It has been a long battle here in Wisconsin and I have been one of the people on the front lines in the Capitol daily. Being a constant police target has put me in an interesting position. I will say this without hesitation. Most of the Capitol Police are great people. They come to work, they do a job. Most of their job involves community (in this case the building) relations so most of them have exemplary skills when it comes to respectful conversation and resolution. They follow orders that are unconstitutional, yes. But they arrest us with respect and neither of us takes it as personal against the other. We, as a protest group, one could say, have developed a bond with the police, as an authoritative body. We do not always comply, but it is not the officers we are not complying with, it is the policy. It is this connection that is a major factor in keeping things peaceful at the Capitol. We realized long ago we have to live with each other whether we like it or not, as they work there and we are there daily (many days for 12+ hours). But we chose to make the best of it and some of us have even developed somewhat of a friendship with some of the officers. That being said, there are some bad apples, perhaps the worst, Officer Steven Mael.
My struggles with Officer Mael actually began with his first documented incident of violence. It was in March and was when we were in the middle of the battle in the Rotunda to allow free speech and signs. Mael had approached me from behind as I was filming something below so I turned to him with the camera (of course, being filmed was not new to him at this point). He immediately grabbed my arm and camera quite violently in an incident caught on tape. I filed a verbal complaint with Chief Tubbs stating if he doesn’t control it there will be escalation, and he insisted I file a formal complaint. There was so much going on at the time that it slipped. Fast forward several months. Many more people are getting arrested than at the previous juncture. Among those is Thi Le. She, along with myself and activist CJ Terrell were arrested and jailed for silently filming the Assembly on October 26th, 2011 due to unconstitutional bond conditions brought forth by the Dane County DA and his attack dog Chris Freeman. We were all expecting this no matter how sick it is. Thi Le, however got something she was not expecting, a grab of her breast. In this video you will see an officer rush down the stairs, grab her arm, then intentionally grope her breast. This is Officer Mael. He has also had complaints by both Jason Huberty and Paul at the Capitol, as I am told.
In fact we have a lot on Officer Mael and it leaves us to wonder why he is even still on the force. But a closer look in Mael’s life reveals a bit of troubling information and may explain a few things. First let’s start with his Facebook page. I took the liberty of taking screen shots of the entire thing, no need to change the settings. In this we find he likes Corvettes and has a license plate on his that says “BODY COP.” This may explain his history of inappropriately touching body parts whether sexual or not. We also find he is an inventor and admits to being a bit paranoid and installs cameras in his driveway. He owns a house in DeForest, a suburb of Madison, that is valued at $365,600. Probably not likely all of his money comes from being a Capitol Police Officer as their salary was just slashed by Walker’s cuts. They were one of the few law enforcement agencies not exempted from Act 10, or the union busting legislation that ended collective bargaining and, in a way, strengthened Wisconsin’s unions (they tried to crush them but they seem stronger than ever). I also found that Mael and I have a mutual friend (isn’t that nice), Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen. He is also friends with many legislators including Robin Vos and Alberta Darling, Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, Robin Vos also being State Chair of ALEC (screenshots of his entire friends list again at this link). He is a fan of (hold your nose), Sarah Palin, the NRA, The Republican Party of Wisconsin, Zoosk (a dating site), Wisconsin Right To Life (currently accused of thousands counts of election fraud), and Michelle Litjens (a GOP Assembly Rep). I guess it’s easy to see why he is violent towards patriots.
But today things took a twist, an unexpected turn that had Mael crossing a line I wouldn’t even think he would cross. It was during the daily Solidarity Sing Along, an event long attacked by the right-wing. Officer Mael was doing his rounds which consist of finding anything and everything to try to build a case against the sing along (an utter failure of a mission). He decided to make his rounds and harassed Whitney Thid, one of the “regulars,” and informed her she must throw away her free speech and put down her blanket with political speech on it. As this was unfolding, Craig Spaulding, another “regular,” was handing out signs with the First Amendment of the US Constitution printed on them. His daughter, Emma, a very brave 11 year old girl, was making a paper airplane out of her sign. As Mael was harassing Whitney, Emma flew the paper airplane, landing on the tree I believe. Remember the theme of the ornaments is “Veterans” so the First Amendment would be a very fitting ornament. Officer Mael grabbed her arm violently and pulled her back. This was all caught on tape as well by “Ladyforward1“.
In the end Emma had marks for hours. I believe she still does as I write this over twelve hours later. According to statements from her family, she has suffered a deep contusion on her bicep. This is very painful and certainly nothing an 11-year-old should have to worry about on a trip to the Capitol. This story sickens me. It probably sickens me more because we have all become a family at the Capitol. We see each other nearly every day, if not every day. We get along, we have disagreements, and we all care for each other, but this should sicken everyone. Officer Mael’s name should run synonymous with Anthony Bologna. This police abuse has gone to far. We can not allow politically motivated police to attack our children and our brothers and sisters in solidarity any longer. Please share this article on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or wherever else you can. Let’s get some real justice and set an example that assaulting and injuring children is not okay. Then, please call the Capitol Police at 608-266-7700 and ask that this “BODY COP” be removed for his seemingly politically motivated violations against the public. Together we can make this go viral and stop this injustice. Together we fight. One Day Longer! One Day Stronger!
Jeremy Ryan
Executive Director
Defending Wisconsin PAC
jryan@defendingwisconsin.org
[Editor's Note: Donations made through this post go to the author, not the website]
Note: Segway Jeremy Ryan has become a full-time member of the protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Formerly a businessman, he gave up his business to join the fight for the middle class in the State of Wisconsin. Through videos and writings he has informed hundreds of thousands of people about what was going on at the Wisconsin State Capitol once the mainstream media had mostly abandoned the protests. His full-time activism is completely funded by the people. If you would like to help out please click here.
How can you guys take yourselves seriously about this? after watching the video, its obvious to anyone that isn’t brainwashed by the ‘struggle’ that the officer in question simply tapped/brushed the little girls arm (how she claims she has a contusion is mind boggling). I don’t mind the protestors and support their objective to return the state of Wisconsin to what it once was but its fairly clear this group stretches very minor incidents to make it seem like they are unfairly targeted by police officers. If I were a betting individual, I’d put my money on the fact that the officers would rather not have to deal with the protestors that are seen around daily. They are simply doing their job, and from what I have witnessed, they are doing it in a dignified manner. Once again, I support the grand purpose of what this group of protestors is about; however, I think a lot more people would be willing to associate themselves with this group if they went about their business by not blowing up issues like this and respecting the work non-legislative employees preform there.
The perfect opportunity to re-introduce two concepts, which combine into a powerful tool: PUBLIC OSTRACISM of individuals, and BOYCOTT of businesses that will not comply with the Ostracism declaration.
People that routinely engage in practices that undermine and destroy our nation are candidates for Public Ostracism. Once a candidate has been declared an ostrich (I coin the term as shorthand for “one who is to be ostracized,”, combine with “rich,” and also implying head-in-the-sand attitude about what is really happening globally as well as locally.
Boycott is the best weapon against businesses who are willing to continue to do business with an individual on the Ostracize list.
That being said:
Steven Mael is a perfect candidate for PUBLIC OSTRACISM. This is what to do:
Persons in the area of the potential Ostrich that are willing to #OSTRACIZE, put up free press/underground press/campus/coffee shop/bulletin board ads to organize an #OSTRACIZE group. The larger the better. This group only does one of two things – ask the ostrich to leave (if it’s your place) or announce that you are in the presence of an Ostrich, and be willing to leave the premises. You do NOT directly confront the Ostrich except in your own business, and then only to ask/tell him to leave immediately. If the person refuses, just stand your ground and insist that they leave.
Once the group is ready to “go live,” select your candidate. Be sure this is really the person you want, not a shill or front man for another fascist. We used to have whole police departments to ferret out wrong-doing, now they are there to protect the criminals. The problem with the police ranks is, many don’t know, others don’t care, and others, like Mael, are the true sociopaths.
Now that you got one:
Notify, via the local free press, that this person is on the OSTRACIZE list. One person in the local area maintain a database/list of Ostriches and related businesses (initially it will be easier to add business in compliance, if enough locals get on board, the compliers do well and the others lose business.)
All persons complying with the request from then on refuse service, refuse support, do not speak to him other than to ask him to leave your place of business, or if the premises is public, or not your own, but you see him, announce aloud, “Attention, That person is Steven Mael, and he is Ostracized from civil society. Shame on you, Steven Mael, for continuing to exist. I will not share human space with you.” All other persons who hear and have agreed to follow the #OSTRACIZE protocol respond, “Shame on you, Steven Mael, for continuing to exist. I will not share human space with you.” And walk out together. There are other options as well, asking the manager to choose – Mael or Boycott. But this is a preliminary concept, and I’m open to discussion on how to refine, implement, and stay legal.
This is NOT an easy thing to ask, or to carry out, especially if you live near an Ostrich, and even more difficult to institute. But if enough people, ordinary citizens and tradespeople, combine their will to resist, and are willing to lose an occasional customer, the pressure can be enormous. Imagine, there is you, your family and close friends, with some friends kind of waffling, not wanting to be associated with an ostrich. Then there is the extra 20 mile drive for gas and groceries because no business in town will serve you except the ones run by other “friends of Fox”, who in turn, get added to the BOYCOTT list.
Will this actually work? Probably not, it needs a lot of people on-board. Could this work? Probably, if widespread enough – but as long as we had good local compliance on any one ostrich, it couldn’t hurt.
But I certainly don’t have all the answers, I’m not Ron Pawn or Moldy Fig Newton…