Pregnant Woman Blasted with Pepper Spray by SPD Says She Miscarried

[cory777]

Source: The Stranger

One of Occupy Seattle's outspoken activists who blogs under the name Ian Awesome has a post up this afternoon about the pregnant woman who was hit in last Tuesday's pepper spray attack by Seattle police:

On the 20th, Jeniffer Fox received news that she has miscarried, and alleges the miscarriage is due to the injuries she received during the police action on the 15th.

"It hurts. It's upsetting. I was ready to have a kid, because my family was going to support me in taking care of the child. Her name was going to be Miracle."

-------

"I was standing in the middle of the crowd when the police started moving in," she says. "I was screaming, 'I am pregnant, I am pregnant. Let me through. I am trying to get out.'" At that point, Fox continues, a Seattle police officer lifted his foot and it hit her in the stomach, and another officer pushed his bicycle into the crowd, again hitting Fox in the stomach. "Right before I turned, both cops lifted their pepper spray and sprayed me. My eyes puffed up and my eyes swelled shut," she says.

Read more: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/11/21/pregant-woman-blasted-with-pepper-spray-by-spd-reportedly-miscarries

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News that Matters http://activistnews.blogspot.com/

[midnight]

1. Very sad to read this....

[Lint Head]

2. They killed a baby. This will not play well with anti abortionist tea baggers.

[tblue]

5. They will blame her & say she deserved it.

They are hypocrites, don't forget. I wonder how widely this story will spread.

[thesquanderer]

28. Or they will say it was God's will (n/t)

[efhmc]

36. Exactly what I thought. She will be blamed because she

wasn't at home, where pg women belong.

[SemperEadem]

41. it's already started

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/fox-news-on-uc-davis-pepper-spraying-its-a-food-product-essentially.php

On Monday night, O’Reilly Factor host Bill O’Reilly and Fox News host Megyn Kelly sat down to discuss what really happened at UC Davis on Friday and whether campus police acted appropriately in showering a group of sitting students with pepper spray. Their conclusion? No big deal.

“Pepper spray, that just burns your eyes, right?” O’Reilly asked Kelly.

“Right,” Kelly said. “I mean, its like a derivative of actual pepper. It’s a food product, essentially.”



so I guess she would have no problem with the cops spraying pepper spray in her newborn's face, since it's basically harmless... ass.

[mwrguy]

63. They are already calling it

"Abortion by cop" as if she got sprayed and kicked on purpose.

[Maine-ah]

18. they didn't kill a baby.

and I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, but they killed a fetus, a potential baby. Very wrong, of course, and I hope she sues the ever living shit out of them and every last one of the fuckers should lose their jobs. I would like to see prison time, but we all know how that goes....

[ChairmanAgnostic]

24. you are partly correct.

stress, physical injury, certain drugs, and even nothing at all can lead to spontaneous abortions. in fact, the vast majority of pregnancies end prematurely and spontaneously.
Proving the causal relationship between one event and a particular SA is not easy.

The obvious issues are:

was she indeed pregnant?
was she receiving prenatal care?
had she suffered from spontaneous abortions before?
did she take any medications that are known to complicate, abort, or cause problems with pregnancies?
was she preeclamptic or eclamptic?

Did she seek medical care after the pepper spray incident? did she advise those treaters of her condition?
When did she spontaneously abort?
Any medical proof?

I am sorry, but a mere claim under these circumstances is not enough, especially not enough in the court of public opinion. If she answers some or most of these appropriately, then the Police Department as a serious problem on their hands. Until then, it is merely a claim, unsubstantiated, and racy.

[thesquanderer]

26. Some of your questions are answered...

...in the linked article in the OP.

(It's often best to actually read an article before commenting on it!)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

46. Not accurate. A few are hinted at, but not truly

stated.

These issues will be on the forefront of any news story. That is because even now the powers that be are assumed to be doing the people's work, and OWS is a bunch of dirty hippies with no real goals. Just like women had to be as good and better in the 80s and 90s to get ahead, and blacks since the 1960s, OWS and its members have to have every t dotted and i crossed.

[ismnotwasm]

30. While I do agree with you

I also think every individual woman has the right to call a fetus what she wants. She's having a baby? Great. She feels she's growing the equivalent of a parasitic tumor, and wants it removed?
Awesome. I get that too.
She does not have the right to tell others what to call their little groupings of growing cells, nor (as anybody sane or perhaps, simply understands woman are human beings, as opposed to brood mares) does 'the law' have any right to legislate a woman's decision. Maternal moral authority straight down the line.

[MurrayDelph]

47. Whether it is a "baby" or a "fetus"

is sorta up to the mother, don't you think?

If she wanted it, it's a baby.

[PatrynXX]

62. yeah after having my ass chewed out by a former pastor on this

sigh as if I wanted to get into an argument with him on that. he's a radical. ie the Dem's death toll on babies makes this one killing justified in his eyes. hes the sort where it's okay to murder to make up for all the supposedly 48 million babies the Democrats have murdered in 30 years. X_X so where in the bible does it say murder is alright.??

as he's a radical my only answer to him is. anti abortion folk offer no incentive whatsoever to a possible mother to keep a baby to term. worse yet, they stick it to those who are raped or are raped via incest. or her life is in danger.

Sorry 2 wrongs don't make it right. so he's a hypocrite of the worse sort but wouldn't say that to his face. :(

[avaistheone1]

3. "Forgive them for they know not what they do"

But how can she?

:mad:

[DocMac]

10. But they do know what they do.

I've read the police forums, and they are indeed pigs. No respect for peoples rights!

This woman though, knowing she was pregnant, should not have been there.

Yeah, she has every right, but this is a POLICE STATE and we know that now.

The movement needs to talk about protecting the frail among them.

It needs to be addressed!!

[lunatica]

13. Actually she is proof that this is a police state

And you're making a mistake to blame the victim. What makes you think she should have known a couple of brutes would deliberately kick and hit her in the stomach when she plainly told them she was pregnant. And what about the pepper spray? And what about the 94 year old woman? Is she to blame for thinking she actually has the right to her Constitutions rights?

Blaming the victim always, and I mean always gives the perpetrators your unspoken support on some level.

[SemperEadem]

19. thank you

I totally agree... making her out to be responsible for the police carrying out their war on women--kicking ANY in the torso is wrong. That's plain out and out assault.
this is a growing trend with these police misfits--beating up on women and hiding behind a badge.

[sarcasmo]

58. +1

[DocMac]

65. You act as if the protesters have no idea

how the cops are going to act. Please! So your for putting the pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled on the front line where they can be clubbed or sprayed.

I never said they shouldn't be there. Your just looking to start an arguement.

[DocMac]

66. Just to be clear.

When I wrote that she "shouldn't be there", as I did in my original reply, i'm saying there in the front lines where all the cops in riot gear are.

[boppers]

73. *you're, not your.

Oh, and yes, Americans of all flavors belong on the front lines, if only to make it clear that some cops lack any sense of morality, or decency, in their actions.

[tblue]

4. I just wanna cry.

Poor woman and her baby. :cry: There will be hell to pay.

[List left]

6. kick nt

[Occupy_2012]

7. I hope she sues.

The only way this is going to stop is if there is a huge lawsuit. Money talks. And I'm waiting to hear the explanation of why an officer has to kick a pregnant woman in the stomach. Are they afraid of socialist fetuses now?

[zonkers]

8. Very very sad but she had to realize the potential for danger.

[Downwinder]

9. Have to understand that pigs are dangerous.

[lunatica]

14. Getting up in the morning has a potential for danger

Maybe all pregnant women and 94 year old terrorists should just stay home. That way the police state can win and everyone can be fucked.
I'm sure many people, me included will be more savvy next time. But blaming the victims is always a way of showing support for, or maybe just capitulation to the perpetrators of brutal actions like kicking a woman in the stomach. A woman who happens to be screaming that she's pregnant. Hell we all know police routinely kick women in the stomach to get them to comply to their orders to disperse. We see it every day.

I'm sure she's learned her lesson. :sarcasm:

[zonkers]

29. Oh please, getting up in the morning cannot be compared to facing off against riot cops. nt

[LanternWaste]

32. And passive protests cannot be compared to a miscarriage...

"getting up in the morning cannot be compared to facing off against riot cops..."

And passive protests cannot be compared to a miscarriage. :shrug:

Six of one, half a dozen of the other...

[zonkers]

49. I have no idea what your post even means.

[monmouth]

25. Thank you. I feel badly for her, but c'mon, aged, pregnant and

disabled people should probably think a little before going to these sites...

[dotymed]

34. That has, up to this point, been my excuse.

After watching the 84 y.o. woman on Keith explaining why a woman her age would join this protest, and now seeing the bravery of another person with health concerns, standing up for her rights, I am ready to go. I have used the excuse of my health for not attending the large protests. Heeding my children's warnings and my own safety concerns. Bullshit.. I can think of no better way to "go out."

I (mis)spent my youth doing dangerous things for money. This one's on me.

[LanternWaste]

42. I imagine they did indeed think

I imagine they did indeed think, and decided that the maintaining the strength of their convictions takes a priority over doing nothing... :shrug:

How often do pregnant mothers suffer miscarriage at the hands of LEO in full public sight? If the honest is "not very often if at all", then I think we may safely presume that particular line of thought had no relevance to be in her mind.

And as you think that the disabled and elderly should think prior to exercising civil rights, I myself often find that less-than-stellar thinkers should probably think a little more prior to blaming the victims.

[boppers]

74. "aged, pregnant and disabled people" Already have a pretty good idea of what's at risk.

They're already marginalized.

As your post demonstrates.

[rhett o rick]

52. I knew someone would make this comment. Not sure why. nm

[Ignis]

54. "If she didn't want to be raped, why was she wearing that dress?"

I long for a day at DU when we stop blaming the victim.

[zonkers]

57. Let me put it another way. Only a fucking idiot faces off with cops in riot gear when pregnant.

[Ignis]

64. Where in her account of the incident did she "face off with riot cops?"

:shrug:

Did you read her account of what happened before you rushed to judge her fitness as a mother?

[robertpaulsen]

55. Shanna, they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into!

[clayton72]

11. Uhh.. This is Seattle. That stuff doesn't happen here...

Well, not since the 1990 WTO riots anyway and that was heavily influenced by outside LEO's and anarchists. There have been some troubling incidents with the SPD, but something like this is pretty out of character for the region. That said, no, she should not have expected what happened and I will not accept that it was in any way her fault. What happened is not in keeping with our local or national values. You can accuse us of a regional naivete, but the Pacific Northwest has always been a peaceful region and that's one of the things that make this a great place to live. I am not about to blame the victim and I am confident that my neighbors will not either. Things like that are not supposed to happen here and this is not acceptable. We don't do that here. Those involved must be punished and steps must be taken to ensure that this does not happen again.

[pnwmom]

12. I agree. When she yelled that she was pregnant and wanted to get out,

I would have expected them to let her go. This was way beyond the pale.

[catrose]

23. I've carried one baby to term

Miscarried a lot more, but that's another story. What I noticed was instead of the world rejoicing with me in the creation of new life, that people went out of their way to be nasty. It shocked me; I thought we all agreed that motherhood was a good thing; pregnant women were cherished; and a lot of other downright lies.

I've also been a union member. Funny how the people who got pushed and shoved in strike lines were delicate women, not the big hulking tuba players. Oh, yes, and it was men doing the shoving.

I spent a night in a police station, waiting for my son to be released. I saw the shift change, and noticed how short so many of the cops were. I saw the men who were released. They were even shorter. I'm sure 6 foot men commit just as many crimes, but I didn't see them that night.

I keep telling my 6 foot 2 inch husband that there's things he'll never experience. Being big is defense enough.

Oh, and the culture of life? Not really. But we knew that.

[whathehell]

50. People rarely can, or should, expect to be kicked in the stomach in Seattle or anywhere

at least here where "freedom of assembly" is a constitutionally guaranteed

right...I can't believe that some here seem to be saying otherwise.:eyes:

[GOTV]

15. If a foetus was legally a person would the cop be up for manslaughter?

[secondwind]

16. In this case, it is manslaughter. When a woman makes a choice early on, it is her choice

and hers alone to make........

[snooper2]

27. So it's manslaughter if she wants to keep a baby at 5 weeks, but not if she

is planning on having an abortion the next day?

[alphafemale]

68. Yes. Deal with it.

mutter

[Enthusiast]

17. Pepper spray abortion.

Republican family cesspool values.

[valerief]

38. +1

[Sarah Ibarruri]

20. Lawsuit yet? I keep waiting for lawsuits to be filed against cities, towns, universities, states

But so far nothing?

[Vinca]

21. That's what will really get their attention.

Multimillion dollar lawsuits and legal fees that begin to soar. Anyone who's got the video should have a lawyer. I hope someone caught this poor woman being attacked by police.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

56. Yup! That's exactly what's needed nt

[RoccoR5955]

22. Put a fork in the police now.

They're done, toast. When this goes viral, they will be done with their violence.

[tropicanarose]

31. Very sad and disturbing. Where is decency?

[valerief]

33. Of course, that's very sad, but I wonder if the pro-lifers will have a say in this.

Will they ignore it? Come to her defense? Or call her a whore and say it's god's will?

[NorthCarolina]

35. They will likely see her as a part of the evil left for participating in a protest

that didn't consist of carrying guns to a Presidential rally, and therefore she will be viewed as deserved of the consequences.

[valerief]

37. And for participating, she'll be the guilty one in their eyes. nt

[lynne]

39. Very sad. Yet will be very difficult to legally prove -

- that the miscarriage was induced by the events of 5 days prior. The greatest portion of miscarriages occurs naturally within the first trimester. Yet other pregnancies survive serious auto accidents, abuse from spouses, and drug-addicted mothers almost every day. She will have difficulty proving that either physical contact or pepper spray five days prior to the miscarriage was the direct cause.

I wish her well. Maybe the most important lesson to take from this is to not put yourself in potentially volatile situations when pregnant.

[riderinthestorm]

43. +1. nt

[mvd]

45. The most important lesson IMO is that that kind of force..

has no place in a democracy. When you are peacefully sitting down with ways to get around you, no one expects to be pepper sprayed. I hope all those cops are fired and that the campus president is held accountable. There are some very good trial lawyers out there who can look into the suspicious timing (soon before) and see if there is a civil case.

[EFerrari]

51. No. Lowering our expectations of being safe in public from physical assault

from police is not an answer.

I don't know why so many posters here seem to think it is.

[Missy Vixen]

69. She's homeless

>Maybe the most important lesson to take from this is to not put yourself in potentially volatile situations when pregnant.<

I suppose she would have been much safer had she been in a nice, cozy house with a husband to look after her, hm?

:eyes:

She was unarmed, in a public park.

If you want to blame her for being at Occupy Seattle, where's the blame for the cop who kicked her in the abdomen, or the cop that shoved her to the ground with his bicycle? Seattle cops aren't known for their humanitarianism or their willingness to listen before pulling out the pepper spray.

We'd all like to remain safe and sound in a perfect world, but pregnant or not, she was assaulted by SPD. This is not the first time it's happened in the past five years, and I'm betting it won't be the last. The only way the culture of SPD will change is if it becomes clear they will bankrupt the city of Seattle re: damage awards to victims.

[SoapBox]

40. The Police Militia Member that sprayed her, needs to be charged with murder.

[The Stranger]

44. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED.

I still trying to understand why they're calling for the Chancellor of UC-Davis to resign instead of FILING A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST THE PIG THAT SPRAYED UNARMED, SITTING, MOTIONLESS PEOPLE WITH TOXIC CHEMICALS?

[red dog 1]

48. Cops involved should be arrested & charged with aggravated assault, a felony!

"A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he or she attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another or causes such injury purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, or attempts to cause, or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.
In all jurisdictions, statutes punish such aggravated assault as assault with intent to murder (or rob or kill or rape) and assault with a dangerous (or deadly) weapon more severely than 'simple' assaults."

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/aggravated-assault

(Scroll down to "some articles that match your query" and underneath that click on
"aggravated assault")

[Motown_Johnny]

53. It the fundies had their way, that would be murder

[varelse]

59. This is war

[mwrguy]

60. I guess the term "Baby Killer" is literal now

When applied to Seattle PD.

[pam4water]

61. Fire their ass and take away their fucking pensions.

[LisaM]

67. Apparently, her story has a few holes in it

Heard it this morning on the radio. I don't say I know what really happened; I don't, but she supposedly also claimed in September - almost three months ago - that she was pregnant when she and some others were discovered by police squatting in an empty building.


http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Flaws-noted-in-Occupy-Seattle-protester-s-2283349.php

[unionworks]

71. A Few Holes?

...like, a "police force" releasing a "redacted" "police report" to refute a civil rights abuse case? Did some SOB unfreeze Nixons corpse? I thought COINTELPRO was long gone and I THOUGHT I VOTED FOR A DEMOCRATIC FUCKING PRESIDENT! WHY DO I smell NIXON?

[animato]

70. I sincerely hope she can sue them

and that she had witnesses

[unionworks]

72. you mean...

...like the kid who carried her to the ambulance when she was writhing in agony? Shouldn't be TOO HARD