Petition to City of San Diego: Drop the Charges Against Occupy San Diego Protesters

We the signatories of this petition do hereby demand of the San Diego City Attorney's office to drop all charges against those arrested while peacefully assembling at the Occupy San Diego protest at the Civic Center, per the following resolution:

Whereas the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights Article 25 states: (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Whereas the First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Whereas two arrests made on October 14, 2011, concerning Paul Mc Cullough & Darinel Martinez appear to have been cases of racial profiling. While tens of activists participated in the peaceful protest taking place in the Civic Center that day, both men men singled out for arrest were of non-Caucasian decent--one Black, one Latino. The racism that is systematic within the justice system in this country was made clear for all to see by the decision of SDPD to arrest have arbitrarily chosen to arrest two people of color during their raid on the Occupy encampment.

Whereas these arrests were in direct contradiction to statements made by City Attorney at the start of these protests that San Diegans had a right to exercise their free speech at the Civic Center concourse (http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/oct/10/city-leaders-support-right-protest-concourse). Those who were expressing their free speech while peacefully assembling are not criminals and should not be treated as such;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: We do hereby demand of the San Diego City Attorney's office to drop all charges against those arrested while peacefully assembling at the Occupy San Diego protest at the Civic Center. We urge you instead to uphold the U.S. Constitutional right to free speech & free assembly, as well as the U.N. Declarations of Human Rights including Article 25 which guarantees oneself the right to housing. These constitutional rights and international rights were not respected by the San Diego Police Department, under the watch of Police Chief Lansdowne. Now it is up to the City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to drop all charges against the two arrested on Friday, October 14th during the police raid on Occupy San Diego.

-The Undersigned