Catholic Worker Prisoner & Riot Squad and Other Anti-War Resistance Updates

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Friday April 14, 2006 03:36 by Anti-War Prisoner Solidarity SOLIDARITY LETTERS-Teresa Grady 13183-052, FCI danbury, Federal Correction Institution, Route 37, Danbury, CT 06811 USA

They're in Jail for Us, We're on the Loose for Them!

Teresa Grady is one of the 3 Grady family presently in U.S. prisons for a nonviolent occupation of the Ithaca Military Recruitment Centre on St. Patricks Day 2003, days before the U.S.Shock & Awe Bombing campaign over Iraq. Initially experiencing a hung jury. The defendants houses were raided by the FBI days before 11 Gradys departed for Ireland to attend the first trial of the Pit Stop Ploughshares.The FBI recharged the St. Patricks Four with felonies for the original anti-war action. Since writing the letter below, Teresa has since beeen moved from Broome County Jail to a Federal faciity -in Danbury Conneticut.

Broome County Jail
Journal Entries

March 28, 2006

Dear Ones,

Today I was witness to an abuse of power, much greater than the norm (after all we are in jail) in the women’s General Population on the part of approximately 20 to 30 jail employees. The employees included the mean morning lieutenant Connors with grey hair and a mustache; Ken Moore, the deputy administrator (he was carrying a paper in his hand); and someone filming the whole scene as it unfolded.

At 8:30am after breakfast, while women were still doing morning chores, showering, and just getting started with the day – it was a happy day for most, as commissary comes on Tuesdays – about 20 to 30 male officers (including at least one lieutenant and the deputy administrator) charged into our quiet Tuesday morning cell block,“I-Gen,” in full riot gear.

Wearing helmets with clear face guards covering their faces and Billy clubs drawn, they yelled, “Everybody get down!! Everybody get down, NOW!!” “Get down on the floor!”

Some women as I say were undressed in the public shower stalls, others hadn’t yet gotten out of their beds in their cells. Everyone was confused. Had something terrible happened on the outside, and they felt the need to secure us unarmed, highly medicated, imprisoned women?

My instinct was to stay standing and ask them why they are treating us in this fashion. But the Billy clubs were more convincing, so I slowly went down on my knees.

As I dropped to the floor, I looked at these men, who reminded me of Star Wars Darth Vader with the black shiny shin protectors, the helmets that give the back of the neck protection. Most of the men I recognized as guards who had either been on our shift at one time or another or had been working at visitation. They know who we are, and they know we are compliant in most everything that goes on, and they know that if they want us to do something, they just have to come in in numbers as they usually are dressed and ask us to do it. In fact, Marie, who was on shift could have asked, and we would have complied.

The behavior of the staff was so absurd. Yet my mind was trying to make sense out of it. Honestly, my first cognition was that they were playing a joke on us. I recognized these men’s faces - some of whom I know to be sweet and gentle people in their normal uniform. I thought, “Oh, I get it, they are drill practicing for a riot.”

Then I realized as I saw tears in the eyes off the woman lying next to me, that this was for real, intended to intimidate and frighten us. Though I could feel my adrenaline and my heart beating fast, I felt a certain calm of familiarity with this barbaric tactic. Images of the Attica uprising flashed through my mind, the house raids of Northern Ireland by English soldiers, Palestinian homes raided by Israeli soldiers, the invasion of Iraqi homes by US soldiers, and closer yet, the poor and or minority homes of our nation suspected of dealing drugs.

My dislike for these uniforms and the prison system could be tasted in my mouth. The SWAT team proceeded to cuff our hands behind our backs, shouting at us not to talk. I spoke softly to my friend, telling her that she’d be okay as the tears streamed from her eyes onto the rug which our faces were resting on.

“Put your heads down!!” Shouted the men, with Billy clubs threatening over our bodies.

They then sat us up, by rolling us onto our side, pulling us up in seated positions on the floor. One man went around to the TV areas (there are two large TVs in our common space). Turning the tables that the TVs sit on upside-down. (our dining tables are screwed into the ground as are the dining chairs) The great almighty TVs were spared the barbarism. The chairs, which are centered around the TVs, were kicked upside-down too. He never put anything back in its place.

They called us one by one off of the floors, hands still cuffed behind our backs to our individual cells where two officers were doing a “shake down” of our cell, then a strip search (by a woman officer dressed in normal jail officer’s clothes).

After all was said and done, my cell, the cellblock and the whole place looked as though vandals had ransacked it. They threw away our humble containers that held our individual salt and pepper packets that come at every meal from our tables. What good that did, I don’t know.

After the fact, we were all held in our cells for about an hour. The outdoor courtyard was made off limits to everyone until further notice. No volleyball today even though the weather is perfect for playing. A few of us were put into “keeplock” for 24 hours due to contraband found in our cells. The “contraband” found in my cell: 2 slices of bread and juice. I kept them from breakfast for later in the day.

March 29, 2006

Dear Ones,

This morning I’ve come to find out that the whole jail – men’s pod – went through this routine causing no movement throughout the jail. No visitation happened during the morning and afternoon hours. In fact, loved ones were turned away with no explanation but to say there was no visitation, come back tomorrow; visitation actually resumed at 3:30pm. The mother of one friend who is wheelchair bound came twice, once in the morning and once at 2:30pm only to be told there was no visitation for the day.

Our food trays were not brought by the normal “trustees” (inmates who are trusted) it was brought by CO’s. Dogs were seen through the Plexiglas of our cellblock, in the prison halls. All programs were cancelled and religious counseling did not take place. There was no commissary delivery for the whole day.

Women were remembering traumatic violent experiences, which they previously have gone though, e.g., guns being pointed to head in police raids.

Today the CO on duty tells us that this was a drill for riot training. I never signed a waiver to be used in this fashion.