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| Several hundred protesters, a 10 foot joint, and a moving prison
cell were just a couple of the displays for the Melbourne Liberation
Day Parade May 4th. With all the marchers showing from all over Florida
with a rather large showing by UCF
NORML the day went by quickly. Even the police showed in heavy
numbers, whom informed me were all in attendance on a voluntary basis,
all I can say is thanks for showing your support. Some of the highlights of the parade itself included the attendance and lead of Cathy Jordan a medical marijuana patient who has lived for the past 15 years solely because of her use of cannabis. As well as the representation of the Drug Policy Forum of Florida. One of the high points of the day was the announcement that thanks to the tireless efforts of Kevin Aplin, Melbourne will be one of 6 cities covered on the Alan Brown show on CNN. We all thank Kevin for his work on this parade for showing what he CAN do. The parade however was just the beginning of the days activities, the CAN rally infront of Melbourne City Hall also went without incident. As speakers took turns encouraging everyone that attended to do all they CAN, a great deal of information was presented as many passersby showed their encouragement for the cannabis culture. The after party sadly did not go as well, our cameraman Big James was assaulted by one officer Cowart who has become rather famous for harassing CAN volunteers and the patrons of the Greenhouse cafe. For a better account of the events that took place see Here. Throughout the day however one thing could not be ignored, the complete lack of opposition to this parade which had been believed to be a rather controversial topic. So it would seem that in Melbourne the majority supports the taxation and regulation of cannabis, drawing upon the question why are people still arrested for possession of a plant when the people don't support doing so. |
| Officer Crowart's Assault
on the Free Press report by Anthony Lorenzo: James was filming the conversation between police officers and Jodi. The police officer in question was K. Cowart. Officer Cowart, henceforth to be simply referred to as coward, basically knocked James' camera into his face and violently placed handcuffs on James throwing his camera on the ground. We spent an hour at the police station filing a complaint. This was good training for me as i am used to thinking the police pretty much do what they want to to us, and get away with it. Some times even i forget that they work for us, we are their bosses. Apparently Coward forgot that today or just didn't have a V8. We made sure he would drink one tomorrow. We have a video tape of him committing battery on someone simply trying to video tape an interaction between him and Jodi. He strikes the camera person. Stay tuned for a live webcast of the video tape soon to be released on Pot-Tv.net. You will also soon be a ble to see the show that we did on cable access. I will send out the links so you CAN get as agitated as i did in witnessing this gross, unprofessional behavior being committed by a public official. We filed a complaint with the police department, all four of us. We did not do this for personal gain. We are setting up a documented trail of harassment on the officer in question. U see we used to throw lots of events at the Greenhouse. The owners are very supportive of the cause we all find ourselves just doing what we CAN in. The police, led by you guess who, coward, have been harassing the patrons and owners of the Greenhouse for some time now. They had been videotaping runins regularly with the police to establish proof of the clear cut case of harassment. They would come in every weekend to check for permits. Considering our message, that scares off a lot of people: a constant police presence. It makes me nervous out of habit and i have nothing to hide. Anyways, Tonight, we got him, the coward. We had four eye witnesses and videotaped the whole incident. James was released and we all went down directly to the station after his release (he was arrested without having to go to jail) to go freely. We took pictures of the red marks on James' hands. Our deepest gratitude goes out to James... CNN pails in comparison to finally holding bad cops accountable for their actions. Coward has threatened Jodi in front of the infamous "Joint Tosser" before. James' ordeal, though uncomfortable, will definitely lead to great changes in melbourne. My hero for today is James: you took one for the cause, bro. Thank you for being there for us. I am glad i CAN do my part. we hope that all of you are inspired by James' actions and you leave after reading this message empowered. They work for us, and bef ore this is over, Melbourne police will be having a course requirement for all police officers that will teach them some manners. We must teach them to do what they CAN. |