Should Cindy Sheehan sue the DC police?

[derby378]

They now claim "oopsie, we made a boo-boo" and admit that Cindy didn't break any laws. Should she sue the bastards?

[William769]

1. Wasn't it the Capitol police?

I tought they had their own police force.

[derby378]

4. To quote the Jerky Boys: "Sue Everybody"

Everybody, that is, who was involved in her illegal arrest and detention.

[SaveElmer]

2. I think very highly of the Capitol Police...

They do an excellent job under increasingly stressful circumstances. I think they admitted the mistake, and knowing how they operate will make sure it doesn't happen again. I think that should be enough.

[rucky]

14. It's already "again"...here are your heroes in action:

Ministers and Christian activists protesting Congress' inhumane budgetary policy towards the poor:
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.display_c&item=051214_arrests_testimony






It goes on and on and on...
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.display_c&item=051214_arrests_testimony

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

3. Oh God Yes. Especially Now That They Have NO Leg To Stand On!

[sandnsea]

5. Sue them all

Damn skippy.

[Totally Committed]

6. I voted "other" and think she should hold out for a personal apology

from Bush... you know, 5 minutes in the Oval Office... face to face with a cameraman and a press gaggle to witness and document what was said there.


If she doesn't get it in a certain amount of time, then she should get herself a huge lawyer or "dream team" of lawyers and make the administration's life a living hell for the remainder of their term.


TC

[Rex]

7. In all seriousness, no.

There should be a formal investigation as to why she was not let INTO a public building (when she had a ticket to get into). IMO she should NOT sue them. Instead she should show mercy and forgiveness to those who would do evil. Take it to a higher level.

[hlthe2b]

10. yes.. independent investigation which includes...

determining what, if any, "extra orders" came from the WH, the Repub leadership, the SS, or their "operatives."

[left is right]

8. She should sue for her day in court

She should be able to stand before a judge and be declared innocent of all wrong doing. It needs to happen for all of us, every so often the first amendment needs its day in court

[tabasco]

9. I heard on the news that she is suing and I agree 100%

Damn straight.

[SillyGoose]

11. I think she should...its a false arrest by their own admission.

They trampled all over this woman's rights and I don't think she should allow that to go unchallenged.

[Disturbed]

17. The idiot that manhandled her should be sued and fired.

It's mandatory justice!

[SillyGoose]

21. Agreed. nt

[babylonsister]

12. I think so; if police are able to get away with this, what

other frightening events do we all have to look forward to?

[lonestarnot]

13. but my understanding is that it was capital police not D.C.

[pacalo]

15. Incidents such as this have been an ongoing problem in the last 5 years.

Those who are doing the arresting/manhandling/humiliating of dissenters are doing the boy king's bidding. It's the federal government that should be taken to task in a lawsuit & the Capitol police should be named as secondary defendants.

At a time when the boy king wants thousands of detention centers built, this is a golden opportunity for this boy king to get a public paddling for ignoring our constitutional rights.

[Redstone]

16. Absolutely not. The rules are the rules. Furthermore, they also made

a woman with a PRO bush shirt leave:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/01/sheehan.arrest/index.html

They dealt with her, and with the other woman, fairly.

We really need to stop the misplaced outrage over this. It makes us look like whiners.

Redstone

[pacalo]

19. It's not whining; it's outrage over tyrannous methods of this admin.

There's a huge difference in the way both women were treated. Plus, this administration has a history of petulant behavior toward those who don't agree with him. This is our country, not his.

[SillyGoose]

20. Uh, they arrested Cindy but not the other woman. I don't think that

equates to fair treatment. Did you read the article you posted?

Both women's shirts resulted in their owners being ejected from the House chamber before President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Sheehan, an invited guest of Democrat Lynn Woolsey, was arrested around 8:30 p.m. ET on charges of unlawful conduct, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail, U.S. Capitol Police said.

"She was asked to cover it up. She did not," said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman.

Young was asked to leave, but was not arrested.

[me b zola]

25. But those are not the rules

The rules state that you cannot demonstrate or protest, neither woman was doing either of those activities. Furthermore, the republican woman who was asked to leave last night ***note, not arrested like Cindy*** wore the same t-shirt last year to the SOTU and had no difficulties, problems, and was never bothered by the Capital Police.

My guess is that the only reason that they LATER (during the speech) asked the republican woman to leave was because they were doing damage control because they realized that the way that they had arrested Cindy is something we expect to see in totalitarian nations, not in the US which is currently bombing the crap out of Iraq to "spread freedom".

[donco6]

33. No kidding.

Despite the fact that it was Bush giving the speech, I don't want the SOTU to become yet another forum for protests. When we finally do get someone with a brain in office, I'm hoping we'll actually get to hear the STATE of the UNION. Going down this road, it'll simply be another stupid media circus with competing Tshirts. I'm sorry, but that's just assinine.

[jschurchin]

18. Some people understand...........

freedom of speach. Other's like the D.C. cops have to be beat over the head with the 1st. Start at $100 mil. Cindy and go from there.

[pacalo]

22. I would agree with you

if this were an isolated incident & this administration had no history of this type of treatment toward his dissenters. In that case, the man acted on his own volition. The common denominator of constitutional abuse is the boy king; he's the one giving the direction. It's the federal government that belongs on the top of the lawsuit. It's a great opportunity for a court to draw the line on this type of abuse.

(Sorry -- I meant to reply to #17)

[BuyingThyme]

23. Yes. Find out who gave the orders.

[Cleita]

24. Why the D. C. police? I thought it was the Capitol Hill police

or Bushie's Praetorian Guard who did the arresting? But, I wouldn't sue them either. They were only following orders. (That has a familiar ring to it.) I would sue the Bushler himself.

[Balbus]

26. You don't think that was part of the plan all along?

[mikelewis]

28. What plan?

[Balbus]

29. To sue.

[mikelewis]

30. I'm sorry...

I still don't get what you mean...

You said that "You don't think that was part of the plan all along?" Which seemed like an odd thing to say seeing as there was really no plan to any of this ridiculous crap. Cindy wasn't pulling a stunt, she was wearing a shirt and was arrested for it. It's as simple as that. An innocent woman was dragged away and handcuffed in front of the entire world, here, in the land of the free and the home of the brave. There was no plan all along. This is all happening real time.

[Balbus]

31. And a lot of people view it the same way you do.

And some people view it differently.

[mikelewis]

37. So you think she planned to get arrested?

Of course that would mean she's a liar, since she's said that this was not a protest. So far, while she hasn't been right on a lot of issues, she's at least been honestly wrong.


What was her plan, pray tell? Did she plan on getting arrested later, during the speech and just got unlucky? If so, wasn't her crime still that she simply wore a T-shirt? Since we can only guess at her intent and clearly, there is some debate, we can only look at the actions. She walked in, they saw her shirt and arrested her. They detained her, alledgedly bruised her and then set her free after the speech. The very next day, they dropped all charges and admitted that they were wrong. Hmmm.... I think I'll take Cindy's and the Police Departments word on this one.

[Balbus]

38. I'll tell you what I believe..

I was chastised earlier for calling it a "stunt" so for now on I'll refer to it as the "plan." I believe the "plan" was to somehow, someway, bring renewed attention to her cause. Did she know she was going to get arrested? Probably not, but I'm sure the "plan" was to create some kind of confrontation. That fact that she got arrested and ejected probably brought more attention to her cause than originally "plan"ned. Which is a good thing - a brilliant thing, even. Because now she can make adjustments to the "plan" and file a lawsuit against the D.C. police or Capitol police or whoever and bring even MORE attention to her cause. Which makes the original "plan" all the more genius.

So, as you can see, I called neither Cindy nor the Police Department a liar. My above scenario fits neatly into the events (or "plan") as they actually happened. And by no means is this to be taken as a criticism of Cindy - to watch this unfold before my eyes has been most enjoyable and I can't wait to see where the "plan" goes next. It's like watching 'Ocean's Eleven' but this is real!

[mikelewis]

27. She should Sue them all the way to the Supreme Court...

oh... wait... scratch that.

[mvd]

32. Yes - the Capitol police

If there's no House rule against a political t-shirt, there is no reason not to. I'd also challenge the arrest in court.

[mb7588a]

34. Capitol Police. nt.

[Swamp Rat]

35. Yes, and sue the two animals *INDIVIDUALLY* who physically removed her

She should also put liens on their property until the suit is settled, and demand they be barred from public service for life...

[timtom]

36. I didn't vote on lthis one.

While my foremost thought is to get the bastards, I believe that litigation cheapens any statement of principle.

But, that's just me....