Two lesbian activists were arrested at the start of the annual Chicago Pride Parade, and they are upset with how they say police
treated them before, during and after the arrests.
The couple were trying to meet with friends near the Sherwin-Williams store on Halsted south of Belmont. Crowds were surging
into the street and bike patrol officers were using their bikes to push back spectators.
One supervising officer reportedly was pumping his officers up with aggressive language, and the officers in turn reportedly were
pushing into the crowd. One of the women said she sustained an injury to her leg from a police bike. The couple then say they
decided to leave the area, but after someone in the crowd pushed an officer's bike down, police responded by trying to arrest one of
the women. Her partner said if they arrested her, they would need to take her as well.
The women were arrested around 1 p.m. and they were in custody until around 10 p.m., and at least one faces charges including
inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, damage to property and resisting arrest.
They both feel the police were overreacting, treating crowds like rioters instead of parade watchers. They also say there were at
least two men filming the incident, and they are pleading for witnesses to the arrests to come forward and contact them at
picadulce@aol.com .
One officer in particular was filled with 'venom,' according to one woman, shouting ''I told you to get the fuck back.' ... We were
trying to, but there was no where to go.'
Police used more barricades this year, forcing larger crowds into smaller areas.
As Windy City Times reported last week, there were also complaints from several gay bar owners that police were using
intimidation tactics by keeping numbers down inside the clubs. Police said it was a response to the E2 nightclub deaths, but the gay
clubs said they were within their own occupancy limits.
'There is something seriously wrong when a member of [ Cook County State's Attorney ] Dick Devine's staff is shoved by a police
officer,' said Equality Illinois Political Director Rick Garcia in a strongly worded letter to Mayor Daley. 'There is something seriously
wrong when the director of Equality Illinois is shoved by a police officer and threatened with arrest. There is something seriously
wrong when gay and lesbian businesses find police officers standing in front of their establishments chasing customers away. There
is something seriously wrong when law-abiding Chicagoans are treated like thugs and criminals.'