In more recent developments, "the fix" is on with Diane White, she is being told by the assistant DA handling the case if she does not accept ARD for the trumped up charges being brought against her, stemming from the "Back to School Block Party incident, a technicality will be used to deny her a jury trial and she will be brought up before a Judge who will give her jail time for "trumped up" misdemeanors.
In more recent developments, the fix is on with Diane White, she is being informed by her attorney that the assistant DA handling her case has given her an ultimatum, either she accepts the ARD or they will take drop the resisting arrest charge and take me before a judge without a jury trial and give me jail time for the trumped up charges of disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana even though there is no evidence or witnesses to convict me. She has been assigned to a judge who has a 20 year history in Dauphin and York County of working for the DAs office and ignoring the rules of evidence when it comes to the police. Unlike the infamous McCormick Island incident, this case is will fly under the radar of the public.
In the meantime, the police officer who beat Ms White is on military leave, the court reporter who recorded the transcript from the pre-preliminary hearing is claiming that the transcript was destroyed in the basement of an office that got flooded in December 2007 and there are no copies available. Yet the attorney who represented Ms. White at the preliminary hearing received a message from the court reporter in January 2008 telling her to send $200 for a copy of the transcript. During his testimony at the preliminary hearing the police officer admitted that Ms White did not spit on him as initially reported in the Patriot News, that in fact it was he who used profane and abusive language in front of the children and those attending the block party when addressing Ms White contradicting the initial report as well. Finally and most importantly, the police officer casually stated that he had been a police officer in Harrisburg for four years and at no time in those four years did he encounter a person who was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Therefore he just assumed Ms White was on drunk, when in fact Ms White had not been drinking at all. He further testified at the preliminary hearing that when he got downtown he realized that he was wrong. According to Ms White she sat in the police station for over 45 minutes in pain, cuffed, shackled and blinded, while the police officers went through the books trying to figure out what to charge her with. She was not allowed to contact a lawyer until they could figure out what to charge her with and even then all they gave her where the numbers to the statutes. Ms What stated that she was not aware of her charges until she got in front of the DJ who sentenced her without so much as a police report or any statements from the police officer. In fact according to Ms White, the police did not say anything during the arraignment, it was the DJ who did all of the talking, making derogatory jokes and comments about Ms White of a personal nature.
Although the the Harrisburg police and the DA have absolutely no evidence to support there actions, White is being to forced into a situation where she either accepts the ARD , leaving her no chance for a civil suit against the police department and the City for an unlawful arrest and the opportunity to recover damages for medical bills incurred and the loss of income and her security clearance as a result of the incident. This is the game that is played all too often in our community, resulting in the incarceration of hundreds of innocent people. “With the threat of a police record and jail time being dangled over their head, many people have succumbed to compromising their constitutional rights, said White. The War on Drugs is an ace in the hole for police brutality and unlawful arrests in poor, black and Latino communities. Exercising ones 4th amendment right by speaking out against an injustice in many cases one will find oneself being pepper sprayed, beaten and subjected to an illegal searches , and thrown in jail. The Drug War gives law enforcement the easy out, and ace in the hole so to speak. No matter what happens they can always use the drug laws to justify their actions.
“I sat in the court room time and time again watching folks walk away with ARD for embezzling money, DUIs and molesting children. I watched as some folks with drug violations as they joked with the judge about whether or not their favorite football team is going to have a good year or not walked away with $50 fines and a year’s probation, said White. It’s already been over a year, and I have not even gone to trial yet, now I am being told to take ARD or go to jail, go figure.
Take it or leave it, Harrisburg, PA is another one of those places in America where there are two sets of laws, one for the common good “all” and one for, “just us”.
“The Drug War was meant to be waged not won.”
