American Female Veteran Violently Arrested After No War With Syria Female Veteran Arrested and Brutalized After No War With Syria Rally Female War Veteran Violently Arrested For Playing Banjo In The Wrong Place At Syria War Protest Emily Yates, the Iraq war veteran, was arrested playing her banjo at a meeting against military action in Syria following an argument with the police about the proper place for her to stand. Yates was playing her banjo when she was asked by the Federal Park Police to leave as the park, according to them, was closing up for the day. After an argument with the woman, who wasn't going to execute their order, a group of police officers bent her over the park bench and handcuffed her. While the woman was screaming "We live in a police state... They're damaging my body and my personal property! I went to war for this country! Stop manhandling me! Stop! Stop! Help! Help!" the crowd was chanting for the police to "not choke the veteran", while the officers went on handling the "perpetrator" very brutally. By the end of the detention operation a handcuffed Yates was being handled by a total of eight cops. As of now Yates is detained in Philadelphia Federal Detention Center and a webpage which was designed as Yates' defense fund issued a report of the account of events. The report says that Emily went out on the streets of Philadelphia to participate in the march against taking military action in Syria as part of the Iraq Veterans Against the War group and just played some banjo afterwards. This is when she was "illegally arrested, choked and brutalized by park police at Independence Mall in Philadelphia". The site also pointed out that she wasn't a part of any illegal activity, just playing a song on her banjo. According to the site the police, in response to her question what she was doing wrong just dragged her handcuffed to the detention center. Currently she is detained and the site is collecting donations for her legal aid. The concludes, "Our Veterans can fight for our constitutional rights, offer their lives for ours, but asking questions and demanding answers, peacefully, is now a reason to be arrested in today's police state." However, and the video proves that, the police did explain that the park was closing up shortly and asked her to vacate the premises. Though it is unclear what exactly her response was to that, she clearly refused to leave. The readers of the rawstory.com are debating if the actual incident was justly covered or if there was another angle to it. While some claim that the park really was about to close and the police just gave the woman a proper warning that she needed to vacate the premises. As user DecenttDiscourse states, "They clearly told her at 11 seconds into the video, 'Ma'am, this area closes at 5:15 and everyone will be escorted out.' End of story. I also looked up the National Park Service page for this area and the closing hours are clearly stated." Others, however, say the park was accessible at all times. User Truthwhip says, "Where do you get your information that there is a "closure law" for Independence Mall? I just looked it up and this is public open land with sidewalks but no gates around it -- and no "open and close" times." He however, adds, there might have been closing hours imposed just for that day, when the demonstration took place, to have a chance to wrap it up in case any unrest takes place. DecenttDiscourse concludes, "Now, had this happened at 2 in the afternoon, I'd be singing a completely different song. As much as you may hate to come to this conclusion, law enforcement was in the right." Still, such police actions seem like excessive violence toward peaceful citizens, not to mention that the woman was a war veteran. However, it arises from the general growing tension and the unwillingness of both sides to cooperate. This case which is in some ways similar to the one happened in Phoenix in Arizona when Jordan McManus had a hard time with the police and got almost detained for testing the 1st and 4th amendment rights, as he filmed a federal building at night while open carrying. In both cases the police undoubtedly exceeded their authority and displayed unnecessary violence, but what's really important is to find the way for both the citizens and the enforcement to cooperate and not be outwardly provocative or violent respectively.

• published: 02 Sep 2013
• views: 2538