DONATE NOW! HELP PAUL SMITH HOLD POLICE ACCOUNTABLE FOR TASER INCIDENT!

TWO WAYS TO DONATE:

Poster for Benefit Concert April 5th, 2005 - 8 PM Rainbow Bistro

Cheques can be made out to: "NOWAR-PAIX", c/o UNIT 12, 604 MacLaren St., Ottawa ON K1R 5K9
Note: "Police Complaint Fund" at bottom of cheque.

WHY DONATE??

Inappropriate Use of Force by Police. NOWAR-PAIX activist Paul Smith was tasered twice while participating peacefully in a demonstration. The police officers arrested him in the mistaken belief that he should not be there. Paul was roughly handled while fully cooperating with the officers, so made the decision to let his body go limp rather than assist in his arrest. He was tasered twice for this nonviolent tactic.

Hold Police Accountable. Paul subsequently submitted a complaint about the behaviour of the two officers involved. By holding them accountable, he hopes to reverse the trend toward indiscriminate use of tasers and other painful methods by the police. As he stated, "Tasering people, strangling people, using pain-compliance holds on people who are not resisting, this is not what the police force should be doing."

Video Tape Mystery. As noted by the CBC, "The scene of Smith lying limp because of the tasers was conspicuously absent from the police video of the arrest. But another video entered as evidence at the hearing earlier this week backed up Smith's account."

Lengthy Proceedings. The court time involved in this case has been much greater than originally anticipated. After his complaint was rejected by professional standards section of the Ottawa Police Service, he appealed to the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services and was granted a hearing that is taking several days. During the hearing, the recording equipment failed to record 90 minutes of cross-examination, so that this part of the record must be redone. All donations will go toward legal expenses.

Press Coverage. This complaint process has already generated a great deal of press coverage about the overuse of force by the police. When the proceeding resumes in the fall, there will be renewed press interest. This public scrutiny is essential to holding the police accountable for the way in which they treat lawful protests. Read a recent report by CBC news.

PLEASE HELP HOLD THE POLICE ACCOUNTABLE!!