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RIT professor calls Occupy arrests unconstitutional - Gates, NY - Gates-Chili Post
An RIT professor who was arrested as part of the Occupy Rochester protests is calling these arrests unconstitutional. As someone who is partially deaf, Patti Durr, of Brighton, also feels that police weren’t properly equipped to deal with deaf individuals.
Durr said that the Rochester Police Department handcuffed her from behind.
“It should be protocol to handcuff deaf individuals from the front to allow for signing. I had requested this numerous times as did others on my behalf to no avail,” she said.
Rochester Police Department Public Information Officer Stephen Scott said that protocol for all arrests is to put the hands behind the person who is arrested. Scott said that this is done even for deaf individuals because it is a safety issue.
Durr added that the jail is not equipped with a videophone and that she was not allowed to use her phone to text her husband to come and bail her out.
“Instead I had to depend on someone in the jail to call my house for me because they only had a TTY (Text Telephone), which is outdated, and hardly any deaf people have TTY's in their home anymore,” she said.
According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Helfer: "The TTY has been the industry standard for many years and is still widely used."
Durr said she got involved with Occupy Rochester because she feels like a portion of society isn’t pulling their weight.
“The country is in an economic freefall and the one percent can and should contribute to our economic recovery,” she stated.
Durr said she is protesting “the lack of political accountability — too much politicking and not enough commitment to the greater good and the average folks,” she said.
Her arrest came at her first protest in October.
She said that she also feels like other protests have been handled differently in other cities.
“I think the arrests are unjust given that other city mayors have accommodated the peaceful protesters of their city and given the fact that we posed no threat or danger to the park or others,” she said.
Scott said that the police department is not commenting on the protest arrests.
Durr said many of the protesters were charged with trespassing and being in a closed city park.
“I also think that being in handcuffs behind the back for more than three to five hours is excessive considering the petty crime we are being changed with,” she stated.
Durr said that the extended time in handcuffs, the bail, arraignment and upcoming pre-trial are all “protracted ‘system’ mechanisms to discourage and restrict free speech and assembly,” she said.
One of the individuals arrested was Jonathan Foster, a photographer for RIT’s student magazine Reporter. Neither Foster nor a representative from the Reporter was available for further comment.
In an Oct. 21 Reporter column by Foster, he stated: “As a photojournalist, I am not allowed to actively participate in events that I cover; I am there to find and tell stories. This is difficult when I believe in the cause, and Occupy Wall Street resonates deep within me.”
Durr said Foster’s arrest was a violation of the First Amendment.
“This is a violation of freedom of the press,” she said.
“Basically the Mayor's ordering of these arrests are three strikes at the first amendment,” she said.
An RIT professor who was arrested as part of the Occupy Rochester protests is calling these arrests unconstitutional. As someone who is partially deaf, Patti Durr, of Brighton, also feels that police weren’t properly equipped to deal with deaf individuals.
Durr said that the Rochester Police Department handcuffed her from behind.
“It should be protocol to handcuff deaf individuals from the front to allow for signing. I had requested this numerous times as did others on my behalf to no avail,” she said.
Rochester Police Department Public Information Officer Stephen Scott said that protocol for all arrests is to put the hands behind the person who is arrested. Scott said that this is done even for deaf individuals because it is a safety issue.
Durr added that the jail is not equipped with a videophone and that she was not allowed to use her phone to text her husband to come and bail her out.
“Instead I had to depend on someone in the jail to call my house for me because they only had a TTY (Text Telephone), which is outdated, and hardly any deaf people have TTY's in their home anymore,” she said.
According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Helfer: "The TTY has been the industry standard for many years and is still widely used."
Durr said she got involved with Occupy Rochester because she feels like a portion of society isn’t pulling their weight.
“The country is in an economic freefall and the one percent can and should contribute to our economic recovery,” she stated.
Durr said she is protesting “the lack of political accountability — too much politicking and not enough commitment to the greater good and the average folks,” she said.
Her arrest came at her first protest in October.
She said that she also feels like other protests have been handled differently in other cities.
“I think the arrests are unjust given that other city mayors have accommodated the peaceful protesters of their city and given the fact that we posed no threat or danger to the park or others,” she said.
Scott said that the police department is not commenting on the protest arrests.
Durr said many of the protesters were charged with trespassing and being in a closed city park.
“I also think that being in handcuffs behind the back for more than three to five hours is excessive considering the petty crime we are being changed with,” she stated.
Durr said that the extended time in handcuffs, the bail, arraignment and upcoming pre-trial are all “protracted ‘system’ mechanisms to discourage and restrict free speech and assembly,” she said.
One of the individuals arrested was Jonathan Foster, a photographer for RIT’s student magazine Reporter. Neither Foster nor a representative from the Reporter was available for further comment.
In an Oct. 21 Reporter column by Foster, he stated: “As a photojournalist, I am not allowed to actively participate in events that I cover; I am there to find and tell stories. This is difficult when I believe in the cause, and Occupy Wall Street resonates deep within me.”
Durr said Foster’s arrest was a violation of the First Amendment.
“This is a violation of freedom of the press,” she said.
“Basically the Mayor's ordering of these arrests are three strikes at the first amendment,” she said.