Well, this is ridiculous: At the aforementioned nude-in on Saturday in the Castro's Jane Warner Plaza, marking the one-year anniversary of San Francisco's ban on public nudity, several arrests were made, and in one case, an activist who refused to sign a citation issued to him was forced to the ground and put in zip-tie handcuffs.
As SF Weekly reports, activist Gameli Anumu was just among the crowd of nearly nude protesters, wearing a small black thing over his crotch area, and he disrobed completely when everyone else did, at the urging of longtime activist George Davis after he took to the podium. After that, police announced that those attending had five minutes in which to cover themselves back up or face citations.
Anumu claims that an officer soon approached him and told him he was in violation, even though he says the five minutes were not up. He immediately covered himself, and when the officer issued him a citation, and as he tells is, "He had already started dragging me towards police vehicles when he asked if I was going to sign a citation. I am not at all used to having physical force used on me. I said 'no' in disbelief. I was thrown to the ground and roughly handcuffed and ziptied."
Attendees reported that Anumu cried out in pain, and was bleeding. Now, is this really necessary? The nudists are going to remain stubborn in their cause, but does this really warrant forcible arrests??
SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza says that Anumu was cited for resisting arrest after he tried to "move away" from officers.
Davis and SFist fave Gypsy Taub were also among those arrested.
Below, video of the arrest:
Previously: Nudity Ban Birthday Gives Activists Reason To Strip Naked
