A writer for hit TV cartoon Family Guy has told of his terror as he was arrested in the Occupy Los Angeles raid last week (beg28Nov11).
Patrick Meighan has taken to his blog to recount how 1,400 armed cops in Swat gear confronted the campaigners demonstrating against corporate greed at City Hall Park last Wednesday (30Nov11)
He claims the cops began slicing open tents and "scattering" contents and later manhandled and arrested protesters who refused to unlink their arms.
Meighan writes, "An Lapd officer would forcibly extend the protestor's (sic) legs, grab his left foot, twist it all the way around and then stomp his boot on the insole, pinning the protestor's (sic) left foot to the pavement, twisted backwards.
"Then the Lapd officer would grab the protestor's (sic) right foot and twist it all the way (in) the other direction until the non-violent protestor (sic), in incredible agony, would shriek in pain and unlink from his neighbour."
Meighan also recalls being "very scared" as he was shoved to the ground by an officer who handcuffed him: "I stood as instructed, and then I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms. It was super violent, it hurt really really bad, and he was doing it on purpose. When I involuntarily recoiled from the pain, the Lapd officer threw me face-first to the pavement.
"He had my hands behind my back, so I landed right on my face. The officer dropped with his knee on my back and ground my face into the pavement. It really, really hurt and my face started bleeding and I was very scared. I begged for mercy and I promised that I was honestly not resisting and would not resist.
"My hands were then zipcuffed very tightly behind my back, where they turned blue. I am now suffering nerve damage in my right thumb and palm."
Meighan spent 25 hours in a jail cell with 16 other Occupy LA detainees before being released.