Thursday, May 6, 2004
Spokane Protestors allege assault, civil rights violations Thomas Clouse
- Staff writer
Spokane Police are investigating a report that two men were assaulted because two other men didn't like the anti-war messages they were displaying on posters. Deputy Chief Al Odenthal said neither of the sign carriers were seriously injured. But because the men were exercising their freedom of speech, the case will be forwarded to the FBI for a federal investigation into whether the men's civil rights were violated, Odenthal said. "Whether we like that message or not, they have a right to relay that message to others," Odenthal said. "This is not the time for emotions to get out of control." David A. Brookbank Jr., 46, said he and 82-year-old Al Mangan were holding posters Tuesday at the corner of Hamilton Street and Mission Avenue. Brookbank's poster read: "Iraq equals Quagmire and 751 U.S. Dead." Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, two men in a blue Jeep drove south on Hamilton and pulled into the turning lane to go east on Mission, Brookbank said. The Jeep driver then executed a U-turn and drove into the parking lot of the adjacent Safeway Food & Drug. "I saw the way these guys were looking at us and I told Al to be ready," Brookbank said. The passenger got out of the Jeep and quickly approached Mangan and Brookbank, he said. "The whole thing was a blur," Brookbank said. "He grabbed my signs and ripped them to shreds. At that point, I don't know what happened except that I ended up on the ground." Brookbank said he suffered a scraped elbow, sore neck and swelling on his right side. "I got up, went towards the street and started calling out, `I need a witness, call 911, I'm being assaulted,"' Brookbank said. The man, described as 5-foot-9, about 200 pounds, then ran for the Jeep. The driver pulled forward and actually struck the passenger, who fell over the hood.The passenger then got into the Jeep and they both fled the scene, Brookbank said. Witnesses provided investigators with the Jeep's license plate and good descriptions of both men, Odenthal said. He wouldn't say if investigators had identified the men in the Jeep. A delivery driver reported seeing the incident and ‘‘corroborated that a confrontation occurred there,'' Odenthal said. ‘‘We're not really sure who assaulted who.'' If it was a simple fight, police officials would not have spent ‘‘precious resources'' investigating the report, he said. ‘‘But because it is a free speech case, we feel it is imperative that we investigate it,'' Odenthal said. Assault is a misdemeanor in state court, but a violation of civil rights is a felony under federal statutes, Odenthal said. ‘‘The focus here is the exercising of free speech,'' Odenthal said. ‘‘We guard that very carefully.'' Brookbank said he worked for the U.S. State Department from 1991-1995 in Mexico, Cuba and El Salvador. His father flew B-52 bomber missions over Vietnam. Brookbank currently works as a social worker for the state Department of Social and Health Services, he said. ‘‘I believe free speech is the fundamental building block of a Democratic and just society,'' he said. ‘‘If I can't stand on the corner with a simple sign, then the fundamental institutions of our society are in jeopardy.''