get shot.”
“Etched in his brain,” Mehserle said, is an impression that Grant was reaching in his pocket for something. He recalled saying, “I’m going to Tase him, I’m going to Tase him,” but acknowledged that no such declaration is audible on cell phone videos taken at the scene.
That’s when he pulled his gun and fired once. “I didn’t intend to shoot him,” Mehserle said.
“I thought he was going for a gun,” he said. “I made a mistake.”
Mehserle did his best to console the dying Grant, he said, but added that as he handcuffed him, he didn’t tell him he had fired by mistake or that he was sorry.
He said he was mystified as to how he had shot Grant. “I felt terrible for Mr. Grant. I felt sick.”
Jaxon Van Derbeken is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail:jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com
Kid Gets Tased and Than Shot by Police Man
Protester Gets Pepper Sprayed at World Cup
Violence errupts at the World Cup. Police spray a man in the face with spray pepper. more on the story from independent.co.uk:
The man was arrested and restrained by police officers, who can be seen spraying a substance directly at his face in the footage.
On Thursday, at least 200 protesters clashed with riot police as they sought to block a road five miles from the Arena Corinthians ahead of the opening ceremony in Sao Paulo.
At least one person was detained by police, and six people injured, three of them journalists.
The World Cup has cost billions of pounds of public money in a nation fraught with poverty and inequality.
Warning: some readers may find this video upsetting
Demonstrations have repeatedly erupted in Brazil’s metropolitan areas in recent months, with even a small number of protesters regularly blocking main roadways and severely disrupting traffic.
Last year, more than a million people took to the streets in protest against perceived excessive spending on the World Cup, with demonstrators demanding big improvements in woeful public services like hospitals, schools, security and transportation.
But President Dilma Rousseff has dismissed complaints about the heavy spending and delays in preparing stadiums and airports, and described comparing funding for the World Cup against funding for education and healthcare as “false dilemma”.
Protester Gets Pepper Sprayed at World Cup
Friday, June 13, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Officer Offers Self Defense Course for Men, Women, and Children
A concealed carry advocate and Police Officer is offering concealed carry and self defense with non-lethal self defense products. Here is more on the story from thegazette.com:
Police officer offers self-defense courses
War veteran: ‘Not every fight is a gun fight’
Published: June 10 2014 | 4:00 am in News,397 1 1Corey Roberts knows how to handle a gun, and he isn’t afraid to use it.
With a career in law enforcement and 20 years of service in the National Guard, Roberts has had plenty of experience with firearms. He is a National Rifle Association-certified instructor and advocate for concealed carry.
But the full-time police officer and Afghanistan war veteran knows not everyone is comfortable around firearms. And, even in a self-defense situation, “using a gun is not always the correct option at the time,” he said.
The belief that everyone should have non-lethal tools for self-defense led Roberts to create a four-hour Practical Self Defense training course. He will offer the course to Eastern Iowans this summer through his company, Tactical Insights LLC.
“The course is designed for anyone out there whether they choose to carry a weapon or not,” Roberts said. “There is such a huge focus on firearms and concealed carry today that I worry we’ve decided a gun is the only alternative for self-defense. There are other options here.”
Roberts joined the Monticello Police Department in 2006. After returning from a deployment to Afghanistan with the Iowa National Guard in 2011, he decided to share his skills and experiences with others.
Roberts founded Tactical Insights with a focus on providing emergency response training to churches and ministries.
“I offer the training at no charge to churches, so I had to add other training to support that piece,” he said.
Roberts began offering firearms training to people seeking concealed carry permits. About a year into it, he had an epiphany when his wife said, “Not every fight is a gun fight.”
Roberts partnered with Security Equipment Corp. to provide its three-hour self-defense training course plus an additional hour of training he developed.
The course covers how to avoid an attack and what to do if attacked, including proper deployment of pepper spray and escape techniques. “There essentially are two ways to stop an aggressor — physiologically and psychologically,” Roberts said. “I really like pepper spray because it combines both. In addition to the physiological effect, it has a powerful psychological effect. If you display pepper spray, the attacker has to decide is this attack really worth it?”
Each student will receive a kit that includes three inert canisters of pepper spray for in-class practice, a live pepper spray canister on a keychain to take home, a safety awareness manual and a certificate of completion.
The course is open to anyone 13 and older (with a parent or guardian if under 18) of any physical ability.
“Everyone gets something out of it, regardless of any physical limitations,” Roberts said.
- See more at: http://thegazette.com/subject/news/police-officer-offers-self-defense-courses-20140610#sthash.m4KVBpZH.dpuf
Officer Offers Self Defense Course for Men, Women, and Children
Women Self Defense- Feminists Discredit Learning Self Defense
Okay this is getting crazy. I am finding more and more reports about feminists rallying against women learning self defense. They say that violence is not the answer for the devastating attacks that are happening to women all over the world. I do understand that violence is not always the answer but, I also know that this is America. A land of hard working and hard fighting people. We need to get back to the grass roots of the American way of thinking. There was a time that when a man would beat a women he would find himself beaten within an inch of his life but, today it is looked over. People don’t want to see. So they don’t.
There is a time to walk away from a fight but, this is not one of them. Women self defense classes and classes that will help women learn to use non-lethal self defense weapons and concealed carry classes so they can step up their defense if necessary. Is the most important thing that we need to have focused on in this war on women. Here is the story from dailycaller.com:
Concealed Carry & Home Defense
Feminists Ignore The Practical Solution To Violence: Self-Defense
5:56 PM 06/10/2014I’m not your typical feminist. In fact, by today’s standards, I’m probably not a feminist at all. The feminist movement was once something inspiring and empowering. The movement today attempts to be so, but they directly ignore sensible solutions to serious problems.
In the shadow of the recent shootings, personal protection is fresh on our minds. The news has been packed with breaking stories of these incidents, and it has created the perfect platform for feminists to push their radical anti-gun agenda on businesses, individuals and lawmakers.
Just today, a gunman entered Reynolds High School, killing one student. A couple days ago, Vegas cop killers, Jerad and Amanda Miller, carried out their insane pipe dream, killing two cops and one other man. Let’s not forget misogynic maniac Elliot Roger who killed six people. Under these circumstances, one would think people would unite to form a practical solution to gun violence. Instead, feminists decided to use the tragedies as their anti-gun political platform to show the danger of firearms.
The same feminists who encourage women to be individualistic, career oriented and self-empowering completely ignore the easy answers to violence.
Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America is one of the most senseless campaigns alongside the twitter explosion of Yes All Women. Moms Demand Action has launched a series of anti-gun petitions to many well-known businesses like Chipotle, Jack in the Box and now Target.
According to their “facts” from a 2011 Violence Policy Center report, a handgun “provides no protection against homicide.” That’s definitive.
Compare them with the other anti-gun feminist campaign, Yes All Women. Yes All Women emerged after the psycho Elliot Roger killed six people on his shooting rampage in Santa Barbara. The Yes All Women campaign attempted to focus on female empowerment. They rightfully condemn misogynic behavior and relentlessly called for women to take a stand. Unfortunately, taking a stand literally meant just that. The campaign successfully swelled, generating over one million tweets. Blame was placed on men, workplace sexism and rape culture. Generally speaking, these same women who preached female empowerment failed to mention a very practical solution to violence against women: Self-defense.
As a young woman living in D.C., these issues hit me hard. Although D.C. has the most restrictive weapon laws, they are one of the most dangerous cities in America.
I’ve done my research. In D.C., I can’t carry a pocketknife, concealed weapon or a taser. Even pepper spray is nearly impossible to carry. It has to have certain ingredients, be in a particular type of aerosol can, must have special instructions written in the correct place and it must be registered as a weapon at the local police department.
The “less guns less crime” argument would suggest that this would be the safest area to reside, but a data set from the Guardian (derived from the FBI’s crime reports) suggests the opposite is true. Of the total D.C. murders in 2011, 71 percent are from firearms. Compare this to one of the most “gun friendly” states, Arizona. Their total murders by firearm were 65 percent. Out of 100,000, their total firearm murders were 222, whereas Washington D.C. was a whopping 1,220.
If feminist lobbyists really cared about the safety and mistreatment of women, they would jump on board with the NRA and start an armed women campaign, because as of now, I plan on defending myself with a tightly clenched pen.
Feminists should direct their fury at the incredibly restrictive gun laws in big, dangerous cities. Of course aggressors are going to prey on defenseless women. Why won’t feminists realize that lobbying for more gun laws won’t protect them? It’s impossible to regulate everyone’s behavior. Gun free zones only empower the criminal.
Since when does empowering women involve stripping them of practically every means possible to protect themselves?
The Founders of America would argue that, “a well-armed populace” actually discourages– not only gun related crime– but crime of any kind. Many criminals cower or take their own life when confronted with armed opposition
It might be asking too much, but these activists should take a look at their hypocrisy and make simple amends. Feminism is supposed to be all about female empowerment. What’s more empowering than arming and defending yourself? We’re never going to be able to find every psychopath before they commit a crime, but I guarantee you the tides will turn when you point a gun in their direction.
Gun violence shouldn’t be a partisan issue. We need to unite and think about practical solutions, despite how we “feel” about weapons. It’s totally sensible and most importantly, totally constitutional.
You can’t always count on someone else to protect you. The police are only a phone call away, but who’s to say you have five minutes to wait? In violent situations, every second counts. I realize many feminists have a clear disdain for firearms, and they’re entitled to that opinion. Keep in mind though; aggressors often carry out their evil intentions with more than a gun.
This issue isn’t about “rape culture,” men’s disrespect of women or the evil of weapons. It all comes down to the condition of someone’s heart. If a person with deep-seated hatred decides to take the lives of innocent people, laws won’t stop them.
Anti-gun feminists are only making it more difficult for women to be empowered. In essence, these campaigns are fostering an environment of helplessness, and that kind of mentality will only produce more victims.
Using feminist logic, it would be better to run to an emergency call box, scream for a police officer or blow a rape whistle than to empower potential victims with a firearm. I’m sure Cosmo editor Elisa Benson reflected the attitudes of her feminist allies when she suggested that self-defense was “icky.” Is that female empowerment in the 21st century?
Feminists can pretend that all would be well in their weaponless utopia. The reality is there are twisted people out there who don’t value human life. Making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to obtain weapons will only make matters worse.
Women Self Defense- Feminists Discredit Learning Self Defense
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
#pepperspray An Indiana woman is preparing a Federal lawsuit following a March ordeal in which she allegedly was pepper sprayed, stripped and paraded by police through a local jail after being detained on a pair of misdemeanor charges. Video from the incarceration shows the woman was pepper sprayed in her cell and left without clothes for almost an hour before being allowed to wash out her eyes.
An attorney representing Tabitha Gentry, the alleged victim, told local media that Gentry will file the suit next week against officers with the Floyd County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. She alleges the officers violated her Constitutional rights while she was in their custody.
Gentry, who lives in New Albany, Ind., was brought to the jail in the early hours of March 30 on charges of resisting and disorderly conduct after police responded to a domestic call at a residence. Her attorney, Laura Landenwich, said things escalated quickly once she arrived at the jail.
“Almost immediately upon entering the jail, she’s assaulted by four officers. They grab her around the neck; they grab her body,” Landenwich told WDRB News . “They hold her down. There are two male officers and two female officers and they forcibly remove her pants, her shoes, her underwear and her shirt and bra.”
From the video, Gentry appears to be unruly (she was reportedly very intoxicated when taken into custody), but she does not appear violent. Without an accompanying audio track, the surveillance video doesn’t reveal what Gentry said that prompted the team of officers to throw her to the floor and drag her into a padded cell, strip her of her clothing and leave her naked and begging for something to wear.
Landenwich said Gentry attempted to escalate her demands for clothing by banging on the cell door, and that officers responded by pepper spraying her and leaving her alone in the cell for another 45 minutes before allowing her to wash the spray from her face. After she finally was provided an opportunity to clean herself up, she was placed back in the cell for another five hours.
“There is no justifiable law enforcement purpose to treating someone this way,” Landenwich told WAVE News . “There is no officer safety issue that is implicated by her having clothing. What this is, is humiliation.”
There was a standard-issue smock in the padded cell. At one point, the video shows Gentry draped in the loose cover. Isn’t that “clothing?” Doesn’t the smock ensure detainees’ Constitutional rights remain intact?
Maybe, but Landenwich insinuates that this incident reflects a larger pattern of detainee abuse by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. In a similar case last year involving one of Gentry’s relatives at the Floyd County jail, the county ended up settling with a plaintiff who alleged officers had withheld clothing in order to humiliate her. And she points out an obvious, but overlooked, fact: Detainees aren’t convicts. Unless and until they’re found guilty of crimes, treatment of the kind that Gentry allegedly received amounts to a form of punishment.
“Now this is a woman, who under our system of law, is innocent until proven guilty,” Landenwich said . “She’s charged, and she’s charged with a misdemeanor crime that’s not a violent crime…What we also see on the video is, there is another inmate also being held naked prior to her entering that cell. These are egregious Constitutional violations.”
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
#pepperspray An Indiana woman is preparing a Federal lawsuit following a March ordeal in which she allegedly was pepper sprayed, stripped and paraded by police through a local jail after being detained on a pair of misdemeanor charges. Video from the incarceration shows the woman was pepper sprayed in her cell and left without clothes for almost an hour before being allowed to wash out her eyes.
An attorney representing Tabitha Gentry, the alleged victim, told local media that Gentry will file the suit next week against officers with the Floyd County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. She alleges the officers violated her Constitutional rights while she was in their custody.
Gentry, who lives in New Albany, Ind., was brought to the jail in the early hours of March 30 on charges of resisting and disorderly conduct after police responded to a domestic call at a residence. Her attorney, Laura Landenwich, said things escalated quickly once she arrived at the jail.
“Almost immediately upon entering the jail, she’s assaulted by four officers. They grab her around the neck; they grab her body,” Landenwich told WDRB News . “They hold her down. There are two male officers and two female officers and they forcibly remove her pants, her shoes, her underwear and her shirt and bra.”
From the video, Gentry appears to be unruly (she was reportedly very intoxicated when taken into custody), but she does not appear violent. Without an accompanying audio track, the surveillance video doesn’t reveal what Gentry said that prompted the team of officers to throw her to the floor and drag her into a padded cell, strip her of her clothing and leave her naked and begging for something to wear.
Landenwich said Gentry attempted to escalate her demands for clothing by banging on the cell door, and that officers responded by pepper spraying her and leaving her alone in the cell for another 45 minutes before allowing her to wash the spray from her face. After she finally was provided an opportunity to clean herself up, she was placed back in the cell for another five hours.
“There is no justifiable law enforcement purpose to treating someone this way,” Landenwich told WAVE News . “There is no officer safety issue that is implicated by her having clothing. What this is, is humiliation.”
There was a standard-issue smock in the padded cell. At one point, the video shows Gentry draped in the loose cover. Isn’t that “clothing?” Doesn’t the smock ensure detainees’ Constitutional rights remain intact?
Maybe, but Landenwich insinuates that this incident reflects a larger pattern of detainee abuse by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. In a similar case last year involving one of Gentry’s relatives at the Floyd County jail, the county ended up settling with a plaintiff who alleged officers had withheld clothing in order to humiliate her. And she points out an obvious, but overlooked, fact: Detainees aren’t convicts. Unless and until they’re found guilty of crimes, treatment of the kind that Gentry allegedly received amounts to a form of punishment.
“Now this is a woman, who under our system of law, is innocent until proven guilty,” Landenwich said . “She’s charged, and she’s charged with a misdemeanor crime that’s not a violent crime…What we also see on the video is, there is another inmate also being held naked prior to her entering that cell. These are egregious Constitutional violations.”
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
#pepperspray An Indiana woman is preparing a Federal lawsuit following a March ordeal in which she allegedly was pepper sprayed, stripped and paraded by police through a local jail after being detained on a pair of misdemeanor charges. Video from the incarceration shows the woman was pepper sprayed in her cell and left without clothes for almost an hour before being allowed to wash out her eyes.
An attorney representing Tabitha Gentry, the alleged victim, told local media that Gentry will file the suit next week against officers with the Floyd County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. She alleges the officers violated her Constitutional rights while she was in their custody.
Gentry, who lives in New Albany, Ind., was brought to the jail in the early hours of March 30 on charges of resisting and disorderly conduct after police responded to a domestic call at a residence. Her attorney, Laura Landenwich, said things escalated quickly once she arrived at the jail.
“Almost immediately upon entering the jail, she’s assaulted by four officers. They grab her around the neck; they grab her body,” Landenwich told WDRB News . “They hold her down. There are two male officers and two female officers and they forcibly remove her pants, her shoes, her underwear and her shirt and bra.”
From the video, Gentry appears to be unruly (she was reportedly very intoxicated when taken into custody), but she does not appear violent. Without an accompanying audio track, the surveillance video doesn’t reveal what Gentry said that prompted the team of officers to throw her to the floor and drag her into a padded cell, strip her of her clothing and leave her naked and begging for something to wear.
Landenwich said Gentry attempted to escalate her demands for clothing by banging on the cell door, and that officers responded by pepper spraying her and leaving her alone in the cell for another 45 minutes before allowing her to wash the spray from her face. After she finally was provided an opportunity to clean herself up, she was placed back in the cell for another five hours.
“There is no justifiable law enforcement purpose to treating someone this way,” Landenwich told WAVE News . “There is no officer safety issue that is implicated by her having clothing. What this is, is humiliation.”
There was a standard-issue smock in the padded cell. At one point, the video shows Gentry draped in the loose cover. Isn’t that “clothing?” Doesn’t the smock ensure detainees’ Constitutional rights remain intact?
Maybe, but Landenwich insinuates that this incident reflects a larger pattern of detainee abuse by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. In a similar case last year involving one of Gentry’s relatives at the Floyd County jail, the county ended up settling with a plaintiff who alleged officers had withheld clothing in order to humiliate her. And she points out an obvious, but overlooked, fact: Detainees aren’t convicts. Unless and until they’re found guilty of crimes, treatment of the kind that Gentry allegedly received amounts to a form of punishment.
“Now this is a woman, who under our system of law, is innocent until proven guilty,” Landenwich said . “She’s charged, and she’s charged with a misdemeanor crime that’s not a violent crime…What we also see on the video is, there is another inmate also being held naked prior to her entering that cell. These are egregious Constitutional violations.”
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
#pepperspray An Indiana woman is preparing a Federal lawsuit following a March ordeal in which she allegedly was pepper sprayed, stripped and paraded by police through a local jail after being detained on a pair of misdemeanor charges. Video from the incarceration shows the woman was pepper sprayed in her cell and left without clothes for almost an hour before being allowed to wash out her eyes.
An attorney representing Tabitha Gentry, the alleged victim, told local media that Gentry will file the suit next week against officers with the Floyd County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. She alleges the officers violated her Constitutional rights while she was in their custody.
Gentry, who lives in New Albany, Ind., was brought to the jail in the early hours of March 30 on charges of resisting and disorderly conduct after police responded to a domestic call at a residence. Her attorney, Laura Landenwich, said things escalated quickly once she arrived at the jail.
“Almost immediately upon entering the jail, she’s assaulted by four officers. They grab her around the neck; they grab her body,” Landenwich told WDRB News . “They hold her down. There are two male officers and two female officers and they forcibly remove her pants, her shoes, her underwear and her shirt and bra.”
From the video, Gentry appears to be unruly (she was reportedly very intoxicated when taken into custody), but she does not appear violent. Without an accompanying audio track, the surveillance video doesn’t reveal what Gentry said that prompted the team of officers to throw her to the floor and drag her into a padded cell, strip her of her clothing and leave her naked and begging for something to wear.
Landenwich said Gentry attempted to escalate her demands for clothing by banging on the cell door, and that officers responded by pepper spraying her and leaving her alone in the cell for another 45 minutes before allowing her to wash the spray from her face. After she finally was provided an opportunity to clean herself up, she was placed back in the cell for another five hours.
“There is no justifiable law enforcement purpose to treating someone this way,” Landenwich told WAVE News . “There is no officer safety issue that is implicated by her having clothing. What this is, is humiliation.”
There was a standard-issue smock in the padded cell. At one point, the video shows Gentry draped in the loose cover. Isn’t that “clothing?” Doesn’t the smock ensure detainees’ Constitutional rights remain intact?
Maybe, but Landenwich insinuates that this incident reflects a larger pattern of detainee abuse by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. In a similar case last year involving one of Gentry’s relatives at the Floyd County jail, the county ended up settling with a plaintiff who alleged officers had withheld clothing in order to humiliate her. And she points out an obvious, but overlooked, fact: Detainees aren’t convicts. Unless and until they’re found guilty of crimes, treatment of the kind that Gentry allegedly received amounts to a form of punishment.
“Now this is a woman, who under our system of law, is innocent until proven guilty,” Landenwich said . “She’s charged, and she’s charged with a misdemeanor crime that’s not a violent crime…What we also see on the video is, there is another inmate also being held naked prior to her entering that cell. These are egregious Constitutional violations.”
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
#pepperspray An Indiana woman is preparing a Federal lawsuit following a March ordeal in which she allegedly was pepper sprayed, stripped and paraded by police through a local jail after being detained on a pair of misdemeanor charges. Video from the incarceration shows the woman was pepper sprayed in her cell and left without clothes for almost an hour before being allowed to wash out her eyes.
An attorney representing Tabitha Gentry, the alleged victim, told local media that Gentry will file the suit next week against officers with the Floyd County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. She alleges the officers violated her Constitutional rights while she was in their custody.
Gentry, who lives in New Albany, Ind., was brought to the jail in the early hours of March 30 on charges of resisting and disorderly conduct after police responded to a domestic call at a residence. Her attorney, Laura Landenwich, said things escalated quickly once she arrived at the jail.
“Almost immediately upon entering the jail, she’s assaulted by four officers. They grab her around the neck; they grab her body,” Landenwich told WDRB News . “They hold her down. There are two male officers and two female officers and they forcibly remove her pants, her shoes, her underwear and her shirt and bra.”
From the video, Gentry appears to be unruly (she was reportedly very intoxicated when taken into custody), but she does not appear violent. Without an accompanying audio track, the surveillance video doesn’t reveal what Gentry said that prompted the team of officers to throw her to the floor and drag her into a padded cell, strip her of her clothing and leave her naked and begging for something to wear.
Landenwich said Gentry attempted to escalate her demands for clothing by banging on the cell door, and that officers responded by pepper spraying her and leaving her alone in the cell for another 45 minutes before allowing her to wash the spray from her face. After she finally was provided an opportunity to clean herself up, she was placed back in the cell for another five hours.
“There is no justifiable law enforcement purpose to treating someone this way,” Landenwich told WAVE News . “There is no officer safety issue that is implicated by her having clothing. What this is, is humiliation.”
There was a standard-issue smock in the padded cell. At one point, the video shows Gentry draped in the loose cover. Isn’t that “clothing?” Doesn’t the smock ensure detainees’ Constitutional rights remain intact?
Maybe, but Landenwich insinuates that this incident reflects a larger pattern of detainee abuse by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. In a similar case last year involving one of Gentry’s relatives at the Floyd County jail, the county ended up settling with a plaintiff who alleged officers had withheld clothing in order to humiliate her. And she points out an obvious, but overlooked, fact: Detainees aren’t convicts. Unless and until they’re found guilty of crimes, treatment of the kind that Gentry allegedly received amounts to a form of punishment.
“Now this is a woman, who under our system of law, is innocent until proven guilty,” Landenwich said . “She’s charged, and she’s charged with a misdemeanor crime that’s not a violent crime…What we also see on the video is, there is another inmate also being held naked prior to her entering that cell. These are egregious Constitutional violations.”
Woman Files Federal Lawsuit Over Naked Pepper Spraying Ordeal At Indiana Jail - Personal Liberty
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