Next move up to assaulted pro-lifer (OneNewsNow.com)

Next move up to assaulted pro-lifer (OneNewsNow.com)

Next move up to assaulted pro-lifer

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 2/16/2012 3:40:00 AM

Since a judge has sided with a Massachusetts pro-lifer, the activist is considering pursuing a civil lawsuit in conjunction with his violent arrest.

Peter D'Attilio was given a black eye when he was arrested in Franklin, Massachusetts, for passing out pro-life materials at a Catholic town fair on August 11, 2011. He was then charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Brian Camenker of MassResistance tells OneNewsNow Judge Stephen Ostrach brought the trial to a halt before it really got started because the charges were trivial.

"We were all surprised that the judge recognized that," Camenker admits. "They were frivolous charges, but he did recognize it, and he berated the prosecutor pretty much for wasting his time with these and threw the case out."

The judge surprised the prosecutor with a challenge about whether any "disturbing of the peace" or "resisting arrest" actually took place. Part of D'Attilio's arrest process was captured on video. The police reportedly used a common tactic to make the "crime" appear much more severe.

"They grabbed him, they handcuffed him, [and] they punched him several times. They brought nine police over, threw him into the car, brought him into the police station, and then they searched his truck and just ransacked that," the Mass Resistance spokesman details. "It was ridiculous because he wasn't doing anything legally wrong. And the judge recognized that."

Since the charges were tossed, Camenker says the case is ripe for a civil rights lawsuit, and one Christian-based legal group is eager to take the case and take the town to task for the incident.

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