Detained And Mistreated by NYPD During Occupy Wall Street Protest

October 04, 2011

Detained And Mistreated by NYPD During Occupy Wall Street Protest

Written by Instinct Staff

Justin Adkins was among the near-1,000 who were controversially arrested on Saturday during an Occupy Wall Street protest that took place on the Brooklyn Bridge. But the controversy of Justin's arrest continued well after he was placed in plastic hand cuffs...

Says Justin Adkins, a notable and popular activist from the trans community, of his treatment after being arrested by the NYPD:

I was distinctly treated differently than the other protestors during my entire time at

Precinct 90 in Brooklyn. At one point in the night all of the protestors were given a

peanut butter sandwich and water. I asked for a sandwich three times but of all of the

officers who came in and out of the room where I was handcuffed never acknowledged

my request. I think this was because when I asked for a sandwich the men locked up in

the room I was in asked for one too. I do not know when or how long those men were

being held but I was there for eight hours and had sat on the bridge for about 2 hours

and was never once offered water or a sandwich when my fellow

protestors received both.

Once they started bringing women in to use the bathrooms, a short young female officer,

who was in charge of people locked up in the room where I was handcuffed, harshly

turned my chair around with my arm still locked to the railing but now pinned behind my

back. She said that she knew it hurt but that they were bringing in women to use the

restroom and she could not have me watching. I had no interest in watching anyone use

the bathroom, and every-time a male had come into use the restroom I had respectfully

turned away. This process of people coming in and out to use the restroom went on for

the full 8 hours.