Justice for Mike Brennan

After starting the facebook group on Monday and seeing how fast is growing, I think it is time to get a blog going to share with the rest of the world who isn't on facebook, all 10% of them.  If you don't know what's going on, here's the scoop.

African American English and P.E. (physical education) teacher Mike Brennan, from Jacksonville, Florida, was brutally attacked by two undercover police officers who mistook him for a drug dealer in Vienna, Austria as he stepped out of a subway car.

The Police did not identify themselves until at least 3 minutes into the attack. They refused to produce identification that they were police for at least 10 minutes, and only did so after Mr. Brennan's girlfriend called the Austrian equivalent of 911 (133). At which time they flashed their badges and soon after left the scene with Mr. Brennan in pain. They never called an ambulance. 

The police in Austria have not suspended the officers, have not called Mike to apologize, and seem to be taking a stance that neither one of these things will happen. They claim that the officers actions did not harm the reputation of the police department nor did they damage the profession of police officers as a whole. The only contact to Mike as of Wednesday, was a call made last Thursday by Vienna Police chief Karl Mahrer to Mike's girlfriend saying that this should not have happened and has never happened before. 

In fact the police department is trying to push some of the blame for the incident off on Mike, saying that if he had only told the officers he was not a drug dealer, the whole incident could have been avoided. As Mike came out of the hospital on Tuesday he was confronted by a reporter who asked him if he had said he was not a drug dealer and if not why he had not. Mike could not really understand why they were asking this question as he was unaware of this story being circulated by the police dpartment. He responded very confused saying that not only did he not say it, but the thought never crossed his mind as he was too busy trying to figure out why he was being jumped and defending himself. He had no idea that he had been mistaken for a drug dealer until it came out in the newspaper.

Also on Monday the far right wing party in Austria issued a statement to the effect that, Mike's an American and he should be used to police brutality! And the fact that he is suing and obviously pulled the accusations out of thin air is extremely suspicious to them.

Folks we are dealing with institutionalized racism here in Austria. It's in the police department, it's in the buracracy, it's in the highest levels of government. It may not always be someone slandering someone else, but it's the looks that people give one another, it's the slurs people utter under their breath, and it's the people who sit back and let a group full of Neo-Nazi kids belittle two Turkish women and doing absolutely nothing about it. Prime example, there were at least 30 people who witnessed the attack, and it is big news here in Austria, not one has come forward yet.

This has got to stop and Mike is fully behind "Justice for Mike Brennan" and will be taking an active roll when he is able to finally move around again.

Facebook group "Justice for Mike Brennan"