Open Letter to Northampton Police Chief Russell Sienkiewicz By Desmond Duval posted to Facebook https://m.facebook.com/note.php?

note_id=10152699190555554 April 2nd, 2013 6:12PM What follows is an open letter I emailed to NPD Chief Russell Sienkiewicz regarding the abusive tactics of the Northampton Police Department the night before last. Please read and share, or send them your own message. Email addresses at thefoot of the message. -----------------------------------------------------------------Dear Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz, My name is Desmond Duval, and I am a small business owner in Amherst, MA. I was recently forwarded a shocking video involving the macing, tackling and arrest of a noncombative black man, who according to the video seemed to perform no crime more egregious than recording a police encounter that he was not himself a part of. This was recorded by several other local community members, who were later threatened by the Staff Sergeant (guess based on his chevron) on duty, whose name and badge numbers are not mentioned in the video. This sets a terrifying example from the ranking ofcer at the scene, who prodded innocent bystanders with his baton, forcing them back away from a clear line of sight to the altercation. A collection of citizens who are willing to record their police in action create a situation that can only benet ofcers who perform their duties honourably and with respect for the members of the communities they are helping to protect. Citizen journalists have a right and responsibility to show the world what the police are doing, and to obstruct that right similarly obstructs free speech and freedom of the press, both necessary citizen-arm checks and balances on municipal and regional governments. When your department acts honourably, as has been the vast majority of my personal experience with them, their actions deserve lauding, but when ofcers attack an unarmed innocent bystander for fullling the social responsibility that helps to keep those same ofcers safe, they similarly deserve reprimand. The events in this video are a shameful blot on the Northampton Police Department, and they will remain such until either a reasonable narrative of the events that clearly justies the ofcers actions is released, or the ofcers involved are held accountable. I might have expected this sort of behavior from the LAPD, but not from the Northampton Police Department. Sincerely, Desmond Duval Owner/Lead Technician Mobile Rapid Response Unit desmond@mrru.us (860) 484-3466 About the Video: The video in question can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u412e4KgYA

The altercation seems to have happened on Pearl Street, just outside of Tully's. It seemed to involve police detaining three or four people on the curb. The unnamed victim had a phone out, recording their interactions. Three ofcers approached him very aggressively while he continued to lm. It appears that the Bald Ofcer in the center (who I believe is the Staff Sargent I mentioned earlier) deployed the can of mace, after which the ofcer on the left immediately tackled him to the ground. As they were going down, an additional ofcer emerged with one of the Tully's bouncers and helped to hold him to the ground while he cried out. The Staff Sargent then went on to threaten the people with the remaining camera, and all ofcers allowed further harassment to continue from the Tully's bouncers towards citizen journalists. I believe there were between 4 and 5 ofcers involved, though the video is somewhat fuzzy, and I have not been able to extract pictures of all of the ofcers involved. About this Letter: A copy of this letter is being shared publicly throughout several local social networking circles, along with pictures of the ofcers I have been able to extract from the video, in the interest of gaining additional information about these men, and also the man they arrested. Additionally, a copy of this letter is being CC'd to the Mayor of Northampton and The MassLive News Network. ----------------------------------------------------------------NPD Police Chief: rsienkiewicz@northamptonma.gov Northampton Mayor: mayor@northamptonma.gov MassLive Contact: feedback@masslive.com The Republican Publisher/CEO: garwady@repub.com The Republican Assistant Publisher: rnewhouse@repub.com In this note: Alex Krogh-Grabbe, Emily Eaton, Devon Kelley-Mott, Rowan Kelley, Elizabeth Reisine, Asa Russell, Melissa Bishop, Jesse Massaro, Jessie Taylor, Sean Moore, Rhys McGovern, Becca Justine, Christopher Poulin, Dana Elizabeth, Kiernan G-s, Tully O'Relly's the home of Bouncer Brutality, Northampton, Massachusetts and Stop Police Brutality