Document Police Harassment and Repression
The legal working group would like to encourage all members of the community who experience harassment or repression by the police to write down or record an account of the incident as soon as possible. It is important to do so quickly as you will begin to forget details immediately. It can also be extremely helpful for the lawyers working on cases after the action to have a detailed documentation of police repression.
Toward that end, we are trying to systematize the documentation and the collection of this information. Please email us your account, which will be stored and shared only with the lawyers who are working with us. If you have concerns about security please let us know and we will set up a different method of collecting your information.
The email should include as much of the following as possible
- the time, date, and exact location of the incident (include cross streets and landmarks)
- the names, email, phone, address and description of persons involved
- the names, badge #, organization, rank, vehicle #, and description of officers
- the names, email, phone, address and description of witnesses
- a detailed description of the incident, including lead-up
Things to remember:
- How the police and civilians were acting
- Why police arrived/were present
- Offensive language or hate speech by cops
- Searches of person, bag, car, or home
- Any violence (be specific)
- What type of physical force, what type of weapons
- How many times and on what parts of the body did the officer strike
- Was victim cuffed or being held down
- Any property damaged or taken
- Injuries - describe number, type and location (e.g., two baseball-sized bruise on back)
- Info on ambulance and medics (license plate #, names and ID #s)
- Hospital where treatment was obtained
Send e-mail to legal@resistg20.org
