M20 - 7th & Mission - Peace & Violence

If you were wrongfully arrested in San Francisco on Thursday 20 March near Mission and 7th or know someone who was, here is information about a class action suit against the city and the police department for wrongful arrest. This info applies also to people who were wrongfully arrested in other parts of the city. Pit the parts of the system against each other and take advantage of their own competition for power. Send a message that one of the many costs of war will not be our freedom of assembly and speech.

Ishmael Tarikh, the director of Bay Area Police Watch says he wants to file a class action suit against the city within the next 10 days if he has 15 to 20 people come forward. SF Lawyers Guild is also interested in representing suits against the city for police misconduct.

Here's who you should call

415.951.4844 x228 Bay Area Police Watch Director Ishmael Tarikh
415.285.1011 San Francisco Lawyers Guild Legal Aid
415.553.9530 San Francisco Attorney's General Office

As for the citation you were issued for Failure to Disperse, the police are obligated to order the crowd to disperse as well as give them the opportunity. Neither happened. As for blocking traffic, unless the police have video of you in the street, they would be unable to prove that you were not on the sidewalk at the time the police arrested you. At your arraignment hearing on the 19th, 20th, or 21st, plead Not Guilty to both charges, and make them take it to court. At that point, the police dept will have to produce proof that you committed a crime or exonerate you.

Marley Fowat

you wouldn't know it from the pic, but that was a very tense moment...we were making the peace sign in hopes of fending off another round of brutal, unprovoked baton attacks from the swarm of police at that the scene. i was afraid for the safety of myself and everyone around me...several people had just been beaten viciously by the police for no apparent reason and many people in the crowd had nearly been crushed as we all backed away in terror, but with no place to go.