East Bay activist Nick Frabasilio was assaulted and arrested by the Berkeley Police at a December 17 march against the bombing of Iraq. As of press time he faces three misdemeanor charges: participating in a riot, failing to leave the scene of a riot, and resisting an officer. There was no riot.
Frabasilio was clubbed in the face by Officer Craig while on his back not resisting arrest with two other officers on top of him. He was taken to Highland Hospital in custody where he received 5 stitches for a punctured cheek.
The incident came towards the end of an entirely peaceful 3-hour demonstration when the police refused to allow the crowd to march back up University Avenue, instead forcing them onto small, dark. quite residential streets. Police reports from the incident contain numerous lies by Officer Craig to justify the beating and arrest. Fellow arresting officers Morizono and Kassebaum support the lies in their reports. Defense has submitted an obtained video which disproves many of the falsifications.
A pretrial hearing is set for March 10 at 9:30 a.m. in Berkeley Municipal Court, Department __. The defense is still $200 in debt for legal expenses and may need more money. Send checks to: Nick Frabasilio P.O. Box 4169 Berkeley, CA 94704.