The Police State We Live In

The phone rang…"Mr. Greer, this is the Berkeley Police Department, we are standing outside by the motorcycle, can you please come out for a moment?" A chill went through me, "Is the baby okay?, did someone get hurt?" I went outside and the Police walked me to their patrol cars, parked on the street, near the place where I worked.

It was like walking in a dream that you can't seem to awaken from. The police showed me an emergency restraining order, stating that I must stay 100 yards away from my wife and my son. I had been accused of spousal abuse. I was in a state of shock. After reading this document, they asked me to sign it. I asked them what signing it implied, in other words why did they need my signature. They said, that they really didn't need my signature, it had been signed by a judge already, and it was simply acknowledgement that I had received the restraining order. So I signed it, and then the officer asked me to turn around and place my hands behind my back. I asked him, "Are you arresting me?" "No," he replied, "I am not arresting you, the State of California is arresting you."

Well, the State of California took me to jail, finger printed me, took my mug shot, gave me three phone calls, took my keys, wallet, suspenders, sneakers, etc. The State of California asked me if I intended to commit suicide while I spent some time in their splendid digs, the State fed me, put me in a cell with a drunk and a junkie and showtime on the box, while I waited for someone to come and post bail.

Eventually I made bail and spent the next week in varying states of anxiety. I knew I was not guilty, but in this society we live in I am finding out that guilt or innocence has very little to do with your personal freedom. The charges against me were dropped.

Our society is becoming a gestapo state. It appears as if we have freedoms, yet these can be vanquished with a phone call. The IRS can levy your bank account, no questions asked, your freedom can be taken away from you because an emotionally upset person makes a phone call. We have an appearance of freedom in this country, our constitution is fast becoming, if not already, a ragged piece of paper blowing idly in the wind. You are captivated by this appearance of freedom and you go to work each day thinking that your inalienable rights are safe, yet the law is such that if someone yells "ouch" you are placed under arrest, a felony charge impending. That means you have a $10,000 bail, which with a bail bondsman costs about $1010. That is money gone, down the drain, unless you happen to have ten grand sitting around. On top of that there are legal fees, providing you can afford to hire a lawyer, this costs about $500-750 simply to have the lawyer get involved, if its a misdemeanor the price tag ends up being about $1500, a felony about $3000. Usually, all this will end up in you losing your job. And then when it is all said and done, you have to pick up the pieces of your life.

For this reporter, the whole scenario described was a giant wake-up call, my mentor Rev. William Duby told me, if you don't fight for your rights, you won't have any.

Copyright © 1997 Sterling Rose Press, Inc.

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