Roycerson Goes to Jail

[Roycerson]

Cross posted from FTL:

The following occurred Tuesday, June 19th, 2007, at or about 2AM.

I was walking southbound on the shoulder of Interstate 35 when a police car pulled up in front of me.  An officer got out and I continued walking. 

I put my arms out to the side and said "I don't have any weapons and I'm not hurting anyone.  I just want to walk."  At this point, I passed the police cruiser and the following couple of minutes should have been recorded on the in-car camera.

The officer said: "I'll take you down if I have to."

I replied, "Do what you gotta do," again putting my arms out to each side, to illustrate that I was not a threat.  In response, he tackled me, grabbing my left arm as I laid on the ground face down.  I quickly became aware of another officer who had apparently been in a second car behind me.  He punched my right arm very hard, twice, just above my elbow (five days later the bruise is still quite impressive.)  I asked why he did that, because I was not a threat. 

I heard a voice say "I don't care," then I saw another officer bend down in front of me to make eye contact and he said: "I don't care about you," to which I replied, "I believe that."

Then I was carried to, and placed inside, the first police car and was driven to the New Century Jail, in Gardner, Kansas. 

On the way, I asked the officer many questions including "Don't you have anything better to do?"  He replied that he had a lot of better things to do but would not say why he chose to bother me instead.  I asked him what I was being charged with and he answered that he did not know, exactly.  I told him I did not see any signs forbidding me from walking and he informed me that it was my responsibility to know the law, even though he did not.

When we arrived at the jail, he asked me if I was going to come peacefully and I replied, "I'll come peacefully but not voluntarily."  I was then carried in to a holding cell where I was shackled.  While shackling me, several officers were twisting joints and pushing on pressure points that clearly served no purpose other than causing pain.  They knew it was entirely unnecessary, as I was not resisting.  I said things to that effect, but was ignored. 

One pain in particular stood out.  Someone was twisting my ankle in an extremely painful manner and I craned my neck around to look right at him and said:  "See, just like that.  Why would you do that to someone?  You just enjoy hurting me don't you."  He looked away briefly and then turned back. 

I laughed at him and said "I'm right aren't I!  You're just hurting me because it's fun!  I play a little poker and I know what that look means.  What kind of person would do that?  How do you feel about being that kind of person?"  He would not respond and did not look at me again for some time.  They then allowed me to stand and I sat on a bench and counted seven of them. 

I exclaimed: "Seven!  There are seven of you!  Someone is getting killed right now!"

Then I was alone in the cell and someone set up a camcorder on the other side of the glass.  The pain in my arm, where I had been punched, was quickly worsening, and I asked them to let my right arm loose so I could move it around and get some blood flowing.  I was ignored.  The next six-to-eight hours consisted of me talking to the camera, talking to cops as they came, then going next to the window and slowly going crazy because of the ever worsening pain in my arm, wrists and ankles.  I begged to be let loose to move my arm around.  I asked them why they would do this to me, and how any human being could do this to another person who was not a threat to anyone. Eventually the pain in my arm grew to the most intense and prolonged pain I have ever had to endure.  It was not long before I hyperventilated, caught my breath and cried in a seemingly endless cycle.  The following is a list of some of the conversations I had with the officers who would drop in on me.

They asked me for personal information.  I refused to give it to them.  I was told that if I told them what they wanted to know they would take my handcuffs off and allow me to attempt to stem the pain by moving my arm.  I was not planning on giving in to torture.

They asked me who Rebecca Bottoms was.  I told them she had been vice cop who could not take the corruption and is now dead.  I asked them why they would want to bring up something like that to me in this condition.  I later saw on some paperwork that they had listed her as my mother and probably my emergency contact.  How convenient for them to list a dead person as my emergency contact!

I asked one of them if causing pain and suffering made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.  He said it does.  I asked him his badge number and he said it was 781.  I asked him to say to the camera: "Causing pain and suffering makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside."  He did. 

I was again told, "You want the pain to stop?  Tell us what we want to know."  This time they added that I could dictate what would happen from then on, to which I replied: "Awesome!  If I'm the dictator then I dictate that you let me go!"
Finally, the pain became completely unbearable.  I decided that if they put me into a straight jacket then at least my arm would get to change positions, so I knocked on the glass with my head to get someone's attention and begged one last time for him to let my arm loose.  When he did not, I ran my head into the far wall as hard as I could.  Instead of putting me into a straight jacket, they strapped me into a chair.  As they were strapping me in, one of them stepped on my bare toe with his boot.  I pointed out to him that it was totally unnecessary because I was not struggling, and he removed it.  When I thanked him, he stepped on my toe again, this time so hard that I cried out.  He kept it there until a couple seconds after he was finished strapping me in.  A medical person came and checked the straps but she did not examine my elbow.

While I was in that chair I hyperventilated, uncontrollably, for long periods of time.  I closed my eyes and tried to meditate but, being out of practice, when my concentration broke I began to hyperventilate again.  I finally broke.  Someone came up to the glass and I told him I was ready to tell him anything he wanted and that I just hoped they would let me free if I did.  He smirked and walked away from me as I was begging him to come back and listen for me to tell him whatever it is he wanted to know.  Some time later, after maybe 30 minutes of agony, they finally came and let me out of the chair.  Suddenly, most of them were much kinder, and I heard the threatening tones of voice from only a couple of them, when I was slower to move than they would have liked.  I was moving as fast as my aching arm would allow.  Words cannot describe the level of pain I was feeling at that point.

The same medical person was again present, and I showed my very swollen arm to her and to the officer that was also present.  She said she did not see anything.

The officer said "You're just buff, man."  I asked for an ice pack and the medic told me she could not give me one.  Because I could not move my right arm without feeling a great deal of pain, I used my left arm to sign anything they put in front of me.  I did not read any of it and maintain that anything I say or did was under duress, as having been tortured, I was fully terrified of what these people were capable of doing.  My arm was useless for the rest of the day and it still hurts now.  It is bruised approximately six days after being injured.

After I was arraigned, I was placed in a holding cell again, this time without restraints.  I asked for a phone call but was denied one.  I was told that this was because I had attempted to strike officers twice, while they were arresting me and while I was in the first holding cell.  Both allegations were lies.  I asked a second time but was told I would be allowed to make a phone call four hours later.  I asked a third time and told them I would keep asking until I got one.  When I asked a fourth time, someone threatened to shackle me to the bench if I asked again.  When they let me out to eat lunch, ten hours after my arrest, there were phones there and I was able to make a collect call.  I never got a free call.

[Kat Kanning]

Good lord...and you have no idea still why they arrested you?

[Roycerson]

I thought maybe many of you hadn't yet heard about it.  You can click here for the 4.2 page thread at FTL.  Money Dollars and Lauren dug up plenty of Lenexa government contact info.  I can't find an email address for the jail.  I'm sure you know that phone calls and emails are more than welcome.  One person has offered to drive from Colorado for my court date.  I hope it never comes to that.  I'd really like to give them an awful monday.

I still don't know who the prosecutor is so I just sent this to: Courts@ci.lenexa.ks.us


I can't find information about who will be prosecuting
me so whoever reads this please pass it on.  I don't
know the case number.  I DO know that I have a July
13th court date at 8:30 am. 

I am being charged with 3 things evidently.

1) 8-1543. Pedestrians under influence of alcohol or
drugs; misdemeanor.

      A pedestrian who is under the influence of
alcohol or any drug to a degree which renders such
pedestrian a hazard shall not walk or be upon a
highway except on a sidewalk. Violation of this
section is a misdemeanor.

Not true..  No I wasn't and you can't prove it because
it's not true.

2)8-1537. Same; use of roadways.

      (a) Where a sidewalk is provided and its use is
practicable, it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian
to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.

      (b) Where a sidewalk is not available, any
pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk
only on a shoulder, as far as practicable from the
edge of the roadway.

      (c) Where neither a sidewalk nor a shoulder is
available, any pedestrian walking along and upon a
highway shall walk as near as practicable to an
outside edge of the roadway, and, if on a two-way
roadway, shall walk only on the left side of the
roadway.

      (d) Except as otherwise provided in this
article, any pedestrian upon a roadway shall yield the
right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.


I WAS walking as near as practicable to the outside of
the roadway.  I wasn't trying to get run over.  That
wouldn't be practicable.  The in-car camera will show
that I was in a safe place.  The police car that
pulled me over was partly on the shoulder when he was
beside me.  There was obviously plenty of room.


3)21-3808. Obstructing legal process or official duty.


      (a) Obstructing legal process or official duty
is knowingly and intentionally obstructing, resisting
or opposing any person authorized by law to serve
process in the service or execution or in the attempt
to serve or execute any writ, warrant, process or
order of a court, or in the discharge of any official
duty.

      (b) (1) Obstructing legal process or official
duty in the case of a felony, or resulting from parole
or any authorized disposition for a felony, is a
severity level 9, nonperson felony.

      (2) Obstructing legal process or official duty
in a case of misdemeanor, or resulting from any
authorized disposition for a misdemeanor, or a civil
case is a class A nonperson misdemeanor.


I didn't knowingly and intentionally obstruct
anything.  I let them do with me what they pleased
even when what they please was beating me and
torturing me and refusing me medical attention.  I let
them do all that to me.  Furthermore:

In _State v. Hagen_, 242 Kan 707 (1988), the Kansas
Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court
dismissing the case against Hagen after holding "that
K.S.A. 21-3808 requires an underlying felony,
misdemeanor or civil case in order to classify the
offense." 



In closing, I didn't hurt anyone.  I was hurt
repeatedly and I'm terrified to leave the house.  I
had to walk to the store to get a pack of cigarettes
today (I've been smoking a lot since that awful night)
and it scared the hell out of me.  Looking over my
shoulder afraid that some cop is going to see me
walking.  I know what they do to people who look like
me and are walking beside the road.  I'm not sleeping
well.  I don't want to go to that courthouse with all
those cops there.  You can see that I haven't hurt
anyone.  Why would you want to hurt me?

[Roycerson]

Contact Info:


Johnson County District Attorney, District Attorney
http://da.jocogov.org/
Phone: 913-715-3000    Fax: 913-715-3050
Email: district.attorney@jocogov.org
P.O. Box 728
Olathe, KS 66051



http://da.jocogov.org/contact.shtml
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MANAGEMENT TEAM

Note: To protect the DA email system from spam, all email addresses listed below show only the unique email name of the person.  To contact anyone below, you must add the following suffix to the end of the email address: "@jocogov.org" (without the quotation marks).

For example: john.doe@jocogov.org


Christopher Brown
Assistant District Attorney—Section Chief
Diversions
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: chris.brown

Brian Burgess
Public Information Officer
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: brian.burgess


Linda Carter
Director of Administration
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: linda.carter


Sarah Geolas
Assistant District Attorney—Section Chief
Drugs
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: sarah.geolas

Jill Bachman Kenney
Assistant District Attorney—Section Chief
Traffic
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: jill.kenney


Stephen Maxwell
Senior Deputy District Attorney
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: stephen.maxwell



Eric Rucker
Chief Deputy District Attorney
100 N. Kansas - 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe KS 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: eric.rucker


Tom Williams
Chief Investigator
100 N. Kansas, 5th Floor PO Box 728
Olathe Kansas 66061
(913) 715-3000
(913) 715-3050 (FAX)
email: tom.williams


Judge Kate Baird
913-477-7600

Police Chief Ellen Hanson
913-888-4110

MUNICIPAL COURT
913-477-7600

Lenexa Police Department
Phone: 913-477-7300



New Century Jail
27745 W 159th St
New Century, KS
66031

Phone: (913) 791-5900

[error]

Oh, Johnson County. You're fucked.

Those are indeed the rules of the road, but for Interstate highways, all bets are off. Pedestrians aren't allowed to walk along the Interstate except in case of emergency. You can walk up and down K-10 all you want, though.

[Kat Kanning]

Do you want to post your name so we can reference your case when we write or call?

[jsorens]

Have you gone to a doctor? You need to get your injuries verified professionally so that you can sue their asses to kingdom come.

[Dave Ridley]

placed the contact info into my complaint queue

[Roycerson]

Oh, Johnson County. You're fucked.

Those are indeed the rules of the road, but for Interstate highways, all bets are off. Pedestrians aren't allowed to walk along the Interstate except in case of emergency. You can walk up and down K-10 all you want, though.

How so?  In KS there are fences and signs only on the turnpike.  You didn't read 2b?  There's not a word in there about interstates.  According to my source there is no case law to cite for "pedestrian on highway" so there's no reason to think anyone has ever claimed it's not applicable on the interstate.. . Not in court anyway.

My name is Roger Bottoms Jr.  I haven't been to the doctor.  It just hurt.  I DO have pictures. 

[jsorens]

Oh, Johnson County. You're fucked.

Those are indeed the rules of the road, but for Interstate highways, all bets are off. Pedestrians aren't allowed to walk along the Interstate except in case of emergency. You can walk up and down K-10 all you want, though.

How so?  In KS there are fences and signs only on the turnpike.  You didn't read 2b?  There's not a word in there about interstates.  According to my source there is no case law to cite for "pedestrian on highway" so there's no reason to think anyone has ever claimed it's not applicable on the interstate.. . Not in court anyway.

My name is Roger Bottoms Jr.  I haven't been to the doctor.  It just hurt.  I DO have pictures. 

Well, I think you should definitely get a lawyer, though. Sounds to me like a classic case of "violation of civil rights," but then I'm no lawyer.

[Roycerson]

I have no money.  If there's a lawyer out there for whom that is not a significant issue.  I'm yet to find him.  I've had LOTS of people tell me that such a lawyer exists.  No one has offered a name.  I'll keep looking.

As far as the criminal case goes.  I am still optimistic that they will just decide to leave me alone.  The municipal court clerks knew who I was when they called, referred to my emails, and didn't sound at all hostile.  A couple of innocent questions from Jason P. Sorens, Political Science dept. NYU might not ensure my freedom but it will be noticed.  Lenexa is a small town and I'm really hoping they'll fold at any sign of trouble.  Isn't that what happened with Russel in a KS small town?

It's not my intention to put any pressure on you to do that.  But...  you took an interest.

Lenexa Municipal Court
913-477-7600

[Kat Kanning]

Do you have a number for the police department who did the arrest?

[slim]

I have no money.  If there's a lawyer out there for whom that is not a significant issue.  I'm yet to find him.  I've had LOTS of people tell me that such a lawyer exists.  No one has offered a name.  I'll keep looking.

As far as the criminal case goes.  I am still optimistic that they will just decide to leave me alone.  The municipal court clerks knew who I was when they called, referred to my emails, and didn't sound at all hostile.  A couple of innocent questions from Jason P. Sorens, Political Science dept. NYU might not ensure my freedom but it will be noticed.  Lenexa is a small town and I'm really hoping they'll fold at any sign of trouble.  Isn't that what happened with Russel in a KS small town?

It's not my intention to put any pressure on you to do that.  But...  you took an interest.

Lenexa Municipal Court
913-477-7600

The issue of no money for a lawer you might want to contact a group like the ACLU.
You can find the local chapter http://www.aclu.org/affiliates/ and look for the get help link on the local chapters page. They do get many requests so you may want to get ahold of them soon so they can make a decision on if the case has merit. On their page they say "To be accepted, your case must be a violation of individual rights by the government. There is never a fee charged to clients whose cases we accept."

[Pat McCotter]

Do you have a number for the police department who did the arrest?

Kat, it looks like he had that in the list he provided:

Lenexa Police Department
Phone: 913-477-7300

[Dave Ridley]

sending slightly modified versions of this to the various e-mail addies.  will make calls as soon as practical.  sorry for the slow response roger.  who else is on this?

-------

Dear folks at the DA's office:

My name is Dave Ridley; I'm with NHfree.com.  We're a New Hampshire based government watchdog / civil disobedience group. 

I have some questions about the Roger Bottoms Jr. Case.

Roger is one of our long time members and is held in high regard by our group.  He filed a shocking report with us last month claiming authorities at the New Century jail tortured him.  He also says police used excessive force trying to stop him from walking on the I-35 shoulder.   He claims to have made every effort to reassure police of his nonviolent intentions, although like many of us he does not actively assist police.   I do not always believe claims of police brutality but when they come from within our organization they have far more credibility.

Below is a copy of Roger's report on NHfree.com, which remains under discussion at

http://newhampshireunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=9385.0 

Do any of Roger's allegations cause you concern?   What are you doing to investigate them?  Do you intend to cause further harm to Roger? 

-------

<<  Roycerson Goes to Jail
      « posted on: June 25, 2007, 03:43 AM NHFT »
       by Roycerson (Roger Bottoms Jr.)

The following occurred Tuesday, June 19th, 2007, at or about 2AM.

I was walking southbound on the shoulder of Interstate 35 when a police car pulled up in front of me.  An officer got out and I continued walking.

I put my arms out to the side and said "I don't have any weapons and I'm not hurting anyone.  I just want to walk."  At this point, I passed the police cruiser and the following couple of minutes should have been recorded on the in-car camera.

The officer said: "I'll take you down if I have to."

I replied, "Do what you gotta do," again putting my arms out to each side, to illustrate that I was not a threat.  In response, he tackled me, grabbing my left arm as I laid on the ground face down.  I quickly became aware of another officer who had apparently been in a second car behind me.  He punched my right arm very hard, twice, just above my elbow (five days later the bruise is still quite impressive.)  I asked why he did that, because I was not a threat.

I heard a voice say "I don't care," then I saw another officer bend down in front of me to make eye contact and he said: "I don't care about you," to which I replied, "I believe that."

Then I was carried to, and placed inside, the first police car and was driven to the New Century Jail, in Gardner, Kansas.

On the way, I asked the officer many questions including "Don't you have anything better to do?"  He replied that he had a lot of better things to do but would not say why he chose to bother me instead.  I asked him what I was being charged with and he answered that he did not know, exactly.  I told him I did not see any signs forbidding me from walking and he informed me that it was my responsibility to know the law, even though he did not.

When we arrived at the jail, he asked me if I was going to come peacefully and I replied, "I'll come peacefully but not voluntarily."  I was then carried in to a holding cell where I was shackled.  While shackling me, several officers were twisting joints and pushing on pressure points that clearly served no purpose other than causing pain.  They knew it was entirely unnecessary, as I was not resisting.  I said things to that effect, but was ignored.

One pain in particular stood out.  Someone was twisting my ankle in an extremely painful manner and I craned my neck around to look right at him and said:  "See, just like that.  Why would you do that to someone?  You just enjoy hurting me don't you."  He looked away briefly and then turned back.

I laughed at him and said "I'm right aren't I!  You're just hurting me because it's fun!  I play a little poker and I know what that look means.  What kind of person would do that?  How do you feel about being that kind of person?"  He would not respond and did not look at me again for some time.  They then allowed me to stand and I sat on a bench and counted seven of them.

I exclaimed: "Seven!  There are seven of you!  Someone is getting killed right now!"

Then I was alone in the cell and someone set up a camcorder on the other side of the glass.  The pain in my arm, where I had been punched, was quickly worsening, and I asked them to let my right arm loose so I could move it around and get some blood flowing.  I was ignored.  The next six-to-eight hours consisted of me talking to the camera, talking to cops as they came, then going next to the window and slowly going crazy because of the ever worsening pain in my arm, wrists and ankles.  I begged to be let loose to move my arm around.  I asked them why they would do this to me, and how any human being could do this to another person who was not a threat to anyone. Eventually the pain in my arm grew to the most intense and prolonged pain I have ever had to endure.  It was not long before I hyperventilated, caught my breath and cried in a seemingly endless cycle.  The following is a list of some of the conversations I had with the officers who would drop in on me.

They asked me for personal information.  I refused to give it to them.  I was told that if I told them what they wanted to know they would take my handcuffs off and allow me to attempt to stem the pain by moving my arm.  I was not planning on giving in to torture.

They asked me who Rebecca Bottoms was.  I told them she had been vice cop who could not take the corruption and is now dead.  I asked them why they would want to bring up something like that to me in this condition.  I later saw on some paperwork that they had listed her as my mother and probably my emergency contact.  How convenient for them to list a dead person as my emergency contact!

I asked one of them if causing pain and suffering made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.  He said it does.  I asked him his badge number and he said it was 781.  I asked him to say to the camera: "Causing pain and suffering makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside."  He did.

I was again told, "You want the pain to stop?  Tell us what we want to know."  This time they added that I could dictate what would happen from then on, to which I replied: "Awesome!  If I'm the dictator then I dictate that you let me go!"
Finally, the pain became completely unbearable.  I decided that if they put me into a straight jacket then at least my arm would get to change positions, so I knocked on the glass with my head to get someone's attention and begged one last time for him to let my arm loose.  When he did not, I ran my head into the far wall as hard as I could.  Instead of putting me into a straight jacket, they strapped me into a chair.  As they were strapping me in, one of them stepped on my bare toe with his boot.  I pointed out to him that it was totally unnecessary because I was not struggling, and he removed it.  When I thanked him, he stepped on my toe again, this time so hard that I cried out.  He kept it there until a couple seconds after he was finished strapping me in.  A medical person came and checked the straps but she did not examine my elbow.

While I was in that chair I hyperventilated, uncontrollably, for long periods of time.  I closed my eyes and tried to meditate but, being out of practice, when my concentration broke I began to hyperventilate again.  I finally broke.  Someone came up to the glass and I told him I was ready to tell him anything he wanted and that I just hoped they would let me free if I did.  He smirked and walked away from me as I was begging him to come back and listen for me to tell him whatever it is he wanted to know.  Some time later, after maybe 30 minutes of agony, they finally came and let me out of the chair.  Suddenly, most of them were much kinder, and I heard the threatening tones of voice from only a couple of them, when I was slower to move than they would have liked.  I was moving as fast as my aching arm would allow.  Words cannot describe the level of pain I was feeling at that point.

The same medical person was again present, and I showed my very swollen arm to her and to the officer that was also present.  She said she did not see anything.

The officer said "You're just buff, man."  I asked for an ice pack and the medic told me she could not give me one.  Because I could not move my right arm without feeling a great deal of pain, I used my left arm to sign anything they put in front of me.  I did not read any of it and maintain that anything I say or did was under duress, as having been tortured, I was fully terrified of what these people were capable of doing.  My arm was useless for the rest of the day and it still hurts now.  It is bruised approximately six days after being injured.

After I was arraigned, I was placed in a holding cell again, this time without restraints.  I asked for a phone call but was denied one.  I was told that this was because I had attempted to strike officers twice, while they were arresting me and while I was in the first holding cell.  Both allegations were lies.  I asked a second time but was told I would be allowed to make a phone call four hours later.  I asked a third time and told them I would keep asking until I got one.  When I asked a fourth time, someone threatened to shackle me to the bench if I asked again.  When they let me out to eat lunch, ten hours after my arrest, there were phones there and I was able to make a collect call.  I never got a free call.   >>

If you wish to reach me and inform me what you are doing to address these allegations, I am at 603.721.1490 or feel free to e-mail.  Thank you for your prompt attention to these disturbing charges.

Dave Ridley
NHfree.com