MESSED UP: Writer from "Famly Guy" TV Show Details His Arrest at Occupy LA

My name is Patrick Meighan, and I’m a husband, a father, a writer on the Fox animated sitcom “Family Guy”, and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica.

I was arrested at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning with 291 other people at Occupy LA. I was sitting in City Hall Park with a pillow, a blanket, and a copy of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Being Peace” when 1,400 heavily-armed LAPD officers in paramilitary SWAT gear streamed in. I was in a group of about 50 peaceful protestors who sat Indian-style, arms interlocked, around a tent (the symbolic image of the Occupy movement). The LAPD officers encircled us, weapons drawn, while we chanted “We Are Peaceful” and “We Are Nonviolent” and “Join Us.”

As we sat there, encircled, a separate team of LAPD officers used knives to slice open every personal tent in the park. They forcibly removed anyone sleeping inside, and then yanked out and destroyed any personal property inside those tents, scattering the contents across the park. They then did the same with the communal property of the Occupy LA movement. For example, I watched as the LAPD destroyed a pop-up canopy tent that, until that moment, had been serving as Occupy LA’s First Aid and Wellness tent, in which volunteer health professionals gave free medical care to absolutely anyone who requested it. As it happens, my family had personally contributed that exact canopy tent to Occupy LA, at a cost of several hundred of my family’s dollars. As I watched, the LAPD sliced that canopy tent to shreds, broke the telescoping poles into pieces and scattered the detritus across the park. Note that these were the objects described in subsequent mainstream press reports as “30 tons of garbage” that was “abandoned” by Occupy LA: personal property forcibly stolen from us, destroyed in front of our eyes and then left for maintenance workers to dispose of while we were sent to prison.

When the LAPD finally began arresting those of us interlocked around the symbolic tent, we were all ordered by the LAPD to unlink from each other (in order to facilitate the arrests). Each seated, nonviolent protester beside me who refused to cooperate by unlinking his arms had the following done to him: an LAPD officer would forcibly extend the protestor’s legs, grab his left foot, twist it all the way around and then stomp his boot on the insole, pinning the protestor’s left foot to the pavement, twisted backwards. Then the LAPD officer would grab the protestor’s right foot and twist it all the way the other direction until the non-violent protestor, in incredible agony, would shriek in pain and unlink from his neighbor.

It was horrible to watch, and apparently designed to terrorize the rest of us. At least I was sufficiently terrorized. I unlinked my arms voluntarily and informed the LAPD officers that I would go peacefully and cooperatively. I stood as instructed, and then I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms. It was super violent, it hurt really really bad, and he was doing it on purpose. When I involuntarily recoiled from the pain, the LAPD officer threw me face-first to the pavement. He had my hands behind my back, so I landed right on my face. The officer dropped with his knee on my back and ground my face into the pavement. It really, really hurt and my face started bleeding and I was very scared. I begged for mercy and I promised that I was honestly not resisting and would not resist.

My hands were then zipcuffed very tightly behind my back, where they turned blue. I am now suffering nerve damage in my right thumb and palm.

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" I stood as instructed, and then I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms. It was super violent, it hurt really really bad, and he was doing it on purpose. When I involuntarily recoiled from the pain, the LAPD officer threw me face-first to the pavement. He had my hands behind my back, so I landed right on my face. The officer dropped with his knee on my back and ground my face into the pavement."

"My hands were then zipcuffed very tightly behind my back, where they turned blue. I am now suffering nerve damage in my right thumb and palm."

Excessive force considering he complied with police and did not resist? Besides the fact he writes a funny TV show?

Oh, it gets worse:

"They forced us to kneel on the hard pavement of that parking garage for seven straight hours with our hands still tightly zipcuffed behind our backs. Some began to pass out. One man rolled to the ground and vomited for a long, long time before falling unconscious."

Is it any surprise to find out the police force is largely comprised of sadists?

The us vs. them mentality is fostered in their training, and fraternal culture.

"Just doing my job" ©.

How long before the people of America say enough is enough? It's already gone beyond a joke,reading that just totally annoyed me but thanks for making people more aware of what these pigs are doing.Can you see where peaceful protests are going,nowhere

This is one of the many many reasons why I hate today's police officers.

That and:
They're assholes.
They only respect themselves and their buddies.
They'll find any reason to throw you in jail, legal or not.
They have no respect for anyone's property but their own.
They THINK they know the law but a lot of them don't.

I could go on for hours...

the idea here is that the occupy protests are a large threat to those seated in corrupt power in america currently. the strategy they are trying to implement against the protests are two-fold. firstly, through the use of unwarranted police violence they can intimidate many protesters and also those on the sidelines from following through with the protest in fear of being 'pepper sprayed', 'beaten' or physically endangered in some way. secondly, through the use of unwarranted and unneccessary violence by the police against protesters they hope to cause violence among frindge groups within the protest movements. these people who can't stand to see police brutality and recognize it as a sign to take physical action against the police will be used as reasons within the media to legitimize police using even more real use of force to dismantle the protests.

Cops.

Im past the point of getting really sick and tired of these thugish cops.

Im at the point where all I believe that they are useful for is beating people up, interfering in family domestic disturbance issues, and issuing speeding tickets.

They dont prevent crime. They encourage it,and half the time, they are the ones responsible for it.

They are more like the Nazis were back in the day. Destroy all that is not useful to the state, and lock up and torture those who are going up against the state.

Side note- Cops have NEVER been there when I needed them, NEVER, not even once.
- but they always seem to be there when I am doing 5 mph over the speed limit.

Cops have always been against everything that I stand for, liberty.
Im not a criminal, but they sure do like to treat us like such.
Maybe its the power that comes with having that gold star on your shirt, maybe it gives you super Satan powers.

All I know, was when asked if I would rather be a cop who enforces backwards laws, or a Marine who fights for our freedoms, it really was not a hard decision.

Cops have never been there when I or my family needed them, but 'the people' have always been there when I needed them. So why would I choose the side of the cops, no matter what the reason?
If you dont have faith in your police, then what good is it to have Police?

there is also mindcontrol for police officers - not only @ mtv or disney...thats why some of them do things that cant be considered normal police actions...

Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

reply to post by PrimalRed


how should these "not 99%" (like you say in your signature) do something for the 99% if they are not allowe to protest against useless money hoarding, corrupt bankers and unequality - absolutly nonsense...

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

So much for your Constitutional rights then eh!

Might as well tear it up and use it to fuel a nice warm fire.

terrorism
noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

I bet the next several Family Guy episodes are going to have a lot more caustic remarks towards the establishment with one of the writers on the front lines of Occupy LA going through all that.

edit, please delete this double post, thanks

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

OK, so why don't they treat them like normal? Why the excessive force. When I got arrested on a felony(got the charges dropped as I did not do what I was charged with), although I was lied to and verbally abused, at least they didn't do any of this crap. Nor did I have a bail and these people had a $5,000 bail for a misdemeanor which is unheard of and discriminatory.

If these occupiers keep coming back, what should we do PrimalRed? Put them in camps? Gas them?

There is no excuse for not following procedure or using excessive force. Your excuse is that the people broke the law... But so doesn't everybody that gets arrested! That is not an excuse.

He is a 'writer', and obviously an activist involved in this movement, and you take his words as absolute truth here?

Does he offer any proof other than this "written" account?

Were there any witnesses to his abuse?

Has he filed any complaints?

Or is this a sensationalized account, meant to evoke anger and sympathy for the "movement"?

Don't bother answering any of that, I already know.

reply to post by CREAM


Because any force done by police is considered excessive force, no matter what the police did people would complain. This time the entire raid on OWS LA was streamed live, there was no excessive force by any reality based standard.

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

They were definitely asking for it. The media has become disinterested, and Occupiers need something to cook up headlines. "Liberal cartoon writer tortured and arrested by cops" gets headlines. "Illegal assembly peacefully disperses" does not.

The method of the Occupy movement is to create increasingly untenable situations and force the police to get involved, so they can cry about how poorly the police treat them. Everyone involved in these planned arrest events knows what they're in for, and they have the post-arrest script ready for the media. Knowing this guy, the first draft was probably full of lame cut-away gags.

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

There is one in every crowd.

Let me guess, you still think everyone at these Occupy Protest is jobless to? This should be a newflash for you... but if you are a writer for a highly successful sitcom on Primetime TV, you are not exactly struggling to pay your bills. You are also not "rich" either. Does this tell you anything at all?

Furthermore... people have a right to peacefully protest. If you do not like it, too bad. Rights are not given to us from any authority. We are born to them. Just like having a right to breathe, no one has a right to take that away. So that 72 hour warning, plus the extra couple days added to the extra 2 hours of warning before Police moved in, means nothing. Police have no right to infringe upon the rights of peaceful people. What Police have is take an Oath of Honor. What they have is what is known as Law Enforcement Code of Ethics which says,

As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all persons to liberty, equality and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminal, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession...law enforcement.

and in those regards these Police and many many others fail miserably.

I can see it now

*Lois gets angry at peter for crashing the car*
Peter: "Boy, this is almost as bad as that time I occupied LA"
*cutaway gag*

reply to post by MrWendal

Let me guess, you still think everyone at these Occupy Protest is jobless to? This should be a newflash for you... but if you are a writer for a highly successful sitcom on Primetime TV, you are not exactly struggling to pay your bills. You are also not "rich" either. Does this tell you anything at all?

Hello Mister Strawman my name is logic, have we met? I do not recall calling anyone jobless.

Furthermore... people have a right to peacefully protest. If you do not like it, too bad. Rights are not given to us from any authority.

But that right is not absolute, destroying public property is not a right and is not peaceful protest.

www.propublica.org...
But what constitutes a reasonable time, place and manner restriction? "It depends on the context and circumstances," said Geoffrey Stone, a professor specializing in constitutional law at the University of Chicago. "Things like noise, blockage of ordinary uses of the place, blockage of traffic and destruction of property allow the government to regulate speakers."

When the grass starts to die off from all the tents and all the human feces start to pile up it falls under destruction of property.

72 hour warning, plus the extra couple days added to the extra 2 hours of warning before Police moved in, means nothing.

No it was a polite heads up, legally the cops really did not have to give more than a few warnings.

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Considering they had a 72 hour warning that got stretched another couple days then 2 hours of warnings before the police said they would move in, i do not feel sorry for those people at all. They were pretty much asking for it.

In what way did they ask to be assaulted and illegally apprehended?
Yep it is illegal for anyone INCLUDING a LEO to use inappropriate force.

The ONLY excuse for police Violence is Violence... and there was none.
No excuse at all.

Untrained, unskilled, unthinking cops in action...as is the norm.

I think OWS protesters should start putting cops on their backs and telling THEM to explain it to the judge.