Change.org - Woman tased unconscious

Warning: The following contains reference to police violence. Ariel Harrison was arrested, abused, and is now facing prison time after being pulled over with zero evidence of misconduct. Ariel was tased 5 times into a state of unconsciousness while in jail and sustained a head injury – for which she received no medical attention. The Social Justice Coalition is demanding that the Macomb, IL police department drop the charges against Ariel. #Justice4Ariel, Drop ALL Charges for a Black Mother Unlawfully Arrested, Detained & Abused 1,076 have signed The Social Justice Coalition’s petition. Let’s get to 1,500!

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We need your help. Ariel Harrison is a disabled Black mother who is facing prison time for a crime she didn’t commit. And on top of that, the police brutalized her and could have killed her. Officer Gavin Steiger pulled her over and accused her of drinking and driving when they had no evidence of it - no breathalyzer or field sobriety tests were performed at the scene, during arrest or detainment. Once at the McDonough County Jail, they proceeded to hold Ariel down and appeared to have been tased, at least 5 times until she was unconscious. At some point Ariel had a closed head injury as well. They put her unconscious body in a cold cell and sought no medical attention for her extensive injuries. She could have died in that cell that night. When Ariel finally regained consciousness (after an unknown length of time), she discovered that she was only in a tank top and her underwear. She was shaking, cold and scared. She  looked down at her legs in that moment, and they were green. She thought she was dying. She called out for help, and it took several hours for someone to even acknowledge her existence. They were unable to charge her with a DUI due to a lack of evidence. Since that didn’t stick, they are now trying to charge her with aggravated battery for grabbing an officer’s collar while she was being tased and fell unconscious - something entirely out of her control. Now Ariel is facing prison time. Ariel’s life matters. Without evidence of a DUI, there was no reason for Ariel to have been arrested in the first place. And had she not been unlawfully arrested, she would have never been assaulted and tased by multiple officers - which led to the charges she’s facing today.  This is not the only injustice at the hands of Officer Steiger. We demand that all charges against Ariel Harrison be dropped immediately, a FULL investigation of Officer Steiger and that he be taken off of the streets of Macomb immediately, and fired.  Macomb Officer Gavin Steiger has been targeting Black women and their families for racial profiling, false arrest, police BRUTALITY, while putting lives needlessly at risk. He must be FIRED & investigated for domestic terrorism. #Justice4Ariel #TakeSteigerOffTheStreets #BlackLivesMatter #BlackDisabledLivesMatter

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