Occupy Oakland protesters denied medication in jail

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/02/occupy_oakland_protesters_denied_medication_in_jail/singleton/

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department in California has earned itself a reputation for heavy-handed responses to Occupy Oakland. Since Tuesday, allegations of abusive treatment by officers have escalated as arrestees detained during Saturday’s mass Occupy actions in Oakland were released after up to three-day stints in holding cells at the department’s Santa Rita Jail.

Salon has received three firsthand accounts, corroborated by reports from Occupy Oakland’s media team and the National Lawyers Guild, that ill and injured inmates were denied medication including anti-retroviral treatments for HIV-positive detainees.

“I am a person living with HIV and I was held for over 30 hours in Santa Rita and denied my prescription medications on multiple occasions by jail staff,” one 28-year-old arrestee told Salon via email, asking to remain anonymous as his family are currently unaware of his HIV status. “I know three others with HIV and many others with psychiatric prescriptions who were also held without being given their meds,” he added.

<snip>

According to the 28-year-old who was denied access to his anti-retroviral treatment, the events at Santa Rita created new, unexpected affinities. “Some of the prisoner orderlies were so inspired by our agitation in jail that they approached us (when out from under the eyes of the guards) and told us they would be joining us at Oscar Grant Plaza when they had finished their time,” he said.

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Ed Suspicious]

2. You don't medicate vermin except with buckshot. n/t

[woo me with science]

3. Lawsuit time.

And spread to many newspapers time.

[avaistheone1]

4. How humane the City of Oakland is.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

5. so is some Occupier going to have to actually die in custody,

before the MSM starts paying attention to this shit?? This is NOT the first case either. I'm not holding my breath, particularly after the poor guy with the ruptured spleen hardly got mentioned.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. This is all part and parcel of the "punishment" --

This has happened before -- those arrested forced to piss on themselves for lack of access to facilities, denied medication, denied access to attorneys, made to kneel on concrete for hours on end, circulation in their arms cut off from zip cuffs -- it is meant to teach those stinking hippies a lesson and encourage them to not return.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Ah yes, lawsuit (rightfully so) time

By the by this also breaks all kinds of Cali regulations as well as federal.

I am sure some will say it's ok since they broke the law..

[RobertEarl]

8. That's awful

There must be a better place to occupy than a jail cell.

What were these people charged with anyway? Did they rob a bank or steal someone's mortgage?

[Starry Messenger]

10. Like Tesha said, it's usually trivial.

I think this time it was failure to disperse. The point is to waste their time and charge high ransoms--I mean "bail".