On April 1, 2005, I worked at my paying job until about 6:00 pm, when I headed over to the demonstration against the UniverSoul Circus. I arrived at about 6:15 pm, a little over an hour before the show was to start.
One other demonstrator was there, and we both held signs and offered leaflets to circus patrons. We stood on a sidewalk leading up to the circus venue. Almost immediately, a circus security guard approached us and requested that we move to the curb near the street. There was no sidewalk near the curb, but simply a muddy, grassy area, and we would not be able to reach most of the patrons going to the circus if we stood there. We refused to move.
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| Sidewalk where we were standing |
The circus security guard then approached a uniformed Philadelphia Police officer who was directing traffic and talked to him briefly. After the security guard left, I asked the uniformed police officer what he wanted. The officer told me that circus security guard had requested that the uniformed officer tell us to move. The police officer refused to do so, telling the security guard that he didn't think we were causing any problems. I gave the uniformed police officer a dvd that showed how animals in the circus were trained, and he went back to directing traffic.
The circus security guard then started following me around and as I handed out leaflets to patrons, he would say things to patrons like, "You don't need to take those." The circus security guard also pointed to my boots and said, "What about those leather boots, you're a hypocrite!" I offered to take off my boots to show him that they were synthetic, but I suggested that he probably wouldn't want me to do so since I had been wearing them all day and they might be a bit smelly.
A few minutes later, two officers in plainclothes, Charles Sheldon and Donald West of the Philadelphia Civil Affairs Unit, arrived and spoke briefly to the circus security guard. The officers then approached the other demonstrator and me and asked us to move to the curbline. The other demonstrator immediately moved to the curbline, but I asked the officers why we had to move. Officer Sheldon said, "Because that's the agreed-upon area." I said, "This is a public sidewalk, and I have the right to be here. If I am doing something illegal, you can arrest me."
(NOTE: I recommend that you NEVER suggest to police officers that they arrest you. It is better to say something like, "What will happen if I don't move?" and see what they say. At the time this happened, I was very certain of my right to stand on that sidewalk, and I never dreamed the officers would, in fact, arrest me!)
I then continued offering leaflets to patrons as they approached the circus. Officer Sheldon came over to me and said, “Okay, you’re under arrest” and then told me to go over to his car. He had a female police officer frisk me, and then he handcuffed my hands behind my back.
I was shocked because I knew I was doing nothing illegal, and I asked the officers what I did. They refused to answer, and when I asked again, Officer West said, “You’ll find out.” Officer Sheldon told me to get into the back of his car, where I sat for about ten or fifteen minutes, until a police van showed up.
When the police van arrived, I was escorted into the back. I was transported to the 19th District police station at 61st Street and Thompson St. At the police station, I was placed into a jail cell with a cot, a sink and a toilet, and I was released from my handcuffs. I had no idea how long I was going to be detained. I was very worried about my elderly dog Miller, who was diabetic and needed a shot of insulin every 12 hours. He was due for his next shot at about 8:00 pm that night.
A uniformed police officer interviewed me in my cell, asking questions like my name, my address, etc. He was very nice, and I asked him how long he thought I would be jailed, and he said he thought it would be no more than an hour or two. There was a television set near the cell, and he asked me if I preferred to have the set on or off. I told him on, and he turned it to a station that played reruns like Friends and Seinfeld. I know that I was in the cell for at least an hour, because at least two half-hour sitcoms played.
Jail is a scary experience, no matter how long you're confined. I recited the "Serenity Prayer" ("God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage the change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference") to myself at least a hundred times to try to remain calm. At some point, the nice police officer came back to my cell and handed me something. It was a note wrapped around two quarters. The note said, "We are waiting for you outside. Love Val." I then knew my friend and fellow activist Valerie was in the police station waiting for me, and I felt tremendous relief. I had been concerned about how I would get from the police station back to my car, and I knew that Val would wait for me, no matter how long it took.
CONTINUED- for Part Three, please click here. Thank you for reading!
When the police van arrived, I was escorted into the back. I was transported to the 19th District police station at 61st Street and Thompson St. At the police station, I was placed into a jail cell with a cot, a sink and a toilet, and I was released from my handcuffs. I had no idea how long I was going to be detained. I was very worried about my elderly dog Miller, who was diabetic and needed a shot of insulin every 12 hours. He was due for his next shot at about 8:00 pm that night.
A uniformed police officer interviewed me in my cell, asking questions like my name, my address, etc. He was very nice, and I asked him how long he thought I would be jailed, and he said he thought it would be no more than an hour or two. There was a television set near the cell, and he asked me if I preferred to have the set on or off. I told him on, and he turned it to a station that played reruns like Friends and Seinfeld. I know that I was in the cell for at least an hour, because at least two half-hour sitcoms played.
Jail is a scary experience, no matter how long you're confined. I recited the "Serenity Prayer" ("God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage the change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference") to myself at least a hundred times to try to remain calm. At some point, the nice police officer came back to my cell and handed me something. It was a note wrapped around two quarters. The note said, "We are waiting for you outside. Love Val." I then knew my friend and fellow activist Valerie was in the police station waiting for me, and I felt tremendous relief. I had been concerned about how I would get from the police station back to my car, and I knew that Val would wait for me, no matter how long it took.
CONTINUED- for Part Three, please click here. Thank you for reading!
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