Comrade Marcel
23rd October 2003, 22:04
Spot members arrested AGAIN this time in Kingston
Sam released, Julian and Pat held for bail
Three members of the KW Youth Collective were arrested this morning in Kingston. After a rousing political meeting last night at the Sleepless Goat, the youth (who work with the Kitchener drop-in The Spot) were getting ready to leave from downtown Kingston this morning. The owner of a high-end furniture store seemed bothered by us as we were cleaning our rented van outside her window. She was seen speaking frantically into a phone receiver, and we wondered if she might be calling the cops. A man in business clothes had entered the store and was speaking with the owner. Just as we were about to drive away, he ran up to the van, tapping on the window and flashing a detective's badge. This man was in the store less than a minute after the owner had been on the phone, to a certain extent confirming our suspicions that the van had been under survaillance.
He asked to see the registration of the van and the license of the driver, which we produced with no difficulty. He then asked for identification from everyone in the car. When people refused to give their names, he threatened us with arrest for obstruct, stating that he was intending to give us tickets for not wearing seatbelts (which people had undone when he stopped the car). Eventually they got all our names and ran them through their database.
Sam was arrested first because they were under the impression that she was a missing person, but was released an hour later when it was found that this wasn't true. Pat was also arrested, and Julian was taken out of the van on the basis that they had non-association conditions with each other. Julian was initially released and told, "take this message back to Kitchener: This isn't shithole Kitchener, you can't pull the same shit here. Get the fuck out of town." Then the detective changed his mind and arrested Julian anyway. The beatcop who had threatened Julian then approached the driver's window and said the same thing to all of us, telling us to "get out of town or you'll be followed everywhere you go, you'll be ticketed for everything. You fucked with the wrong guy."
Pat and Julian are up in court at 2pm tomorrow.
Police and the courts of Kitchener have been trying to limit the political activity of the KW Youth Collective and The Spot by laying trumped up charges and going through with trial, meanwhile imposing bail conditions of non-association on a lot of our members. These types of conditions, in the past, have been struck down in Kitchener Superior Court, but continue to be imposed by lower courts.
Kingston was the fourth stop of the People's Tour, a series of speaking events by the KW Youth Collective, indended to build links around the province.
http://kwyc.rebelyouth.ca/
Sam released, Julian and Pat held for bail
Three members of the KW Youth Collective were arrested this morning in Kingston. After a rousing political meeting last night at the Sleepless Goat, the youth (who work with the Kitchener drop-in The Spot) were getting ready to leave from downtown Kingston this morning. The owner of a high-end furniture store seemed bothered by us as we were cleaning our rented van outside her window. She was seen speaking frantically into a phone receiver, and we wondered if she might be calling the cops. A man in business clothes had entered the store and was speaking with the owner. Just as we were about to drive away, he ran up to the van, tapping on the window and flashing a detective's badge. This man was in the store less than a minute after the owner had been on the phone, to a certain extent confirming our suspicions that the van had been under survaillance.
He asked to see the registration of the van and the license of the driver, which we produced with no difficulty. He then asked for identification from everyone in the car. When people refused to give their names, he threatened us with arrest for obstruct, stating that he was intending to give us tickets for not wearing seatbelts (which people had undone when he stopped the car). Eventually they got all our names and ran them through their database.
Sam was arrested first because they were under the impression that she was a missing person, but was released an hour later when it was found that this wasn't true. Pat was also arrested, and Julian was taken out of the van on the basis that they had non-association conditions with each other. Julian was initially released and told, "take this message back to Kitchener: This isn't shithole Kitchener, you can't pull the same shit here. Get the fuck out of town." Then the detective changed his mind and arrested Julian anyway. The beatcop who had threatened Julian then approached the driver's window and said the same thing to all of us, telling us to "get out of town or you'll be followed everywhere you go, you'll be ticketed for everything. You fucked with the wrong guy."
Pat and Julian are up in court at 2pm tomorrow.
Police and the courts of Kitchener have been trying to limit the political activity of the KW Youth Collective and The Spot by laying trumped up charges and going through with trial, meanwhile imposing bail conditions of non-association on a lot of our members. These types of conditions, in the past, have been struck down in Kitchener Superior Court, but continue to be imposed by lower courts.
Kingston was the fourth stop of the People's Tour, a series of speaking events by the KW Youth Collective, indended to build links around the province.
http://kwyc.rebelyouth.ca/