You are hereRichard Polendo's arrest affidavit, and the sworn statement of arresting Officer Gabrielson.
Richard Polendo's arrest affidavit, and the sworn statement of arresting Officer Gabrielson.
Much thanks to a friendly ghost for providing a copy of Richard Polendo's arrest warrant. (.pdf)
For those of you who are adobe-disinclined, I've snipped the officers' sworn statement and info from the document, and did a bit of my own highlighting both for fun, and for the fact that I only made it through the third grade and they didn't trust us to not sniff the highlighters back then:
Lets get this straight. According to officer Gabrielson we're "an anarchist group of bicycle riders", and Richard Polendo was "blocking traffic" before he "fell off his bike". Remember, this is a SWORN AFFIDAVIT, folks. That means lying about what happened while under oath constitutes PERJURY. Paints quite a different picture than the first eye-witness report we received of the incident, doesn't it? This is the crux of the case. If the officer is fibbing or bending the truth about what happened, then the affidavit for Mr. Polendo's arrest was issued under false pretenses. I guess that's a nice way of saying he perjured himself. That means that if you saw Richard riding, helping the fallen cyclist, or his rather dramatic apprehension (specifically if you saw the officer knock Richard from his bicycle) it's IMPERATIVE that you contact Richard's lawyer, Jay Warren at the following email address: jwarren@howrybreen.com
It'll be interesting to get to the bottom of this and find out conclusively what happened. I wonder whose story it'll most adhere to, the eye witnesses or the officers. If only we could hear what Richard has to say...
Heh.
The cop screwed himself by injecting his opinion into the report.
I found interesting that good officer Gabrielson writes he was "driving" his "Austin Police Department patrol unit (...) with the word 'Police' on the vehicle"
Now, if he is able to notice that a bicycle is a vehicle, why can't he see that CM is mere traffic, not an "anarchist group of bicycle riders".
And yet, if he is capable of assaulting a rider to respond to a perceived traffic violation, it might be just all right to dispense the clarification of any semantic inconsistency.
It sounds like a "canned" statement where you just fill in the names and shit!
in reviewing other arrests and affidavit comments Gabrielson has made in the past. I hope Mr. Acevedo is having a shit fit that Gabrielson actually declared CM as "an anarchist group of bicycle riders" in the affidavit. At the very least Gabrielson should be removed from bike patrol until the review is completed.
Thanks for your commitment "to treating all people with respect and dignity" Officer Gabrielson!
are not good spellists.
I know they don't bother to teach grammar in police academy, but his statement "He was blocking traffic, traveling SB." claims that the rider was blocking traffic while traveling southbound. Someone send Officer John a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Sounds like he was making up a story. And put him in touch with Patrick Pogan.
I believe that statement was meant to indicate that Richard was blocking southbound traffic. Whatever the case, I think (allegedly) blocking traffic to keep a fallen cyclist from being struck by oncoming traffic is a heroic act, not one worthy of assault and arrest. But what do I know, I'm not a custodian of the law.
But whatever your opinion, written statements are only open to the interpretation of the presiding magistrate who, in our legal system, has carte blanche to be a complete dick infection. Thankfully, most of them aren't as backward as you might presume and thus such an incoherently rendered "affidavit" may be thrown out as the drivel it is. I had a charge thrown out after 2 minutes in front of a judge because the officer concerned had mistakenly written a "3" instead of a "2", so a few misplaced commas really aren't out of the question. If I may somewhat awkwardly quote Lynn Truss, accurate punctuation is vital in sworn statements because, "without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning." It sounds like R.P. has more-than-able representation, and it is my sincere hope that some witnesses come forward, because this incident really brings to mind the phrases "improper imprisonment," and "settlement."