[nfbmi-talk] Fwd: [msb-alumni] Blind activist to stand trial for resisting police

[Fred Olver]

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Steve <pipeguy920 at gmail.com>
> Date: October 17, 2015 at 1:48:31 PM CDT
> To: <msb-alumni at freelists.org>
> Subject: [msb-alumni] Blind activist to stand trial for resisting police
> Reply-To: msb-alumni at freelists.org
> 
> Blind activist to stand trial for resisting police Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau LANSING -- A blind activist who was arrested at a Sept. 17 Americans with Disabilities celebration at the Michigan Capitol was bound over for trial Friday on a charge of resisting and obstructing police, a two-year felony. Paul Joseph (Joe) Harcz, 62, of Mt. Morris, was arrested when he tried to cross a police barricade to enter an ADA 25th anniversary celebration, after Capitol police identified him as a protester they believed was intent on disrupting the even on the Capitol lawn. Harcz, who said after the hearing he was surprised by the decision, maintains that blocking him from the event was a violation of his constitutional rights. Organizers have confirmed that he was a member of one of the committees that planned the ADA celebration. The 25-year-old'ADA is'landmark federal legislation that prohibits discrimination based on disability, imposes accessibility requirements on public facilities and requires covered employers to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities. A' demonstration was planned to coincide with the anniversary celebration, protesting the payment of sub-minimum wages to people with disabilities by some of the event organizers and highlighting the fact the Capitol itself is not fully ADA-compliant. Lansing District Judge Hugh Clarke, Jr. bound Harcz over for trial in Ingham County Circuit Court after hearing testimony from one police witness and viewing two videos shot by police body cameras. Clarke said Harcz failed to comply with a lawful command from police not to cross a barricade and that is sufficient probable cause to support a charge of resisting or obstructing police. Clarke said it was reasonable for police to establish a buffer between ADA celebrants and protesters, and Harcz was never told to leave the Capitol grounds, only to stay in a certain area of the Capitol a distance from the ADA celebration. "They were having no trouble having their voices heard," Clarke said of Harcz and the other protesters. "What they do not have the right to do is to disobey what would appear to be lawful commands of police officers. Clarke heard testimony that police told Harcz to step back but he struck officers in the leg with his white cane while trying to move past officers and a police barricade. On the video, "I never saw an assault," Lansing attorney Mark Kamar, representing Harcz, told the judge. "The officer testified he may have, while tapping his cane, hit somebody on the foot. To me, that's not an intentional assault. That's an accidental touching. Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Chas Koop II said the case is unique, but "most telling" were comments made by Harcz, recorded on the video, in which he said "you can't stop me," and "I can do what I want to do. Clarke said it will be up to a jury to decide if Harcz had been invited to the ADA celebration. "It's almost as though he wanted to be in the position he's found himself in," Clarke said.