Minneapolis police are backpedaling after wrongly arresting,
citing, and injuring Minnesota Libertarian Party gubernatorial
candidate Chris Holbrook yesterday.
According to a
local ABC affiliate, Holbrook and “party members [were] sorting
literature and getting ready to get signatures for his upcoming
campaign”—their sixth consecutive day doing so—when “park patrol
approached them and said they were violating a park ordinance and
they had called the police.”
Officer Brian Woodfill told the candidate that he needed a
permit to be petitioning, told him stop filming the cops, and then
cited him for allegedly violating Park Board Ordinance PB2-15, “use
of parks, parkways and waters for financial gain.” Petitioning is
not actually within the scope of this ordinance.
As Holbrook describes it, the incident was a bit brutal. He
told BenSwann.com:
“The officers asked for my ID which I refused because I had
committed no crime. He ordered that we stop filming him with our
cell phone cameras which he said was illegal. He then grabbed me,
twisted my arm and smashed me against his vehicle.”Holbrook says that his shoulder was wrenched and injured and the
handcuffs actually cut through the skin and Holbrook’s arm causing
it to begin bleeding.
He explained on
his Facebook fanpage, “It was very painful, and when I asked the
officer to loosen the cuffs they were tightened (hence the
screaming).” Holbrook eventually sought medical attention for his
injuries.
Park Police Chief Jason Ohotta personally apologized to
Holbrook, dismissed the citation, and today announced that an
internal investigation will take place.
Watch the incident below. See two more clips of Holbrook’s day
in the park here
and
here.
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