Scott was arrested for a minor traffic misdemeanor the other day. I spent hours and hours trying to figure out where the hell he was, no one would tell me for eight hours or so, and all total it took 12 hours to get him out.
The other reason it was so scary though was because I don't fucking trust Albuquerque cops. They're cruel, brutal, corrupt and have a track record of killing innocents (especially minorities). Apparently, I was right to fear for my fiance's life.
Here's what happened:
Arrest: (2:30-2:45)
- No Miranda rights (no interrogation later)
- Several cops with guns, the leader being a retired police officer.
- Asked if he knew why he was being arrested. When he responds "no", the only response he received was "bench warrants".
- Signed paperwork for registration, license and insurance. Explained fully and police officer placed the paperwork in his back pocket.
- When asked "do you understand what's going on?" his response was "I guess". There was no elaboration on the question and no follow up.
Holding Cell #1 (No clock. Best guess 3:30-4:30)
- An hour (maybe)
- Couldn't talk. Inmates who tried to speak were told to "Shut the fuck up".
- Terrible roach problem.
- 15 men in a 10 by 10ish cell.
- Slapped or kicked hard if caught dozing off.
- Black man demanded lawyer was told to "shut the fuck up" and was bodily slammed by guard into face-first into plexiglass and thrown onto the floor.
- Black drunk man who was rambling (nervously) that he would "cooperate" was pushed into the bathroom by guard, locked in for 20 minutes or so and was ridiculed loudly by the guards. Anyone who needed to use the bathroom was told to wait.
Doctor (no clock)
- Wrote down blood pressure and pulse with out taking it or ever touching him (possibly temperature as well).
- Asked if Scott had ever been to a mental hospital and when he answered yes, the doctor advised him "just say no, it's easier that way." (Scott, while in the army, was admitted into Walter Reed hospital after aiding clean up at the pentagon after 9/11. He was found carving stick figures into his arms with knives. Though not officially diagnosed, he is believed to have suffered depersonalization disassociative disorder. I, his fiance, noticed a return of many symptoms after he was released, where I had not seen symptoms throughout most of our relationship.)
- Had a friend come in and chatted with him for a while while supposed to be working with Scott.
Holding Cell #2 (No clock)
- Pat down.
- 20- 30 (fluctuating) inmates (20 by 20ish cell).
- Told he would get to make phone calls "sometime".
- Smelled like urine, walls sticky, filth on floor, roaches.
- Were told they were allowed to lie down and sleep if they wanted (on filthy, sticky, roach-infested concrete).
Booking (No clock)
- Asked for basic information.
- Took photo.
- Presented with paper that discussed his personal belongings. Also on the paper were the words "$418 cash only". Was told concerning this "this is how much you need to pay".
- Asked about bonding information and was told "you can make phone calls later".
- Witnessed several other inmates being screamed at for asking questions, and thus felt he could not do so freely.
Phones (No clock)
- A man in a NC jersey refused to speak, excursing his Fifth Amendment right. When they herded the inmates into the room with phones, they told him "Oh you! Since you didn't want to talk, you're going to mop the floor instead of phone time."
- Phone time lasted for fifteen minutes.
- 5 out of 8 phones worked at all.
- 25 men elbowed their way through and pushed and shoved to get a chance to make a call.
- Scott tried to call Lofn, but the phone kept disconnecting. Some officers said it wouldn't work with Lofn's cell phone, other's said it would. The only message he managed to get through was "hey there, this is Scott".
- Had to use bathroom during phone time to avoid the exposed and dirty urinal in the holding cell.
Showers (No clock)
- Put belongings in paper bags.
- Shower mandatory, toothbrush, deodorant etc were contraband.
- Little to no privacy.
- No temperature control. Scott's shower was scalding hot, other inmates complained of freezing water.
- took clothes away and provided orange jumpsuits.
- Got note from Lofn from a man she yelled at on the phone. The note only included her name and home phone number, in case he couldn't reach her because of her cell phone. Was told to hide it or the guards would take it away from him. When he called, she had already left to try and get him out, so there was no answer.
Anteroom #1
- 7 by 7 room, 8 inmates, for 1 hour. Guards completely absent for an hour, did not even check on them. So small a room that some could not sit down, so they took turns.
General population section 8 (No clock)
- Moved to general population room and allowed to sit at tables. Some tried to use the phones (including Scott, who had a two minute unproductive conversation with Lofn) but were later told not to. The rules regarding phone use were inconsistent, no where posted, occasionally enforced and seemingly made up on the spot. One phone received phone calls, and the guards let only certain inmates (the ones who seemed to "suck up" to them) answer.
- Lunch
- HUGE roaches now, between 2 and 3 inches long. Guards were laughing about the roach infestation.
Outside (lasted about an hour and a half)
- 20 ft brick wall with mesh top, concrete on ground, hot sun, and VERY little shade.
- Purpose of this seems to be cleaning inside, but this is hard to believe, due to the roaches and filth that seems to have been there a while.
- No phones.
- Talking allowed.
Back inside (No clock, but time can be determined by the television)
- Allowed TV. Watched Olympics. Guards turned off TV during commercials, as if they were trying to not allow inmates to view them, but did so inconsistently. Very strange.
As US won against the Dutch in volleyball, cots were provided for sleep.
- TV off, Scott slept aprox 1 hr. Had been up all night and the day before prior to this.
- Woke to calling names for leaving (including Scott).
Anteroom #2
- Now 10 inmates in small room for ten minutes, again, no one could sit down, and the body heat caused everyone to sweat profusely and smell terrible, as most of the rooms had.
- Marched quickly through unmarked hallways in painful sandals.
Signing papers (No clock)
- Called out line up for bonds.
- Scott had to guess as to whether he belonged in the bond line due to his inability to have contacted Lofn. Became afraid that something bad (like not getting released) would result if he were wrong.
- Couldn't see lady teller through thick screen and she did not offer her name.
- Teller remarked "You really gave us some trouble (most likely referring to Lofn)".
- Teller told him that John Woffard came earlier to post bail. Scott did not know of this at all until this moment.
- At this point, Scott had received one hour of sleep in the past 30 something hours and was extremely tired, delirious, somewhat scared, and disgusted with everything that had happened.
- Scott was provided no time whatsoever to read the first paper, a notice to appear in court and bond paper. It flashed on a screen immediately followed by a "sign here" box that popped up over the paper and prevented him from reading it.
- The second group of papers was displayed similarly. This time the teller said "Just sign here and you'll be on your way" and rushed him through signing, encouraging him to not read the papers.
- The third group of papers were identical to second.
- The fees, $418 before, were now $618, with no explanation.
- Waited 10 more minutes, picked up valuables and clothes.
- Stopped at the very last door in a line for ten minutes while the guards ordered Subway sandwiches for themselves, in front of the tired, stinky, frightened, anxious men.
Paddy Wagon
-11 inmates, no seatbelts, inadequate air conditioning, hour-long drive to downtown Albuquerque.
- At this time still had no idea what the warrants were for, no one ever explained them and the papers were unclear as to what his crimes entailed, whether he had to show up in a court, or whether the bond would be repaid to Mr. Woffard.
- At this time he was also able to look at the paperwork he had signed and believed to be nothing more than verifying his release. He was shocked to discover "admission of guilt" and "I waive my right to..." written all over them.
-Time of drop off: 4:30
-Picked up at: 5:30 (He sat on a sidewalk for a whole hour before we finally found him).
