numerous people have reported that an exceptionally serious head injury was suffered by a protester yesterday (3/23). some reports indicated that this man may have sustained very serious damage to one eye - some people indicated that his eye was smashed OUT of his head.

the public and the protest community need to know what happened to this person. when terrible crimes are committed against protesters, everybody is intimidated. mysterious silence about terrible crimes leads to speculation which leads to more fear and usually to defeatism. in order to prevent that, we need the truth to come out and then we need justice.

i personally am saddened by my own uncertainty about these stories. it is very hard to sit back and forget about something this serious.

EITHER WE FIND OUT AND PUBLICIZE WHAT HAPPENED OR WE ALLOW OUR MOVEMENTS TO BE INTIMIDATED BY GHASTLY SPECULATIONS.

(bump)

we can't let this kind of terror slide as if it doesn't really matter whether it's true or false. it does matter.

I'm a friend of the guy who got hit in the head. His name is Ian Craig, he's a graduate student at UCLA. Let me give an update on the situation:

Ian is currently in the main jail, awaiting arraignment. He's charged with
"take/remove a firearm from peace officer", which is a felony. We have a few witnesses who say this is a bogus charge. We've been trying unsuccessfully to contact the LA Laywer's Guild, but we do have representation for now.

One piece of very bad news is that Ian has not been allowed to see a doctor, even though he has said his vision in the bad eye is getting worse. We're hoping to have him bailed out today.

What we need now is video, witnesses, and the name/badge number of the cop who did this.

We'll keep you posted. Information can go to oscarprotest@yahoo.com

Peace,
Ross Larsen

One other thing. We were told that Ian's cheekbone was fractured in the incident, and he spent the night in the hospital before being transferred to
the jail.

Ross

Oh well. Fuck with the bull, ya get the horns.

At around 2700fps. . .

Advocating the murder of policemen, charming.

When are you due back at work, Mother Theresa?

thanks Ross for the reports.

we all need the facts to come out and we all need justice. if Ian is the one who sustained the horrifying injuries that we have been hearing about, he should be made aware that his case is potentially very damaging to the LAPD and to police repression of protesters in general. many many people will try to bury this story in any way they can.

First, we need full medical care for all injured protesters. if Ian is not receving sufficient medical attention, there should be a criminal prosecution for neglect or worse in the works.

Second,we need all anti-war activists to cooperate and organize a legal counter attack against the brutal police repression we are facing. do NOT depend on one legal team to coordinate the communication and networking that is badly needed. go public. use the IMC, etc. - - these public forums (KPFK, etc.) are flawed, but we need to use them more - GO PUBLIC. any information that the police already have about us that we as a movement do not share, becomes a powerful weapon against us.

Third, we need to criminally prosecute all instances of police brutality. our legal resources are not like those of the police, but if we start organizing against this latest spike in brutal repression, pro-bono lawyers will come on board as this movement develops. brutal police repression against political activism is one of the most dangerous forces in the world - - and once it is exposed it will be condemned by virtually the entire population.

Fourth, we need to publicize the crimes and prosecution of police misconduct as widely as possible. again, USE the IMC, call KPFK, use listservs you are on.... the more the word gets out about a legal counterattack against illegal police repression, the harder for the police to sustain these tactics they are using. if we DO NOT publicize our legal counterattack, there can be no doubt that the police will ESCALATE their attacks and raise the level of violence considerably.

Fifth, we need a CIVILIAN ELECTED police review board. this is the bare minimum we need - a first step towards true community control over law enforcement. but even this first step is kept far away by one emergency after another. as we deal with emergencies, we have to keep spreading the word about how we can begin to PREVENT future instances of police brutality beofre they happen and make our communities more safe and more democratic.

WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF IAN CRAIG ON THE GROUND?! WE NEED MORE REPORTS FROM EYE WITNESSES (THERE WERE MANY). PLEASE DON'T LET THIS STORY GET BURIED.

!!!!!JUSTICE FOR IAN CRAIG AND FOR ALL BRUTALIZED ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS!!!!!

(bump)

i was told very clearly by an eye witness that a man had his eye KNOCKED OUT. anything so horrible is hard to believe, but i remember people weeping openly and others wide-eyed gasping out these horrific stories..... it is possible that people were exaggerating but it is also possible that there was someone injured much more severely than Ian Craig. i hope not. but it is possible. we need more eye witness reports here!!!! it also seems possible that Ian's injuries are more serious than we are aware of so far.

(i believe the incident in question happened after the first breakaway - a block south of sunset, but i could be wrong).

!!!!HELP!!!! more info please! were all witnesses arrested?

Here is some info I found elsewhere on this website. I hope people who go to this meeting are able to help Ian Craig and the others.

------------

Call to ARRESTED and VICTIMS of Police Brutality
by Amanda Egge " Tuesday March 25, 2003 Tuet 02:39 AM


We are trying to compile a list of group info for all of those arrested for civil disobedience in relation to the war protests and all those injured by the police.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for civil disobedience over the last week or has been injured by the police at a protest in the last week please email me. We "The Arrested" (mostly a group of us from Saturday's arrests) had a meeting tonight at the Peace Center to discuss our next step. We plan on consolidating our cases and pleading not guilty as a group and are seeking legal representation and will be interviewing lawyers. We are also investigating pressing charges against the police for brutality.

Our next meeting is scheduled for THURSDAY MARCH 27th at 7:30 PM at the Solidarity Hall- 2170 W. Washington Blvd. (which is off the 10 at Washington and Western). All Arrestees and Victims of police brutality are urged to attend.

It is very important that we get in contact with all arrestees and injured ASAP.

Thanks,
Amanda Egge

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/03/39709_comment.php#40785

when and where exactly did this incident of police brutality happen?

witnesses, please come forward.

Going for an officer's gun could have gotten him a couple of SLUGS!

I've posted this to a new thread, but I'll add it here.

Ian has been released, with all charges dropped. Next step is to go after the
LAPD for what they did to him, but for now, we're just glad he's out.

ross

thanks for keeping us updated. i hope he gets the best medical care right now. i hope also that he can make it to meetings of fellow arrestees to plan a legal counter attack.

oh - i hope these cops get nailed to the wall for this shit.

where are the photos? if the public sees the photos, support will come knocking and the cops position will get weaker and weaker. we need to see the photos. it is possible that the photographers who were present were cops in which case lawyers will have to demand these photos along with all "discovery". but it would be much more politically threatening to the cops for the photos to come out here.

where are the photos?

Yes, that was me y'all saw in yesterday morning's LA Times. Yes, I did get popped by a police baton. No, I certainly did not try to reach for the gun of an officer in full riot gear (I'm working on a PhD, I'm not stupid). No, my eyeball did not squirt out. No, I did not recieve medical attention for the eye itself (although I did get stitches). I have stitches above and below my left eye and I sustained a suborbital fracture. I am headed off to UCLA medical center right now to get checked out by a real set of doctors.

Every officer and every prison guard (and the prison nurses) had the same attitude. It served me right for being out there and that if I was smart, I wouldn't show my face in a protest again.

Fat chance.

Thanks for the support, and to restate Ross's post, anyone who saw what happened, especially if you have video or photos, please come forward.

See y'all on the streets...

Craig, I'll look for you, if the cops don't finish you off I will.

congratulations, knuckles - - repulsive comments like yours drive more and more reasonable people out of the pro-war camp. thanks also for providing a good example of the personality type that often ends up in the police force. hopefully juries can study your comment carefully while pondering the possibility of a nice long prison sentence for your brutal police brethren.

I SUPPORT IAN CRAIG!!

i think lawyers will promise all kinds of stuff and then in the end not much will come out of all the brutality cases unless you all organize yourselves to PUBLICIZE your grievances as widely as possible.

if the stories and photos get out to a LOT of people, THEN lawyers will be able to help more. that's just my guess.

i hope you will all get it together at the meeting tomorrow night and also at ONGOING meetings. i hope you all will prioritize PUBLICITY for your grievances and connecting with other groups that are fighting police brutality.

WE KNOW HOW BRUTAL THEY CAN BE - - LET US NOT BE INTIMIDATED INTO SILENCE!!

Not to be overly negative but... It could be that this meeting will be a bunch of speeches and not much opportunity to self-organize.

If that happens, it is still important to get as many people there as possible if people can congregate outside and try to plan ongoing meetings and make outreach plans....

Hey Cyclops, how many fingers am I holding up?

hahahahahhaha

See you on the streets...Quasimoto

You are one sick right wing Scum bag. You really think it is funny that the out-of-control LAPD injured someone? Why don't you go to Iraqi and kill some innocent babies? Hmmm....wait a sec...King Georgie is already there and doing that.

Get a Life, Asshole.

Don't worry with that patch they'll give you, I bet you can double as a Pirate!

ARRRRRRR!!!!!! Work on it. ARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

This story is a genuine eye opener.

At least that liberal can now legitimately claim that he's keeping an eye on President Bush and his administration.


And I'm sure he's keeping an eye out for the next protest so he can participate!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

har.

Abastie Matie!!!!

I needs a new first mate. I HEARS YOU HAVE ONE EYE!!!! HARRRRR!!!!!!

COME AND JOIN ME SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS!!!!! HARRRR!!!

Guess you put the "Eye" in IAN hahahahahhaha

Hey, Ian quit winking at me.

Really stop it. Oh you only have one eye...my bad!

Eye'm sorry EYE didn't know.

Hey, Black Beard. Would you consider giving me a golden shower? I've always fantasized about getting urinated on by a big, strong pirate like you.

How many eye's do you have though. EYE have a thing for boys with One Eye.

and skull fuck you to death, mr. twelve year old impersonator.

I'm flattered that you like my name so much, you'd make it your own. Can we look forward to you getting it tattooed on your forehead??

I've got my eye on you. - Ian Craig

I have two eyes. However I have a 1" penis. If you're into tiny dicks, I'm your boy!

I just love letting people know how much they get under my skin. It's a trait of the weakminded. I also love letting people know of my sick skul-fucking fantasies.

A man was eating in a fancy restaurant, and there was a gorgeous redhead eating at the next table. He had been checking her out all night, but lacked the nerve to go talk to her.

Suddenly she sneezed and her glass eye went flying out of her socket towards the man. With his quick reflexes, he caught it in mid-air.

"Oh my god, I am sooooo sorry," the woman said as she popped her eye back in the socket. "Let me buy you dinner to make it up to you."

They enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and afterwards the woman invited him back to her place for a drink.

They went back to her house, and after a bit she brought him into the bedroom and began undressing him. The couple had wild, passionate sex many times during the night.

The next morning when he awoke, she had already gotten up and brought him breakfast in bed.

The guy was amazed. "You know, you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?"

"No, she replied.... You just happened to catch my eye!"

Why did the Ian Craig give up teaching?

Because he only had one pupil.

tip your waitress, I'll be here all week.

He's such a crEYE baby.

EYE Love this.

EYE, the police were too nice to EYEan. EYE would have just shot his sorry ass.

All oppose?.......

All for the protest to save EYEan's EYE? EYE

Eye think you've gone too far with this joke.

We must help the people of EYE-Raq

Listen guys.

Ian wants me to tell you "Eye for an Eye"


HAHAHAAHHA get it....ahhahahha

whew...that was a good one.

Whew! You guys are a regular laugh riot! I haven't heard puns this good since I was in the 2nd grade! We got the pirate jokes, we got a cyclops joke, and several uses of EYE replacing the letter I. How clever!

May I also suggest the following:

SEE you around (get it? My eye got hit, so I can't really see)
You don't LOOK so good (get it? I can't "look" with my eye. It's a clever play on words!)
Hey three eyes (get it? My glasses got smashed into my eye, so when I wear my new ones, there are the two lenses and my one good eye. That adds up to three!)

I'm also surprised that everyone missed the obvious Popeye connection. He even squints with his left eye, and his catch phrase is "blow me down". Get it? That's what the cop did to me! Of course, I don't smoke a corncob pipe, so perhaps it's too much of a stretch for some people.

This's why we're at war. The pro-war chickenhawks and their apologists lack imagination and creativity. "Well, let's see. most of the world hates us, and our economy is in the toilet. What should we do to make the country safer? I know, why don't we bomb the shit out of a bunch of civilians. That'll teach them terrorists. Yuk, yuk, yuk."

I gotta go gets me spinach...

You can't honestly say that MY puns lacked imagination and creativity!

Patently absurd.

By the way, since your incident, have been keeping an eye on the LAPD? I hear they've been keeping an eye out for you!

HAR!

I hope all these douche bag protesters are getting their eyes busted in right now by the LAPD.

My tax dollars at work! HIT EM HARDER!

Ok, who stole my eye at the rally tonight?

Not cool guys, you need to give it back, I have to wear my patch otherwise.

PLEASE HELP ME FIND MY EYE!!!!

jokes like these are great ways to drive reasonable people out of the pro-war camp.

i wonder if those cops want Ian Craig to prosecute them or not, hmm...... probably not.

incidents like this one and the response to it weakens the police. what the cops really want is for people to be afraid to organize themselves - - that's obvious. they figured out they couldn't bury the story so now they're going to try to disrupt as much as they can.

the idea of enforcing the rules of society is not such a bad idea in itself. too bad being a cop has so little to do with that.

Eye'M Sorry.


AHHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

hello ian, i saw what happened to you from a short distance. the cop took one of silver cylinder looking things of his uniform and threw it right at your face from 2 feet away with lightning speed. Then started pushing up on me with his batton. Then some other guy wacked him upside the head and ran. he was very flustered. peace. write me back if you need to

I saw you being a jack ass and trying to touch the police officers private parts.

Why would you provoke them like that Ian? I wanted a peaceful protest and you had to use it as a joke. Please do not come to anymore of our rallies. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IAN CRAIG.

Would you like to touch my private parts? If so, please bring a magnifying glass. No, make that a telescope.

with an unusually small penis. Maybe we can force the LA IMC to become just like the SF IMC by showing them how semi-intelligent debate can degrade into idiocy through simple trolling tactics. Down with FREE SPEECH!!

Down with FREE SPEECH!

What's so civil about war anyway?


I NEVER DREW FIRST BUT I DREW FIRST BLOOOOOOD

FREE MAMAMMMULA BABULLA ALLAH ABULI MMAGAIA

A recently taken photograph released on March 26, 2003 shows a member of Britains 42 Commando on patrol in Umm Qasr in southern Iraq.

Eye see.

It's a matter of perspective.

Nuke the liberals! Clear cut the trees! Shit on the environment! I love being a conservative.

Love to Bump the EYE Story...it's grand.

EYE SURRENDER!

till somebody loses an eye.

Or gets run over with a bull-dozer.

Or falls out of a tree.

Ever notice how stupid liberals are? I have.

...it is not fun and games. We are fighting for the honor and future of our country. Perhaps Quixotic but we would like to restore the good name and reputation for decency this country once had.

"...it is not fun and games. We are fighting for the honor and future of our country"

Diogenes,

Abbie Hoffman shot himself. Jerry Rubin stepped out in front of a car. These are honorable things former leftists have done that we all can admire. So, exactly when will you follow in their footsteps and bring honor to our country?

Diogenes would do well to just gouge out his eyes.

Nothing I've ever seen is more patriotic than getting run over with a piece of industrial equipment.

TAKE ACTION, IMC!!!!

WE MUST STOP ALL BULL DOZERS.

HOLD HANDS AND STOP THEM TOGETHER.....POWER IN NUMBERS. WE WILL SACRIFICE OUR LIVES. IF ENOUGH OF US GET SMASHED LIKE PANCAKES WE'LL STOP THEM FOR SURE!

EYE Will be there tomorrow.

Eye'M So proud to be an American.

EYE SMASHED IN BY LAPD. What a title.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

I regained site in my bad eye today.

is this for real? if so, i am glad to hear it.

anybody go to the meeting at Solidarity Hall last night? updates please.

Eye'M so glad for you!

Just wondering... anyone heard?

I guess you can call it "blind justice"

hahahahhaha

Seriously though, I'm glad you regained your vision. We need more valiant, educated, souljahs out there. and, if you are single, so am I. Leave a response if interested.

I hope you don't mind that I will be wearing a patch on my eye.

People tell me it makes me look really tough.

HAR!!!!!!!! HARRRR!!!!!!! Bury me treasure in your arse!

Would you consider burying your treasure in MY arse?

you know.... what will happen when YOU are faced with misfortune or violence?

for example, people who laughed at photos of blindfolded "enemy combatants" a year ago.... stopped laughing pretty quick when they saw US soldiers looking pretty humble as "Prisoners of War" (lucky devils).

If we let cops get away with poking out Ian's eyeball at a protest, what sort of message does that send? Next thing you know they'll be poking out everyone's eyes. We'll be just a bunch of one-eyed protesters. A bunch of liberals with no depth perception How do you suppose that would look? (no pun intended). Heavens knows what would result if you showed up at a second protest.

Down with eye-pokers.

how funny is this one?

That is a real eye opener!

Eye've seen that one before.

Save the EYE Balls!!!!

March for you and EYE.

EYE didn't vote for Bush.

Eye guys we should call him "_an Craig" - Hey Where's the "i"?hahahahha

"I was just standing there in the crowd and BAM! That lousy pig smashed my eyeball out!"

Those were the words of Sarah '20/20' Smith after the protest yesterday in downtown Los Angeles.

It seems the new technique of "eyeball smashing" has reached new proportions with the L.A.P.D. It's become a problem that would rival the choke hold "apprehension" techniques the police have been accused of using against minorities in recent decades.

But the eye smashing knows no racial bounds as Sarah found out. "All I ever wanted was peace, but now I'm blind!"

Sarah got her nickname, 20/20, because she was the captain of the female collegiate shooting team at UCLA. She had a rewarding career in competitive shooting ahead of her, and now tragedy has struck. Schoolmates have already started calling her, Sarah "20/Aught" Smith. How tragic.

Something indeed must be done about these renegade eyeball smashing policemen.

Anyone that saw this happen at the last peace rally please help.

It was a drive by poking...

By the name of Allah, someone needs to stop these Eye Pokings.

It must be their new technique.

Ian Craig is only the beginning!!!!!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!! SOMEBODY SAVE THE CHILDREN FROM THESE BEASTS!!

Is that Ian Craig?

Wow, they did a number on him!

Ian Craig: Before / After

Is that Ian Craig?

Wow, they did a number on him!

The bastards have resorted to using nail guns!!

I eat you....I eat you....

It is I KROZ, Zorks 2nd in command.

I have your eye....if you want it you will have to submit.

Apologize for your wrong doings.

All your eye belong to us.

"congratulations, knuckles - - repulsive comments like yours drive more and more reasonable people out of the pro-war camp. thanks also for providing a good example of the personality type that often ends up in the police force. hopefully juries can study your comment carefully while pondering the possibility of a nice long prison sentence for your brutal police brethren.

I SUPPORT IAN CRAIG!!
"

No they don't. Get your head out of your ass.

And what's to support? Ian got his head handed to him for being an asshole to a cop. You and Ian should both grow the fuck up. Better yet, why not becoame human shields?

All Eye's should be treated the same!

SAVE THE EYE!

How's your Eye?

What happen to our great martyr Ian Craig and his one eye?