Cops and Freaks

by

Fifth Estate # 55, June 4-18, 1968

The Detroit Police has begun a reign of terror in the Warren-Forest area near Wayne University.

Almost all of it has been aimed at the local freaks. “It’s getting to be too much,” said Skip Cooper, who lives in the Castle on John Lodge. “All the cops do is hassle with anyone with long hair.”

Other people in the area have reported a marked increase in illegal searches and entries by the cops. Mostly, the cops involved are from the Tactical Mobile Units and the “Big Four.” The latter is the precinct cruiser that travels in a Dodge sedan with three plainclothes (and they are) patrolmen and one uniformed driver.

The Big Four is known throughout the Black community as the most brutal and racist cops on the force. Their prejudice against hippies is now gaining them a similar reputation in the Warren-Forest area.

Jack Forest, an area resident, told this paper of being stopped by the cruiser and he asked them why he was being hassled. Ptl. Dennis Artman answered that they were “going to stop long-hairs until fifteen year old girls stopped coming around here and getting the clap and hooked.”

The crimefighters.

Also, the cops are fairly uptight because a narc got beat on May 17 for $150 by who he thought was a dope dealer.

The narc, a Mexican with long black hair named Pancho came to the Castle to make a buy and gave the money to a local freak. The freak recognized him as a narc and beat it out the back door and the enraged narc left to get his friends. A whole squad came back like Gangbusters and broke down the door at 4827 John Lodge after threatening several people next door with their pistols and arrested nine persons for armed robbery. They were released the next day without charges.

Since the police didn’t have a warrent the members of the household plan to bring suit against the police.

[Archive note: title added for filing purposes; no title appears in the original print edition.]

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