RevPhil tasered?

[adventure!]

From the Indymedia:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/06/376614.shtml

"My friend just called saying that she was stopped by a copcar for riding her bike without lights. She was pulled over around SE 7th and Morrison. As they were writing her a ticket another biker was biking North on 7th. They used him as an example how bikers cannot be seen without lights. So the cops told the other cyclist to stop and when he did not stop quickly enough/was confused why they were telling him to stop, they ran after him, pulled him off his bike, threw him against a nearby wall and tased him multiple times. When my friend called I could hear him screaming in the background and the cops yelling at him."

Further down in the post it says it's RevPhil.

And Jonathan Maus confirms it's Phil on this thread in BikePortland Forums:
http://bikeportland.org/forum/showthread.php?p=12059#post12059

Does anyone have info?  Phil, are you okay?

[sysfail DOBC]

Argh, what a piece of shit pig.

[dutch1]

wtf!

anyone know how phil is doing?

[hot trak]

fucking lame.

phil, I hope you're doing alright now.  You seem to have the worst of luck when it comes to the police.

[WARCHILD]

I saw him online this morning, so I assume he's okay. Seriously, riding without lights is not safe so we'll pull you off your bike and taser you because that's safer. Serve and Protect!

[Mr DeJerk]

Ah, fuck, man! I hope you're fine, Phill! Do you have the pigs' names?

[butterbits]

Yes, Phil's shaken, but fine.  He got home last night around 2am.  A few bumps and bruises, and a hole in his chest from the tazer barb, but otherwise unhurt.  His arraignment is today at 2pm downtown.

I'm sure he'll soon express his indignation in full on this forum and/or in person.

Fucking tazering bastards.  Wish I'd-a been there.

[Natural Blunder]

Cough, cough, early retirement, cough, cough.

[bikeportland]

i wish I was there too....

I've received a long and detailed statement about what happened from Phil.  It does not sound good at all from his point of view.

I have my story finished ... but I am still waiting to hear something from the PPB that would help explain what happened before I publish it..  If I publish what I have now (with nothing from the cops)... i feel it would erupt...trust me.  and i just don't feel it would be fair to the PPB.

my contact at the PPB says they are meeting at 1:00 with the officers involved (Hoesly and Smith) to discuss what happened and I will be contacted immediately following that meeting.

once they give me a statement (even if it's just a "no comment"), I will publish my story. ....

[felix]

[Skid Mark]

more like:

TO OBSERVE AND HARASS

I'm so stoked summer's here.

[Anomalily]

Feel better, Phil!  Let us know how we can help you out. Cookies?

And let us all take this as note that we sure as hell better be riding with lights. Damn.

[Lost.Jeff]

Wow Phil thats really fucked up I hope your doing fine and that those cops don't get away with this. Also I have a gift for you next time I come down to Portland.

[Skid Mark]

I just got back from 7 weeks in Seattle, and this sort of shit does not happen up there. I rode like a fuckin' bloomin' idiot up there, sometimes loaded, running stop signs and red lights, and could not attract the attention of the Police at all. Why? Because the Seattle Police were too busy dealing with REAL CRIME. I am pretty sure we have REAL CRIME in Portland ( drug dealers, theives, drunk drivers, murderers, child molesters, rapists, etc. ) but for some reason the Police continue to pursue the fringes of bike culture, even though we are responsible for all that is fun and interesting in the bike community, and not responsible for ANY of the real crime.

Riding a bike does not warrant tazing.

Having no weapons does not warrant tazing.

How long until these Nazi thugs kills one of us?

[Diogo]

Now the police will most likely try to isolate the officers, perhaps even punish them, in an attempt to make it seem like an isolated incident, as they usually do. We need to reject that kind of crap - no punishing the individuals; the entire organization needs to be held accountable because there is a clear pattern of abuse coming from the Portland Police, suggesting that internally this kind of behavior is considered just part of the job.