Am I the only one that has come across this article and found it frightening enough to post comment? I guess the more things change the more they stay the same!

I hear you, but am at a loss for words. Clearly this judge and both officers should be fired and sent to prison for a long time, but the whole thing is just hard to believe... I don't even know where to start. How can people do these sorts of things. I thought that we had matured more as a society as a civilization, but it just shows how far we haven't come.

JayZeus!!! You would expect this in Nth Korea, China, Saudi, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Cuba, the ex-USSR etc but in The States?!?!?!? Holy fuckin' Mother of God, everyone who reads this MUST send it to their favourite links. SPREAD THE WORD, the word is EVIL>

So I'm rereading 1984 & I swear this just happened in the book. Makes you wonder what's going on. Seriously disturbing, though I must say Des Moines, IA has some very similar police attitudes toward public posting of "leftist" ideas as I too have been threatened with arrest for simply asking folks to come get involved in politics. "War is Peace, Ignorance is Knowledge, Trust Big Brother"

So, what can we do in this particular case? Can Fisher appeal? Is there an organization that could help her do so? (the ACLU comes to mind). Are the regional authorities we can write to, or newspapers to get this story wider circulation?

I'm not sure what to do. I just sent an email asking Codepink to mobilize to help her.

whoa that makes my skin crawl amerikka has truly become a fascist state. how on earth can that happen? for a poster? what can we do?

Matthew, go back to Mark Crispin Miller's post. He has a list of things you can do.

The cure for 1984 is 1776.

This is really scarey, but not suprising, and not the first incident I have heard of. Saw a film on the Documentary channel that documented the persecution, detention, and jailing of hundreds of women who have peacefully protested against the war, President Bush, etc. These woman are all being held throughout this country in maximum security prisons. They are basically political prisoners (not criminals). Which is the same situation here. We must come to terms with the fact that we are now living in a police state and need to get our country back from the current administration and these so-called Christian Republicans (right-wing fundamentalists) who are currently in power. These people are EVIL, and need to be stopped before it is too late. Need to get the Demos back in power in Congress for 2006, and get Bush and his crowd impeached and removed from power. Don't give up the good fight.

This is how it starts, right? First you take away individual rights, stomp all over the Fourth Amendment, claim that you're only after terrorists, tap phone lines and track calls. It is the beginning of a dictatorship.

Whoa!!

In 2002, the DOJ concluded its investigation of the Cleveland Div. of Police by stating "our interviews revealed a lack of documentation that raises concerns about the competency, thoroughness, and impartiality of use-of-force investigations. We have found instances in which investigators failed to document interviews of victims, suspects, or witnesses. CDP investigators failed to document the location of all physical evidence, perform standard gunshot residue tests, locate other forensic evidence, or take relevant photographs. We also reviewed several investigations where the investigator was himself involved in the use-of-force incident. This raises a strong potential for a conflict of interest (you think?). We understand that misconduct complaints are investiagted only if signed by the complainant and written in the complainant's own handwriting. Complaints that do not comply are administratively withdrawn and are not investigated. It is our understanding that CDP utilizes cameras in police cruisers to detect persons suspected of driving under the influence and to investigate fatal and serious traffic accidents. We recommend that these cameras be used to record all traffic stops. We urge the CDP to modify its policy regarding the storage of tapes to prohibit officers from erasing the tapes and to maintain the evidentiary integrity of the tapes.
In Dec. '03 Cleveland Police Chief Lohn sent the DOJ a proposed Agreement to conclude the DOJ investigation. The "substance" of the Agreement can be recognized by the proposed changes regarding misconduct complaints; the CDP agreed that it will not retaliate against any person because that person filed a complaint...
In fact congress addressed government corruption in the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970; "Section 3332 says on its face that the US Attorney 'shall' present to the grand jury information provided by 'any person,' and one district court has held that any person has standing to enforce this duty," Sargeant v. Dixon (DC Cir 97).
Now surely one doesn't need a weatherman here..., just consider how Heck v. Humphrey actually explicitly forbids the federal courts from hearing challenges to a state conviction, while just such a challenge forms the basis of Sargeant (unless reversed, ect.). Get this: "The Government argues, and we agree, that the interests Mohwish proffers--in the prosecution of government officials and in seeeing that the laws are enforced--are not cognizable within the framework of Article III." OH JUST TOO DAMN BAD for America, that Court somehow overlooked how there are vast differences between prosecution and investigation, "acquiring evidence which might be used in a prosecution, in contradistinction to organization, evaluation, and marshalling of such evidence is an activity of police nature and is therefore not entitled to absolute protection." Moore v. Valder (DC Cir 95).
I think Hon Ginsburg (DC Cir) needs to be locked up...

It suits you very well. You are paying a lesser price than, for instance, the innocent people of Iraq. Because of your repeated choices as a nation of a warmonger and oilmonger for president, all the world is living at the brink of extintion. So what if some of you are getting jailed and treated like old URSS used to treat dissidents? I pity that woman as an individual, not as an american. More: your president got his office from your votes, not from a dubious revolution. Yours, one of the finest countries in the world is now the bully of the word. So it suits you fine. I'll begin worrying about your personal problems when your elected president will stop being a menace for the rest of the world

Independent media is so important, now that Akron's cable tv has a charge in order to air these kinds of stories. Most producers can't afford the illegal fee of $25 per show. I called in to Ohio Free Radio about this story and said there are many such illegal court cases going on across the country. It's mainstream. Shuffling people to psyche wards is normal and has been a weapon for many years, especially against activists as a way to discredit them and shut them up! Please join my media company that I am working to get off the ground, to go national as I plan to move back to Calif. later this year: www.suzsproductions.com

While the incident itself is repugnant, doesn't anyone feel that this bit of supposed journalism is equally appalling?

I wish people would protest so loudly no one can ignore them. Why have we foresaken what people did for two decades, 60's & 70's? If there is a lawyer who thinks this is wrong why are they not helping?

I see these stories but I see nothing being done to help one another and show how wrong things really are in this country. I would love to far more people standing up to a system gone bad.

I wish this woman well and hope she comes out a better person dispite it.

I am not defending what happened here, but is it possible we don't have the full story? Maybe she got angry when the police still arrested her and she fought them as they arrested her? (Thus leading to trumped up charges.)

Take things with a grain of salt that you read on the Internet.

First off, Carol has been since released. Second off, this stuff happens all the time. It happened to me. I was part of a permitted, peaceful march. The police who were escorting us, in the middle of the march redirected us and then arrested us for being off the route. I spend the 22hrs dog tied, face down on a concrete floor, in a small closed room with 70 other people. It was hot with no air circulation. My face was sopping wet from the pools of sweat. No water or bathroom for 10 hours, no food ever. It took a half an hour of kicking on the door to get them to do something about the 80+ year man unconcious next to me. Then the sargent was yelling at his underlings says "Do you know how much trouble we could have got in if he croked?". He didn't even care about the guy, he was worried about his own ass. (The 80 year old man was a retired college prof, btw). The quote of the experience was from a sargent on the bus when I kept insisting for the cause as to why we were arrested. "Fuck your Constitutional rights, you are in DC now, you have no rights". What was our charge for all this? "Parading with out a permit", the fine was less than jail walking or a parking ticket.

According to witnesses, Fisher did not make any physically assaultive moves, but she continued to talk and to point out what the posters were for. This apparently was her "crime." And yes, these things happen frequently. And if a police officer grabs you and hurts you and you try to pull away, you are also charged with resisting arrest.

Independant reporting is one thing, but what troubles me is that there is no corroboration for this story. This isn't journalism, this is an opinion piece. As such, the "facts" should be viewed with skepticism.

How can one question the veracity of Fisher's account after seeing that incident on TV where the San Francisco cop was caught on tape by a reporter when for no reason whatsoever the fat "pig" just hauled off and viciously jammed his nightstick into the gut of the woman who organized the protest. A dreadful example of the New America. One has to be thankful that he wasn't one of the unfortunate BOYS drafted out of their bed and sent packing up "Hambeurger Hill," ostensibly to fight for the rights of others thousands of miles away. We're supposed to somehow understand that civil rights are important enough for that, but because the "pigs" don't want to wear their safety equipment this somehow translates into no one has any rights. No, Vietnam represents three hundred years of KIA cops, and the "pigs" should have been the ones protesting when congress decided it wouldn't even vote on the issue of extending the assault rights ban. How come there aren't three things for sure in life: death, taxes, and the fact that every election year the cops aren't trying to pass a voter's initiative to ban handguns, or simply the sale of handguns (70% of the guns used in the commission of crime are stolen).

Am I the only one that has come across this article and found it frightening enough to post comment about it seeming totally made up? I guess the more things change the more they stay the same with liberal nut jobs and their total disconnect with reality! I half expected the next lines in the story to go a bit like this “and then right after that the secret government agents showed up and erased everyone's memory everyone except the lone reporter who dangled perilously upside down from the street pole!” This article is ridiculous and so obviously filled with conjecture it is sad that no one else has mentioned it. Of course that could be because comments are screened and censored or just removed once it is identified that they run contrary to this sites obvious bias; which oddly enough is the exact type of Orwellian action you folks typically opine.

First, it is not an "article"--it is a blog post, and it indeed carries the blogger's thoughts, i.e., that it is business as usual in this culture (or any culture) to send an "uppity" woman to a mental health facility so she can be "cured."

Second, the content is presented as being the version given largely by Carol Fisher, not as the "final" word on the subject.

Is it easy for me to believe Fisher's account? You bet. Not only is she a woman who won't stop expressing her opinion, but she is an activist in a state in which there are literally stacks of evidence that the Attorney General broke numerous state laws in order to help get Bush into the White House in 2004. There is also a great deal of indisputable evidence that intimidation, machine-tampering, and other irregularies occurred during that election.

And finally, the Carol Fisher incident hardly stands alone. The verbal and physical assaults by law enforcement toward people who do not believe in "free speech zones" and who believe it is their right to wear whatever slogans they wish on their clothing have been increasingly steadily since the end of 2001.

While I do beleive that Carol Fisher was probably wrongly arrested and terribly mistreated by police who dream of having the power of the Gestapo's SS, this blog or article is a prime example of the unproven accusation being thrown around by liberals at this crucial time in our history. SSJ's response is the typical right wing attitude towards anything they don't want to beleive. This mentality after six years of supporting lies is simply their way of sayng they don't think Americans should have the rights we do have. To put an end to this mentality for good, people have to post a blog or article with facts backed by witnesses. Then maybe they will admit the truth about themselves. The above article does not even state who is accusing the police of this as Carol Fisher is obviously unable to do so.

Mike

Here is some additional information on the Fisher case, supplied by the Cleveland Indy Media Center http://cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/18874.php. Apparently, the usual time between arrest and indictment in Fisher's county is two months, but the time for her was eight days. Also, Ohio law requires that service of an indictment must be made at least 24 hours prior to arraignment; Fisher's notice was served to her attorney the morning of her arraignment (the attorney decided to waive right to protest).

Fisher is accused of attacking police. She agrees that she was in a physical struggle with them, and she says it is because they were hurting her with the cuffs. This type of incident happens rather frequently; the person in question in then charged with either resisting arrest or assault on a police officer.

At this point, there is still no reason to question the veracity of Fisher, especially since Cleveland Heights is a known hotbed of "liberal trouble-making" in the city. A group of Cleveland Heights citizens went to the Cleveland Heights City Council to protest what happened to Fisher and to vouch for her character and to testify that they saw her brutalized by the police.

These witnesses, referred to earlier by me, were not identified because I could not find their names and their individual statements, only a general statement that there were witnesses. I have now found them: http://www.clevelandheights.com/upload/newsletter/minutes_02062006.pdf

If this story accurately reflects what happened, this is indeed a sad state of affairs. I lived in Cleveland Heights 20 years ago, and at that time it was the most diverse and progressive suburb of Cleveland. Coventry Yard was a place where peace activitists and protesters were a regular feature in front of the coffee shop there. The Coventry neighborhood was a "little bit of San Francisco" in northern Ohio. I don't know much has changed over the years. I do know that when I lived there, the city was always concerned about the appearance of its neighborhoods, and wanted them to continue to be beautiful neighborhoods. (Cleveland heights is a community of beautiful WWI era homes and tree lined streets) To keep the area looking nice there were many laws and ordinances on the books regarding signs in yards and the like; so it would not surprise me to hear that posting signs on utility poles was illegal. Although times there may have changed--it is also possible that we do not have the complete story here. A person creating "a scene" in a quiet neighborhood could prompt such a reaction from the police. Just a thought.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Carol Fisher, when asked nicely by police to remove the poster, went off on them. I say "for the sake of argument" because, as the MoJo blogger has pointed out, there were witnesses who say she was not the aggressor, and Fisher herself says she struggled physically only because she was being hurt.

But let's say it happened the way you want to think it happened. That is still not a justification for Fisher to have been taken to a psychiatric hospital without her permission, nor is it justification for laws to be broken at her arraignment, nor is it justification for her to be imprisoned in a psychiatric unit. But, as Dees points out, that is what has always been done to women.

As for the possiblility of a group of police officers assaulting a woman who was not aware she was breaking any law, that kind of thing happens all the time. It happened to my wife, in fact. She was threatened and put through a night in hell because she happened to be with a news reporter, and the police perceived that a news reporter was their enemy. Her arm was twisted, exactly like Fisher says hers was, and when she winced and pulled away, she was charged with resisting arrest.

It's not an unusual American story.

Furthermore, the left is by definition irrational(Dionysian, and indulgent of the id, for all of you Ivy League elitist traitors), so her psychiatric treatment is appropriate--in fact, it is furhter evidence of the benevolence and generosity of the authorities that they would try to help her learn how to act like a constructive adult instead of a self-destructive brat. Read Michael Savage's "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" if you truly want to improve your life...don't attack Bush; begin with your own worldview. Don't worry--it's not that you will come to "love big brother," instead, you'll see that there is no big brother but the one in your mind.

Where do you people get this. Read the court transcripts before you post this garbage. 4 independent witnesses testified Carol Fisher was the aggressor, trying repeatedly to bite one officer in the face. She refused to give her I.D. which she DID have on her person. She was verbally warned politely 3 times to remove the posters, she continued to staple. This is from the court transcripts. Dont believe this liberal garbage. Carol Fisher is where she belongs, in a psych unit.

and I forgot to add... a jury of her peers convicted her... not a judge.

This was never a case of putting up posters, this was a case of biting, clawing, spitting on, and punching two police officer just doing their job.

It's amazing that other countries manage to allow people to post political signs and not beat up protesters, yet still manage to have beautiful neighborhoods and a stable democracy. Viva la France.

America is the exception for acting this way, not the rule.

France?!?! "beautiful neighborhoods and a stable democracy" ?!?! Another example of liberal delusion, pollyannaism, and America-hating...anyone who pays attention witnessed the French vermin rioting in their slums, setting police cars on fire, and generally threatening to overthrow the government unless they got their way on the issue of whether or not an employer could can them for not working! Not to mention the recent rioting of the ingrate Muslim invaders of that pitiful country that we've bailed out with our boys' blood! The French are an example of what limp-wristed failures Americans will become if we continue to allow the Noam Chomskys and Susan Sarandons to influence policy. The only reason we're struggling in Iraq and running a budget deficit(despite an absolutely robust and booming Bush/Republican economy)is because we are too NICE--too nice to the ragheads in practicing restraint in Iraq and careful not to offend the Muslims, too worried about collateral damage to execute a decisive victory and destroy the mosque hiding places, too concerned about appearances and "rights" when we hesiate to torture those that would slit the throat of any Westerner they could get their hands on, too generous with the welfare and bailouts for the inferior population of New Orleans and the snivelling families of 9/11 victims, etc...millions for unproductive victim-crats who blame Bush for their own failings and suffering at the forces of Bin Laden and Katrina, rather than step up and volunteer to fight in Iraq or otherwise get behind the President in this life-or-death struggle for the future of freedom and the West. Leftist scum who whimper about being "spied on" never include the Clinton, Carter, and other identical democrat-era NSA/CIA programs that are basic, routine national security intelligence gathering(i.e., ECHELON and others). Liberals must recognize that their ideas are void of value at this time in history.

This is so scary. Even if this isn't the "whole story", there is a grain of truth I see in it. Before our last presidential election, my friend had a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker on her truck and was stopped twice in three days by our city police. A citation was issued for some trumped up tag violation which sent her to DMV where she was told that there was no problem at all with her tag or decal. After the Kerry/Edwards sticker was removed she was never stopped again. This is a small incident compared to this story, but it's meant to send a message to us all.

I don't know what really happned I can only judge the situation by my own experance.I have been in simular situations.The cops are NOT your friend. They will lie and hirt you. where is Serpaco when you need him, oh yes he moved to a free country. Flex your rights get the DvD"Busted" The citizen's guide to surviving police encounters.Yes is there any doubt we live in a police state? My gay neighbor will not come out of the closit,My friends hide their drug habits, my family is shattered (read" Shatterd Lives ", Our Children are threatned by scared straight, Dare and the newist one Never. I know people that have moved to another country when Bush got in for the second round and I'm right behind them if we get another preacher for president.

On the one hand, the one hundred dollar fine for putting up posters sounds fishy, on the other hand, really, shouldn't Ms. Fisher have made sure she had her I.D. with her when she went to put up the posters...
If the police don't enforce the law impartially..., if pro-Bush posters abound..., than, obviously, that's against the law.
This incident highlights the patent unfairness of allowing any individual judge to Order a psych exam (I understand the "patient" is incarcerated for three days). The psych exam Order should require that an "independant" medical authority agrees to the need for the exam. I mean, isn't it pretty scary to hand this power to judges, who have absolute immunity...

Did Ms Fisher have any prior arrests? What was she being arrested for? Hanging a sign illegally? Have you any idea of the number of people who hang signs illegally on telephone poles? They remain long after the Yard Sale is over. It was the message on the sign that irritated the police, and some police love to goad a person into a confrontation so they will have an exuse to arrest. I've seen it in action. To whoever thinks it doesn't happen, just hope it never happens to you. Did you read about the 65 year old grandmother going to jail? The police man in San Diego trading "no ticket" for sexual favors? Maybe with "the deciders" Homeland Security, police no longer have to read Miranda rights, people suspected of being a terrorist can be held without phone call or council. If you're not with Bush, you're against him, he said. Connect the dots.

Actually I think Vigilant American has some good points. Not the whole truth, but good points. I think the problem is that the whole truth is complex and people tend to come down on one "side" or another. Not in every case, but in most. It's easy to make someone else the bad guy, less easy to look inside. I think that's what VA was pointing out. Marhsall Rosenberg has some good books on nonviolent communication. It's worth reading. Chautauquan could use it for sure.

I'd have to know more to see where I come down on this...

Are we THAT big of a police state that we can't even walk down the street without ID? Oh yea, I forgot, we are.

She was driving, so obviously had ID. She went to take the sign down, when the officer grabbed her by the arm from behind, she asked him to "stop" and to take his arm off her, he slammed her into a shop window. Too bad no one was there with a video camera. This is not an isolated incident. They put her on suicide watch? So the next step is to announce, the poor, crazy distraught woman killed herself. The people of the town testified, that she is a soft spoken, woman that never loses her cool. Bet ya if she'd been hanging a Yard Sale sign, the police won't have noticed her at all.

True, I wish there was a video of the incident. That way, it would show exactly what all the witnesses said. Carol was asked nicely to take down the signs multiple times, she refused, actually stapling up a poster right in the officer's face...saying"i can post anything i want, it is not illegal" Then refused to give her ID, which she did have. She then swung at the officer knocking his hat off. I really do wish a camera was there, then the court could add perjury to her felonious assault charges... i am mean biting someone.... come on.

before you people post this crap, read the court transcripts that are available to the public. if you people want to be so involved with the case, take the time to get the court records and read the facts.

I give up, both on trying to get liberals to be honest about anything on this page and on convincing them that they are wrong. They just remove your comments from the page, again and again! The people who run this site post "rules" for commenting, and seem to edit only what is counter to their left-wing views...yet when some hippie battle-axe violates the law in posting anti-Bush signs, she's some kind of martyr! Giuliani knows how to deal with these '60s washouts...Giuliani in '08!!!

This situation is ridiculously preposterous!

A clear example of those in authority misusing their position to abuse and impose upon others. The police officers should be ashamed of themselves, but they aren't... the department they're assigned to should be investigated for further evidence of corrupt officers, but they won't be... the local government ought to be called in on behalf of the community to right the wrongs, but they don't dare.

I wish I could claim this as my own originality by I'm shamelessly borrowing it from another:

Welcome to AmeriKKKa, the good ol' U.S.S.A.

this is so wrong. see what kind of country you live in? hey everyone send emails of support to cleveland@worldcantwait.org - they need it.

in the words of nwa but probably best said by zack de la rocha:
F*** THA POLICE!!

"It suits you very well. You are paying a lesser price than, for instance, the innocent people of Iraq. Because of your repeated choices as a nation of a warmonger and oilmonger for president, all the world is living at the brink of extintion. So what if some of you are getting jailed and treated like old URSS used to treat dissidents? I pity that woman as an individual, not as an american. More: your president got his office from your votes, not from a dubious revolution. Yours, one of the finest countries in the world is now the bully of the word. So it suits you fine. I'll begin worrying about your personal problems when your elected president will stop being a menace for the rest of the world"

WTF? Are you not paying attention to what's happening here? The people who are trying to put a stop to it are being beaten and imprisoned. We're being overtaken by a fascist despot and you're blaming the people? The fact is that the election of Bush itself is questionable. We did not elect for this. Democracy has been stripped from this country exponentially since the moment the so-called hijacked planes hit the WTC in 2001. We're being victimized just as much as the rest of the world. Hate all you want, but that's the bloody truth right there. I wouldn't be surprised if YOUR government's in on the take too, buddy.

I am sick and tired of this country and the horrible political climate. It is embarrassing, tyrannical and oppressive. Americans should be ashamed of themselves for allowing things like this to happen. We're over in the Middle East fighting this sort of thing and letting our own leaders to permit this sort of behaviour to flourish here. We are a country full of hypocrites and hate-filled people and this needs to change soon or collapse is nigh.

Our country was founded by Englishmen who were trying to escape the unjust government who dictated which religious beliefs were the "right" ones and how we should live our lives and so forth. Apparently, history DOES teach us absolutely nothing. We are becoming the insane power we were running from in the first place.

Regardless of the fact that she refused to stop posting these pieces of Anti-Bush propaganda, the police certainly didn't respond in an appropriate manner. It's not like the woman was carrying a gun or a knife or a sword or whatever and threatening the stupid cops with it. America sucks plain and simple. We need to take it back and turn it into the once proud and progressive country we used to be!

Posting notices on telephone poles is illegal and an abuse of private property...she was asking for what she so richly deserved. god bless America

how bout everyone just quiet down now. go back to not giving a shit about anything.

and remember when you dont like something, and you do something about it, it's a revolution. When those who would revolt are coming for YOU, it's suddenly called a riot.

if you think whats happening in America is riot. be prepared... your high horse is about to become glue.

She is obviously a left wing radical that should have had her ass beat by a Marine. Long live killing Iraqi insurgents. Go Bush

funny how WCW says is costs $2000 for the trial transcripts "What you can do: *Funds urgently needed for the appeal, including about $2000 to get the trial transcript."

the reality is, they want donations to pay for Carol Fisher's court fee of: COURT COST ASSESSED CAROLYN G FISHER BILL AMOUNT *2556.24* PAID AMOUNT 70 AMOUNT DUE *2486.24*

So in USA they send disidents to mental health institutions. So what? In the soviet union they did the same.