Peace T-shirt leads to man's arrest
Refused to remove anti-war shirt
March 4 -- Roger and Stephen Downs had these shirts made at Crossgates Mall, but Stephen Downs was arrested when he refused to take his off and leave the mall. Lindsay Cohen reports.
WNYT STAFF
ALBANY, N.Y., March 4 - A Selkirk man says he was arrested Monday for expressing his objection to possible war with Iraq at Crossgates Mall. He says all he did was wear a T-shirt bearing a message of peace, which he actually purchased in the mall.
More stories from NewsChannel 13
STEPHEN DOWNS AND his son, Roger Downs, each had a pro-peace shirt made Monday night. One shirt simply said "Let Inspections Work" on one side and "No War With Iraq" on the other. The other shirt said "Give Peace A Chance" on the front and "Peace On Earth" on the back. The men paid about $23 for each of the shirts and then wore them in the mall.
"We were just shopping. We were wearing these T-shirts. We weren't handing out leaflets, we weren't saying anything," Roger Downs recalled.
They may not have been saying anything, but they were creating enough of a disturbance to one employee, who called security.
Security asked Downs and his son to remove their shirts. Roger Downs complied, but when Stephen Downs wouldn't, he was told to leave the mall. When he refused, he was arrested.
"This struck me as a powerful way of expressing myself. I wanted to do something peaceful," he said.
Roger Downs says he is proud of his father.
"I'm impressed that he's refused to have his civil rights violated," Roger Downs said.
New York Civil Liberties Union President Stephen Gottlieb says he can't believe the peaceful T-shirts could lead to Downs' arrest.
"We believe, most of us, in the Bill of Rights, and we believe that protects the freedom to speak. Well, if there's a freedom of speech, where do we get to do it?" Gottlieb asked.
Gottlieb says he believes there is a law protecting peoples' rights to free speech, even in shopping malls.
Guilderland police say they arrested Downs because he refused to leave private property. That, they say, is trespassing.
Representatives for Crossgates did not return calls for comment Tuesday.
Peace t-shirt controversy at Crossgates
3/4/2003 9:55 PM
By: Capital News 9 web staff
Was it a violation of freedom of speech?
A man was charged with trespassing after wearing a t-shirt reading "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance" at Crossgates Mall.
Stephen Downs and his son ordered and bought the tees at a store at the mall.
Security asked Downs and his son to remove the shirts or leave. When they refused, a police officer was called.
Downs' son removed his shirt, but the 61-year-old did not. He was taken out in handcuffs and charged with trespassing.
The New York Civil Liberties Union said it would assist Downs with his case if he requests help.
In December, about 20 people from Upper Hudson Peace Action, wearing t-shirts that read "Peace on Earth" and "Don't Invade Iraq," were told to leave by mall security and the police. There were no arrests in that incident.
Downs said he wasn't staging a protest. He said he just wanted to see what would happen if he walked around Crossgates with a shirt that read "Peace."
Signs posted at entrances to the mall say that "wearing of apparel... likely to provoke disturbances... is prohibited" at the mall. |
