Drop the Charges- Justice for Tamara!

To:  District Attorney Jim Woodall

Call District Attorney Jim Woodall (919-732-9334) to demand that the charges against Tamara Tal are dropped!

On November 30, 2007, there was a picket on a public sidewalk in front of the Burger King on Elliott Road. The protest was part of a national day of action in solidarity with farmworkers who pick tomatoes for Burger King (http://www.ciw-online.org/). 15 minutes before the end of the picket, Students for a Democratic Society member Tamara Tal arrived. As picketers were in the process of leaving several police cars drove up and Chapel Hill police officers proceeded to harass picketers who were exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and right to free speech. The picketers stated that they would leave but were prevented from doing so by the police officers who were demanding that protesters identify themselves (when they were on a public sidewalk). Tamara was arrested for "failure to disperse" on a public sidewalk as she was attempting to walk to her car to leave.

Tamara is being represented by civil rights attorney Al McSurely of the North Carolina NAACP. "The officers lacked probable cause to arrest Ms. Tal, " Mr. McSurely said. "All people who are concerned about the assault on the Constitution need to remind the Chapel Hill authorities that our rights to assemble and raise fundamental issues about public policy are precious."

Tamara’s trial was set for April 14th but Officer Sheehan called in sick so the trial has been postponed until Monday, May 12. It is an outrage that this trial is taking place at all, and demand that the D.A. drop the charges and reprimand the Chapel Hill Police Department and Officer Sheehan for their actions.

Student Action with Farmworkers, Student Action with Workers, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP, UNC Students for a Democratic Society, the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense League, and the NC American Civil Liberties Union stand in solidarity with Tamara and condemn the Chapel Hill Police Department and Officer Sheehan.

Please join us in demanding that all charges be dropped and help us send a clear message to Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran that rogue cops should be off the streets, and that we will fight back against the harassment and intimidation of youth and students who struggle for a better world.

You can help-

1. Call District Attorney Jim Woodall (919-732-9334) to demand that the charges are dropped!

2. Make contributions to Tamara's legal defense fund, please email Kosta Harlan at kostajh@gmail.com to find out where to send a check for Al McSurely.

3. Show up at the Post Office/Courthouse on May 12th for Tamara’s trial!

Justice for Tamara- DROP THE CHARGES NOW!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Drop the Charges- Justice for Tamara! Petition to District Attorney Jim Woodall was created by Student Action with Farmworkers, Student Action with Workers, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP, UNC Students for a Democratic Society, the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense League, and the NC ACLU and written by kosta Harlan (kostajh@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.