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Drop the Felony Charges Against Occupy Wall Street Activist Cecily McMillan

Drop the Felony Charges Against Occupy Wall Street Activist Cecily McMillan

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This petition has been created by Yoni M. and may not represent the views of the Avaaz community.
Yoni M.
started this petition to
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance
What if you wanted to walk along the streets of NY without being harassed by the NY Police Department? Signing this petition sends a strong message to District Attorney Cy Vance.

"On March 17th 2012, at the 6-month anniversary celebration of Occupy Wall Street and St. Patrick’s day, Cecily McMillan was violently grabbed from behind by a police officer while she was complying with police orders by exiting the park. Startled as she was lifted off her feet by her right breast, Cecily threw up her arms in a natural reaction, accidentally elbowing the officer in the face. She was subsequently beaten into a seizure , waking up hours later completely covered in bruises. To add insult to injury, Cecily was charged with felony assault of a police officer . In addition to her physical injuries Cecily has suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which has severely affected her ability to function as a student in graduate school. If found guilty, she faces up to 7 years in prison . These charges criminalize a perfectly normal reaction of an otherwise innocent woman.

The bottom line is, the officer had a bruise under his eye. Cecily had bruises all over her body. Justice demands that Cecily’s charges be dropped. This young woman has suffered enough physical and psychological harm as a result of the arrest and a prolonged two years awaiting trial.

Cecily is not alone. One of 73 people arrested that night at a peaceful celebration , what happened to Cecily is all too typical in an environment of police overreach and suppression. T he abusive and chilling effects of New York Police Departments on Occupy Wall Street are well documented as cited in a joint legal report by Harvard Law School and NYU School of Law.

Martin Stolar, Cecily’s attorney speaks about the case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M53ukskDoc&feature=youtu.be&t=2m5s
Activist Beaten Unconscious By Police, Faces 7 years in Prison for Elbowing Cop
http://www.alternet.org/activism/justice-cecily-activist-beaten-unconscious-police-faces-7-years-prison-elbowing-cop

Posted (Updated )