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September 18, 2004
19-YEAR-OLD DETAINED IN HAMILTON JAIL SINCE AUG. 21st, 2004, DESPITE CLAIMS OF INNOCENCE AND AN AIR-TIGHT ALIBI
On Saturday August 21st, 2004, two Hamilton police officers arrived at the home of nineteen-year-old Jonathan Ames to execute a warrant for his arrest. The police officers told Jonathan and his friends and family that he was under arrest for assault with a weapon and two counts of failure to comply. They refused to give any additional details as to what the charges stemmed from. Shocked and confused by what was happening, one of Jonathan's friends commented, "This is like a third world country. You come in and arrest him without even telling us why." One officer responded saying, "No ma'am. If this was a third world country we would have kicked your door in first."
The next day, in court, Jonathan's friends and family learned that he was accused of being with three other men and throwing a rock at a security guard at the construction site of the Red Hill Valley Expressway.
Jonathan has an air-tight alibi for the night this alleged incident took place including numerous witnesses and a bank video tape that helps to establish a timeline of his activities. It took Hamilton police two-and-a-half weeks to even investigate his alibi, despite receiving information about it the day after Jonathan's arrest. [Interestingly, the Deputy Police Chief told a member of the public that the alibi had been investigated and deemed to be unsubstantial the day BEFORE police actually conducted ANY interviews].
Even after investigating his alibi, Jonathan remains in jail because the transcript of his bail hearing has not yet been released - despite the fact it was ready on August 27th.
The police case is weak and rests entirely on the testimony of one guard. There are no witnesses. There are no photos or video tape. There is no physical evidence. There weren't even any injuries (the guard claims to
have been hit with four 3-4" rocks from a distance of 10 feet and with enough force to knock him over - yet lacks even a bruise to substantiate this claim). Even the guard's own statement contains numerous inconsistencies.
The security company had more than enough motive to frame Jonathan. Jonathan was one of four individuals to spend time living on a platform in a tree beside the construction site in an effort to stop the construction of
the expressway. Soon after descending from the tree, he was involved in a protest activity where he was severely beaten by guards and threatened with death. Jonathan sustained tracheal bruising and swelling as a result of this attack and experienced difficulty breathing. Nonetheless, Jonathan and three other protestors were charged with assault after one guard sprained his ankle and another broke his on the rock and branch-covered slope.
Jonathan tried to file a report against the guards, but in his initial attempt to do so, a police officer laughed at him and refused to take the report. In the following weeks, Jonathan was very vocal about his intentions to pursue criminal and civil charges against the guards and possibly the police and the city once he was exonerated of the charges he was facing.
Now by adding more charges to the list, including two counts of failing to comply, it will mean Jonathan will have to work even harder to clear his name. Furthermore, these charges have allowed the police and the city to
keep Jonathan in jail, effectively ending his actions in opposition to the expressway.
In a city where the mayor and numerous city councillors are being investigated for questionable campaign contributions from local developers and construction companies, the imprisonment of an expressway opponent on such weak charges cannot be viewed as anything but political.
Jonathan's arbitrary and false arrest has instilled fear into many in the activist community in Hamilton.
Understandably, Jonathan's morale is weakening every day. Please send letters of support and encouragement to him at the address below. If you prefer you can e-mail your letter to hamilton_injustice@hotmail.com and
we'll print and mail it for you.
Jonathan Ames
Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre
165 Barton Street East
Hamilton , ON L8L 2W6
CANADA
If you would like more information about the actions that Jonathan has been involved in please visit:
http://treesit.revolutionweb.org
More about Jonathan: Although Jonathan has only been involved with Red Hill for a year, he has been an activist since he was a young teenager. He has been to several anti-globalization protests, been tear gassed and pepper sprayed. He has organized demonstrations and other political events, including actions at Red Hill. Jonathan was selected by his high school to be a participant at an Amnesty International college in British Columbia. He also recently helped form a new animal rights group in Hamilton. He is a pacifist and a human rights activist and neither uses nor advocates the use of violence.
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