Family, community defend police brutality survivors

Nearly 20 supporters in a packed courtroom on Jan. 4 were in high spirits at the granting of a continuance in the cases of 23-year-old Rebecca Whitby and her mother, who is also named Rebecca Whitby. They will now be better able to prepare a strong defense against false charges following a brutal attack by Cleveland police on April 23.

After the police attack, Whitby had been released without arraignment by the grand jury. It was not until the day after the family filed a complaint with the Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards on May 5 that a warrant was issued for Whitby’s arrest. East Cleveland police rearrested Whitby in June, after running her license plates, on charges that contain many inconsistencies.

Judge Stuart Friedman railed against the younger Whitby’s aunt, Marva Patterson, calling her “a demagogue and a rabble-rouser.” Twice the judge accused Patterson of having “a personal agenda.”

Patterson has documentation in the form of photos of the injuries that Whitby sustained at the hands of the police in April, with time stamps proving that the injuries could not have come from an alleged fight with other inmates in the jail. Patterson also has copies of reports filed by the police that contradict their current allegations of having been injured by Whitby. In addition, the cops’ guns, which Whitby allegedly tried to take from them, have none of her fingerprints on them.

Patterson’s “personal agenda” is for the truth to come out in evidence and for justice to be served. She raised questions about why Whitby’s attorney had not filed a motion for dismissal based on lack of evidence.

The judge also attempted to intimidate Patterson and the assembled crowd by calling her “a community activist, but not in the way that President Barack Obama was a community activist.” The many community activists in the courtroom were duly amused. It was a brazen attempt to quiet a growing movement of support for Whitby and revealed the extent to which the judge is already biased on the case.

The younger Whitby’s father and Patterson’s brother, Timothy Walker, stated after the proceedings, “The judge will not split my family.” Patterson added, “Clearly the judge does not want people watching these cases.”

Whitby’s mother is facing charges for throwing herself over her daughter to protect her when the cops were ferociously beating her. She is developing a legal strategy to fight for truth and justice in the pretrial on Feb. 16 and the trial on Feb. 24.

Walker asserts, “The judge will not intimidate us into silence. They tried to beat us down and we will not be beaten down.”