Please help us bring #Justice4Ariel Harrison.
***CONTENT WARNING: This video contains very disturbing information regarding what we believe is a horrific miscarriage of justice by the Macomb Police Department and the McDonough County Jail against this courageous, young Black Mom.********
Facts:
– Ariel Harrison had no prior legal issues ever with the police before moving here
– Ariel Harrison is disabled, as she is blind in her left eye.
– She is a petite woman.
– Her vehicle had a broken drivers side window, so she COULD NOT ROLL IT DOWN to hear what the officers were yelling at her until she opened the door.
– Following her release from the McDonough County Jail, She had a clear soft tissue head wound on her forehead, many bruises, and at least 4-5 taser marks on her back and elsewhere.
– She suffers PTSD and struggles with feelings of fear of further targeting/retaliation by the police.
– The McDonough County State’s Attorney is trying to send her to prison.
– Her next court date is August 4th, 2020 and all she has is a public defender. We need a lawyer for her, but she cannot afford one.
– We first brought this case to light BACK IN MARCH, AND NO NEWS AGENCIES IN MCDONOUGH COUNTY HAVE COVERED THIS STORY. Only the McDonough Voice has been attempting to get the info from the Police to tell this news.
– We also think people should contact County Board Chair Scott Swearer, and ask him why he promised to investigate this case BACK IN EARLY MARCH, and did NOTHING.
Questions/Concerns
What we think may have happened, based upon FOIA, pattern of injuries, and preliminary interviews
– Because she is blind in her left eye, and could not hear nor see the officer, when she tried to open the door to communicate, the officers apparently took it as an aggressive act, and she was tackled to the ground – BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO RECOGNIZE, MUCH LESS ACCOMMODATE HER DISABILITY.
– It appears that the vehicle she was driving did NOT match the description of the vehicle originally called into 911. Was she pulled over as a case of mistaken identity?
– The police SHOULD HAVE KNOWN she was blind in her left eye when they ran her plate. Yet, they failed to note it in their report, claiming “her eyes appeared glazed…” – WHY did that officer not notice AT ALL?!
– The head injury, period of unconsciousness, injuries were not accounted for AT ALL in the reports.
– The McDonough County Jail FAILED TO RENDER ANY MEDICAL AID to Ms. Harrison while she lay unconscious. WHY was an ambulance not called? WHY was she NOT TREATED AT THE HOSPITAL?
We believe this should be investigated as a case of human and civil rights violations, excessive force, assault/battery, and medical neglect, and possibly more.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1) “Like” this post to help more people see it.
2) Share this post to your wall and comment with #Justice4Ariel
3) Send a public comment demanding an investigation of the Macomb Police Department to the City Council of Macomb by sending an email (less than 3 minutes long reading time) to publiccomments@cityofmacomb.com
4) Sign the petition to force Macomb Police Chief Curt Barker to step down or be removed: http://chng.it/bGk28tcxdY
5) Contact the State’s Attorney Matt Kwacala and ask that he DROP all charges.
State’s Attorney
Matthew P. Kwacala
#1 Courthouse Square
Macomb, IL 61455
Kwacala@statesattorney.mcdonough.il.us
Phone: (309) 837-2309
Fax: (309) 836-3013
Assistant State’s Attorney
Susan M. Maxwell
#1 Courthouse Square
Macomb, IL 61455
Phone: (309) 837-2309
Fax: (309) 836-3013
Please help us save Ariel. Time is very short.
Tagging: ACLU of Illinois ACLU of IL – Peoria Area Chapter NAACP PEORIA BRANCH
#BlackLivesMatter #ACLU #BLM #Mac185 #NAACP #MADDOW #PoliceBrutality #Disability #HumanRights #CivilRights #WIU #BlackAtWIU #BlackInMacomb
Why Have You Heard Nothing About This Before?
The radio and tv stations have shown little to no interest whatsoever, so we need social media friends to help get this info out into the public. Indeed, some of our local stations stopped covering any of our events/actions after we began our racial justice work last summer.
The barrage of angry letters, emails, and threats and actual canceling of subscriptions from white people in the community for the paper’s printing of our letters and press conferences has had a chilling effect on the news journalists willingness to even show up to any of our events.
Even if they thought we were making these things up, we are calling for investigations every time. A call for an investigation into public servants should always be newsworthy. Not when it’s about racial injustice in our community, however.
Journalists may have appeased their white subscribers/supporters, but shamefully this greatly hampers our ability to help those coming to us as a last resort for help – because nobody else is helping them.
We should be asking our community members who claim to care about racial justice where these other groups are? Where are all the white people who went to all those sessions put on by the city? “White moderates…” indeed.