According to two eyewitness accounts, black disabled Vietnam Veteran Al Sutherland was handled with unnecessary force by two Northampton policeman sometime last week. Sutherland formerly worked at Veteran's Affairs and lived in the apartment complex behind Polaski Park, after being homeless for a period of his life. Sutherland is currently in the Intensive Care Unit of Cooley Dickenson Hospital, slipping in and out of consciousness.

One witness, Aaron Chick, reports seeing two policeman carry Al Sutherland out of Urban Outfitters with his hands cuffed behind his back. Chick reports that Sutherland was agitated and in pain, trying to get comfortable in his handcuffs. At this point, the police pushed Sutherland's hands up, and Sutherland began to scream for them to stop because he was in pain. The police brought Sutherland to Gothic St., where they were joined by third policeman. The police then pushed him into the police car and left. Aaron Chick has reported that he has also beaten by Northampton police.

Witness "P", who refuses to identify her/imself publicly for fear of her/his safety, also reports that two policeman walked Al Sutherland out of Urban Outfitters with his hands handcuffed behind his back. P reported that Sutherland was struggling as the police moved him to Gothic Street. According to P, a third policeman then arrived, and began to wrestle with Sutherland, "roughing him up". P reports that Al yelled, "You're hurting me. I"m in a lot of pain. I'm a Vietnam Vet and I'm on medication." P describes that the police "definitely used unnecessary force" against Al. Witness P and Aaron Chick both report that two others witnessed this incident, one of whom has been identified. Witness P also reported that, within 24 hours of this incident, the police removed six tents from Tent City, a homeless settlement where many of Al's friends reside, harassing them and asking for their names and social security numbers.

After his arrest, Sutherland was held overnight in the Hampshire County Correctional Facility.

Aaron Daniels arrived at the Hampshire County jail the following morning at 11:00 A.M. to post Al's $40 bail. When he arrived, the policeman entered Sutherland's holding cell to find him unconscious and not breathing on the ground. Daniels reports that police appeared surprised to find Sutherland in this state. Before any medical staff arrived, the policeman told Daniels, "He's on the floor not breathing...I'm sorry...He suffered a massive heart attack." Daniels reports that five or six paramedics, more police, and EMTs then arrived at the scene.

According to Daniels, the medical team was able to recessitate Sutherland using a respirator. Daniels reported that Al's jaw was so severely displaced that "he would be able to see his jaw." Daniels reports that the areas under his eyes as very puffed up, and that Sutherland suffered from multiple vertical slashes on both lip. Daniels further describes a vertical cut through his bottom lip, leaving part of his lip hanging off and his muscle exposed "like white meat."

According to Sutherland's doctors and nurses, Al did not suffer a heart attack, but rather entered a coma, likely due to pain shock. (Sutherland recently had his spleen surgically removed, and thus experiences pain more intensely than an able-bodied person.) Sutherland is currently slipping in and out of consciousness but is sedated by medication. Sutherland may experience irreparable brain damage of as a result of this incident. Since the doctors do not know how long Sutherland was lying on the floor of the county jail not breathing, the severity of this damage is not known.

Police Chief Sincowitz claims that no beating or brutalization occurred, and that Al Sutherland had a heart attack while in the Hampshire County jail.

Sutherland's daughter and mother have arrived to Northampton from Boston, and are filing suit against the Northampton Police department. Civil rights lawyers are currently in transit from Washington D.C. Sutherlands' family could not be reached for comment.

Yesterday, a rally took place in downtown Northampton against police brutality, where Aaron Daniels (the man who bailed out Sutherland) spoke. The fourty participants marched along Main Street, decrying the beating of Al Sutherland and the arrest of two peaceful demonstrators at an anti-BID rally on March 13th. The rally ended with a speak-out in front of the police station, where participants shared their personal experiences of harassment or brutality by the Northampton Police, or other police departments.

More information will be published as soon as it becomes available.