Statement by the Party for Socialism and Liberation – Pittsburgh
Issued July 1, 2014
Ariel Lawther, a 19-year-old lesbian, was viciously assaulted by Pittsburgh police officer Souroth Chatterji after arguing with an anti-LGBTQ bigot at Pittsburgh PrideFest on June 15. Video shows Ariel being pulled out of a small crowd by her hair, thrown down onto the street, pulled up again and repeatedly punched in the ribs before being handcuffed. Ariel is now facing a list of charges including aggravated assault.
Officer Chatterji’s criminal complaint makes the claim that Ariel was being threatening and aggressive with an anti-LGBTQ bigot. The criminal complaint claims that Ariel was fighting with a protestor at PrideFest and attacked Officer Chatterji as he attempted to break them up, forcing Chatterji to punch her to “distract her” enough to be cuffed, but eyewitnesses say this story is false.
A friend of the person who recorded video of the incident said Ariel was standing about a foot apart from the bigots, telling them that she was proud to be a lesbian, and that Ariel did not attack anybody. Another eyewitness also stated that the cop was not punched or kicked and that she stood her ground when the officer got in her face before dragging her out of the crowd by her hair.
It should be seen as no coincidence that a police officer brutalized a lesbian in defense of anti-LGBTQ bigots. The police have historically enforced the oppression of the LGBTQ community. The cops would routinely intimidate, harass and brutalize LGBTQ people on the streets and at bars which would usually have signals to warn patrons of cops approaching the establishment. The 1960’s saw a militant fight back against the cops.
The 1965 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco and the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, both of which were led by militant LGBTQ people, were fueled by a community-wide outrage at the constant indignity and violence they faced at the hands of the police. While many important victories have been won, LGBTQ youth still face much higher incarceration rates and harsher punishments than straight youth.
But the bigger question in this incident is why bigots spewing hate-speech and encouraging discrimination and violence against LGBTQ people are not considered even more threatening and aggressive but instead are given police protection at taxpayers’ expense. Why is the LGBTQ community forced to endure their inflammatory rhetoric and left to fend for themselves?
What the incident with Ariel shows is that the victims of oppression must meekly tolerate hate-speech that supports their oppression, and that even at their own parades there is a line that the LGBTQ community must not cross under threat of violence if they choose to confront homophobes. This system chooses who to protect, and it does not side with the people.
This is by no means the first time the bigoted Pittsburgh Police Department has brutalized an innocent person. Party for Socialism and Liberation members were also proud to be among the leaders of the struggle for justice for Jordan Miles, an 18-year-old from Homewood who was racially profiled and viciously assaulted by three plain-clothes police officers.
We in the PSL demand that the charges against Ariel be dropped. Officer Chatterji should be facing charges for his brutal conduct towards Ariel. The incident is under investigation at this time by Mayor Bill Peduto, and the US Attorney General’s office is investigating this as a hate crime. Whatever the results of these investigations, we will be demanding justice for Ariel, and this struggle will go on until justice is served.
