Post Copwatch Field Trip to Lockup Proves to be No Fun At All

September 3, 2011 by Wingnut Anarchist Collective

After a long and relatively uneventful night of doing Copwatch for first
fridays on Broad Street, S and I were ready to make the trek back to the
Wingnut to review the footage acquired over the course of the night. It
had been an evening of very large groups of very bored pigs, standing in
groups of up to ten up and down Broad St., most likely very upset that
there were no younger folks of color to push around to pass the time on a
Friday night. After a humorous impromptu interview with the 4th precinct
commander, Mike Strawder, S and I had made it back to our bikes, parked in
front of the New York Pizza restaurant. S had unlocked his bike, and as I
bent to unlock my bike, I felt handcuffs close over my left wrist as
another pair of hands closed around my right arm. I looked up, and there
were at least 15 VCU and Richmond police officers surrounding S and I, and
I was promptly told that I was under arrest and that I had a felony
warrant out on my head, though they were not, at that moment, very
forthcoming about what I the warrant was for. S jumped to his feet and
immediately had his camera trained on the officers and myself, and watched
as they moved me to an alley “where no one could see me”. My pockets were
searched, my knife confiscated, and my bag taken from me as two undercover
agents kept their video cameras trained on me throughout the ordeal.

Soon, a VCU paddywagon pulled up, and I was shuffled away to the VCU
police station, under the impression that I would be going to jail for
whatever it was they thought it necessary to charge me with. After my
arrival, a detective and a police officer sat me down in a waiting room,
took my picture a few times, and shot the shit with other passing officers
while a large, sloth-like pig played a game of Bejeweled on an office
computer across the room, intermittently taking long sips from what was
probably the largest Big Gulp I had ever seen. After a few minutes of
wishing that I could take a nap, or at least know my reason for being
there, I was carted even deeper into the bowels of the VCU cop shop, and
finally was able to shed some light on the current predicament. The
detective informed me that on August 23rd someone matching my description
(someone with tattoos, a hat, and a bike….. in Richmond, during Best
Friends Day) had slashed an undetermined amount of tires belonging to, I’m
guessing, VCU. Though confused about the situation, I spoke to the
magistrate via some technological doohickey, and was told that I would be
taken to processing, and then released on a $5000 unsecured bond. I was
also told that my bike, hat, and knife would be held as evidence until the
investigation was over with. The officers involved used their wily charms
to try and talk about the Wingnut and Copwatch, and allowed me to call S
to come and pick up my bag.

After a short ordeal with fingerprinting, signing documents, and getting
even more pictures taken at the processing station, I found myself right
back out onto the streets of Richmond, dazed and slightly weirded out by
the strange turn of events that had taken place over the course of the
night. My court date is on Tuesday the 6th, at 9 A.M., so you can be sure
that there will be plenty of updates regarding the case as it progresses.
If anyone might happen to have contact with a decent (and cheap) lawyer in
town who is friendly towards Anarchists, you can contact the house at
804-303-5449, or through the website.