I hesitated to post this diary but - the original diary was crowded out before the opposing side was completely heard. It just seems wrong to let this story grow while the people involved with Carolyn Fishers cause are setting the facts. It is just not fair and I believe they are misleading the Daily Kos community.
First off - I live in Cleveland Heights where this arrest took place and I have been following the case closely on my blog.
Here is some of what I found...
First Carolyn Fishers story changes. She sounds believable but since I have been following the case I have noticed slight changes in her story. Including the fact that she told the local newspaper the police drove up to her "that's when police drove up and told her to stop." but on the Joe Finan Show (1350am) she stated the "police officer was eating lunch and ran across the street when he saw the posters content".
The behavior she and her supporters (WCW & the
Revolutionary Communist Party) exhibit is not only odd but antagonistic and confrontational.
Disrupting our City Council Meeting, making comments about
looking for controversy in the paper and just not acting like I would expect someone to act if they were entirely innocent. That does not mean they are wrong or that she is guilty - it just raises some red flags for me.
She bit the police officers to the point where she drew blood. She admits over and over again that she fought the police officers - that is assault, so she is basically guilty of assault. Who bites someone, who bites police officers? She says she was defending herself but this behavior also raises red flags for me.
She misses court dates and keeps refusing plea deals including one which was basically "apologize" and pay a small fine. I believe she wants to go to jail. She wants to be the center of a controversy. I have talked to people who know her and they have told me she is a nice person but "She is on a mission". I am hoping that perhaps the judge wants her to receive a psych test so he can somehow get her out of the minimum jail sentence which is 3 years. She does not deserve to go to jail for 3 years but yet this is what she keeps demanding.
I could probabaly go on but I think you get my point.
Now, I do not believe the police acted properly. I think they escalated the situtation and then let it spiral down from there but - I have seen NO EVIDENCE ,outside of what Carol Fisher has said, that they were vehemently Anti-Bush or that there beliefs led to Carols arrest.
Cleveland heights is a great community and a profoundly liberal community. This happened in the broad daylight on a busy street, the police had 4 witnesses come forward for them.
All in All - everyone loses. Noone came out looking good in this case.
And all I can say for sure about our police force is they need more training, they seem to ticket alot and deeply enjoy speed traps, other than that they seem pretty normal.