Tony’s story
My friend Tony experienced something quite shocking in the city of Holyoke a few weeks ago. When I first heard the story, I was, quite honestly, in disbelief. It wasn’t until yesterday when he sent me this testimony that I was able to see the horrifying event unfold. Many of you who read this blog also know Tony so I thought you should read this.
Here is, in his words, what happened.
My name is Anthony Jones. I am a 29 year-old college educated, professional African-American male who resides in Northampton, MA. I am writing to discuss a complaint against a public establishment in Holyoke named The Clover, as well as against the Holyoke Police Department.
Recently, my partner and I were out for the evening when we decided to go to The Clover Pub in Holyoke for a couple drinks. As we thought this establishment to be friendly enough (as it is in gay marriage friendly Massachusetts), my partner and I kissed one another on the lips. We were told that this behavior was “unacceptable” in this bar. We were told to stop. As I believe I have the right to kiss anyone I want, I asked why we were being asked to stop kissing. We were told that this bar was not “that kind of place.” I explained that what we were doing was not inappropriate. My partner and I were asked to leave. I said I would not leave the bar because I kissed my boyfriend and because we did nothing wrong.
We were again told to leave and told that if we refused to leave, the cops would be called. Because I felt and still feel that my partner and I were being asked to leave because of our sexual orientation, I again stated that we would not leave because we had a right to be in this public establishment and that we were not violating any laws.Within a few minutes, five police officers showed up to the bar and asked my partner and me to step outside. As we were dumbfounded, my partner was trying to explain to the officers that we were not doing anything wrong. We did nothing to warrant the reaction we received. The cops refused to listen to either of us who were trying to explain our side of whatever story had been told. They (the cops) became more forceful in an effort to get my partner and me out of the bar. Once we were outside, I again tried to reinforce what I had been saying all along – that this was happening to us because of our sexual orientation. The police report clearly states that I kept saying that we were being treated unjustly because we were gay.
Later, we discovered the bar tender and owner informed the cops that we were engaged in “lewd” behavior. The police report states that it was reported that we were lifting up one another’s shirts and sucking one another’s nipples. This is completely untrue. Obviously, this was an excuse made up by the owner and bartender to cover their butts because they knew we had done nothing out of the “ordinary.”
In the meantime, the cops tried to insist we settle down or that they would place us in protective custody. Again, because we felt as if this was completely unfair and inappropriate, I said being taken to jail was an even bigger insult than being thrown out of the bar. Since the cops thought I was unwilling to cooperate, they used pepper spray directly in my eyes. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. While one police report says that after the pepper spray was sprayed I calmed down, another states I calmed after a little more resistance. Personally, I don’t know anyone who can not feel violated when he or she has been pepper sprayed for no reason at all.
As I was unaware of what was happening with my partner, I know I was handcuffed in the most forceful of ways. Even today, almost a month after the incident, I still have visible bruises from this incident. I was then placed in a patrol car and taken to the Holyoke Police Department where things got increasingly worse.
Although the police report states I was allowed to wash my face a couple times, this is untrue. It felt like an eternity before I was able to open my eyes without pain.
The details of the rest of this evening are painful to remember. I have never in my life been made to feel like less than a human being by anyone. I was informed that my partner was also in protective custody because he refused to leave me. I was so thankful to know I wasn’t alone.
I was placed in a cell and told to calm down. I was told to calm down because I was extremely angry, hurt, and confused about how this evening transpired into the nightmare it had become. Of course, I was very vocal about how unfair this was and how it shouldn’t be happening. After a brief while, I was taken out of the cell and escorted to be officially “booked.” I was asked for my address and social security number (which I asked why it was needed and I was told if I didn’t give it to them I wouldn’t be allowed out). I conceded.
After this process, they had me sign a piece of paper although it was unclear what I was signing. I do remember, however, being told that I was being charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. I asked if I could make a phone call. I was escorted to the phone, but because I rely on my cell phone, which had been taken with all my other possessions, I didn’t know a number to call to reach a friend. I demanded an attorney. I was told that I didn’t need an attorney because they were not questioning me about anything. Again, I asked for an attorney. They told me to make my phone call to call whomever I wanted. Since I was unsure of who to call, my privilege to make a phone call was taken away from me. I was again made angry at the fact that my rights were being violated, in my opinion. As I tried to reach for the phone, three offices bombarded me, threw me on the ground, and cuffed me again, this time even tighter than before. The force of these three men was so intense it caused me to fall to the ground face first where I chipped my front tooth.
I was taken back to my cell (shirtless, which I later found out was because of a suicide watch or something ridiculous). I yelled to my partner in another cell and we comforted one another with words until an officer approached my partner and told him (which I found out the next morning) that if he didn’t stop speaking to me, he would be kept in jail for an additional eight hours.
I was made to sleep without a blanket on the cold cement block they use as a bed. My partner was given a blanket. Not only was my partner given a blanket, however. He was also given permission to make a phone call, was not charged with anything formally as I was, and will not have a record of this as an arrest. Obviously, this does not sit well with me as we were both violated, but my “discipline” was handled in much more of a severe way than his. I understand that my partner is older than me and white, which causes me to wonder why such harshness was placed upon me and not both of us? My partner was released at 8 in the morning and was allowed to bail me out with a $40 price tag. We’re still dealing…
I think it’s important to note that neither my partner nor I were looking for trouble. A number of versions of this story will be told that don’t match the truth. Yes, we were having a great night of fun. Yes, we are gay. Yes, I am dating an older white man. Yes, I now realize that the place I was in might not be receptive to our lifestyle. No, I didn’t think this happened in Massachusetts where gay marriage is legal. It shouldn’t happen anywhere.
I am appalled at the way my partner and I were treated at the bar and by the police. No matter what side of the story they tell, I want someone to answer these questions:
1. Was it right for me to be pepper sprayed?
2. Should my partner and I have been asked to leave the bar?
3. Is it wrong to be gay?
4. Do black Americans deserve to be treated differently than whites displaying the same behavior?
5. Should my tooth have been chipped?
6. Why do I have to go to court in October to clear my name when I have done nothing wrong?
7. Is anyone as angry as me?
8. Who wants to help me fight?I need the best defense I can get to help me with this. I want people to be aware of how things are still happening in this day and age. Please help me bring this message of injustice, police intimidation, and outright prejudiced to an end. We must do better!
Regards,Anthony Jones
ynotjones@gmail.com
current affairs, holyoke, western mass | kristen October 1, 2008
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By Richard, October 1, 2008 @ 5:06 pm
Basically you blew it. You could have had the bar by the balls if you handled it using your head. But you did not, and you played right into the prejudices and into the hands of those you could have defeated legally, intellectually, and peacefully.
Let’s answer the question of whether you did anything wrong or not: Obviously you did. You admit all over your account that you were non-compliant with the police. Whether you or any of us like it or not, we are bound by law to follow the orders of the police, clearly you did not when you argued with the police in the bar after they asked you to step outside. Once outside, you say the cops told you to settle down and you did not. At this point the police had every right to spray you. (Pepper spray is a non-lethal irritant used to protect police from people who are non-compliant, it’s used all the time with virtually no consequence for the police). Later you apparently reached for the phone after you didn’t use it in a timely manner and the police subdued you for this sudden move… seems like a reasonable response. My man, you made their case.
While it would be wonderful if anyone could go anywhere and be accepted or at least tolerated, that is not how it is… yet. So I either applaud your intestinal fortitude to walk into (what I’m assuming)is an Irish bar in an Irish town as a gay black man and kiss an older white man on the lips, or question your motives for doing so and getting the response that should have been assumed by you. And hey, even if you assumed the response and were willing to fight for your rights that’s cool too. But as you see, things don’t always turn out the way you planned. You gave your enemies too much ammunition.
By Johan Lont, October 2, 2008 @ 10:29 am
That must have been a horrible experience for Anthony. I think, it is commendable that he is willing to fight for his rights. He should, however, choose the place, time, and methods of this fight wisely.
I’ll try to answer the 8 questions asked.
1. I think the use of pepper spray by the police can be justified, if they need it to maintain there safety, not if it is only to make a suspect cooperate. However, a lawyer can find out which are the actual regulations that apply to pepper-spray use by the police.
2. In general, if a bar tender notices behavior that could embarras the other guests, for example singing loudly, he can ask you to stop, and if you don’t he can ask you to leave. However, that does not allow a bar tender or owner to discriminate. So, if this bar allows other customers to engage in kissing on the mouth, they should allow you too. If that makes the owner or the other guests feel uneasy, that is essentially their problem.
To tell you the truth, it is hard for me to imagine that you can enjoy yourself and your company, after you noticed that there are people looking at you in disdain or embarrassment. So, from that moment on, it is not about relaxing anymore, but about standing up for your rights.
3. I think it is not wrong to be gay.
4. I think black Americans deserve to be treated the same as whites displaying the same behavior. I am not sure, though, whether you partner’s behavior should be judged the same as yours. It is possible he reacted just that little bit more docile and calm, to entice a different reaction from the police. And even if he did act the same as you, you may not be able to prove it. You should not enter the fight, if you are not prepared to lose a battle from time to time. However, you can find out whether you had a right (according to regulations) to have been issued a blanket.
5. Your tooth should not have been chipped. However, I do not expect that you will be able to prove that it was anything else than an accident. In their daily work, the police risk a lot of bruises, scars, insults, attacks, and worse, and these often come unexpected. Therefore, they are trained to react instantly and forcefully to restrain a suspect that looks as if he is going to try something that may or may not involve violence.
6. You have to go to court in October to clear your name, because the bar tender and owner and/or the police have accused you of behavior that constitutes disorderly conduct, and because you did not comply with the instructions given to you by the police. The questions what really happened, and whether you were justified in reacting in that way, those are exactly the questions that the court must answer. It is a hard to exterminate the misconception that only guilty people are brought before the court. Ever so often, innocent people need to defend themselves in court too.
7. I doubt it.
8. Perhaps giving my perspective was a little help. Further, you are going to need a lawyer.
By downtown43, October 2, 2008 @ 10:57 am
We should have a ‘kiss-in’ at the Clover IMMEDIATELY and then at least once a week. Seriously. Please know that there are those of us who live and work in Holyoke who support your right to love, let alone make-out with, whoever you want IN PUBLIC. Do they call the police if a straight couple kisses? I DON’T THINK SO.
By Brittnie, October 2, 2008 @ 10:41 pm
One chooses their battles when the occasion calls, and last I heard, there is no manual for how to behave when your rights are violated. The issues raised by Anthony’s testimony are concerns for equality based on race, sexual orientation, and gender. (Last time I made out with my husband in public, we really did not consider the consequences of our actions–Irish people might have even been there.) They also speak to the almost-absolute power of the police. Who, given the demand for police resources in Holyoke, were not spending taxpayer money wisely when they responded to this case of man-on-man kissing. I also believe that it is completely naive to assume that Anthony’s behavior could have dictated the outcome of the evening or his pending case. Some of the arguments raised by the commenters here may be valid as far as a legal strategy goes, but they do not get the to heart of Anthony’s questions about what SHOULD have happened.
When shall we schedule this big makeout? How about Sunday, 8pm??