It is no crime to protest against warmongers.
It is no crime to complain about police brutality.
It is no crime to complain about dangerous medical malpractice.
Dr. Catherine Wilkerson will fight back. Will you stand with her?

Press Releases

Trial Begins Monday for Ann Arbor Doctor Who Criticized Police, EMT (PDF of this press release) 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 22, 2007

Contact: Aimee Smith, (734) 761-9901

ANN ARBOR, MI – The trial of Ann Arbor physician Catherine Wilkerson is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 26, 2007, at 1 PM in the courtroom of 15th District Court Judge Elizabeth Pollard-Hines. The trial is scheduled to continue on the 27th, 28th and 30th at 8:30 AM every day. Dr. Wilkerson is charged with two counts of allegedly attempting to "assault/resist/obstruct" police and ambulance personnel. If convicted on either count, Dr. Wilkerson faces up to a year in jail, fines, and being compelled to submit a DNA sample.

The charges stem from an incident on the campus of the University of Michigan (UM), Ann Arbor, on November 30, 2006, where Dr. Wilkerson gave directions to police and Huron Valley Ambulance personnel concerning the care and well-being of a man rendered unconscious by police. Police reports show that Dr. Wilkerson was allowed by police to examine the unconscious man. But when an ambulance supervisor used ammonia on the man in a dangerous, inefficacious, and punitive manner she spoke out not once but twice and, for her efforts, was told to leave by police. As she was complying, she was attacked and then detained by a police officer. Senior police officers on the scene determined there were no grounds for arresting her and Wilkerson was released without having been handcuffed or required to produce identification.

However, nearly two months after the incident and just seven days after she filed a police brutality complaint, she was charged by Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie's office, at the apparent request of the UM police, with two attempted felonies. On November 20, 2007, just three business days before trial is scheduled to begin and nearly a year after the incident Prosecutor Mackie's office filed a motion to add two new counts to the charges Dr. Wilkerson is facing. In a written response filed with the court, Wilkerson's attorneys, Hugh "Buck" Davis and Wilson P. Tanner, said, "This motion is suggestive of bad faith and 'piling on' for political reasons."

The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson argues that no good purpose can be served by prosecuting a medical doctor for merely doing her duty and nonviolently exercising her First Amendment rights. On Tuesday, November 20, 2007, members of the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson hand-delivered petitions to Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie and UM President Mary Sue Coleman bearing the names of more than 3,500 people who want them to stop this politically-driven prosecution and drop the charges now

Wilkerson, Committee Announce They Will Fight Back, Press Conference (PDF of this press release) 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2007

Contact: Aimee Smith, (734) 761-9901

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson today announced a press conference (details below) and the committee's formation to help Catherine Wilkerson, MD, fight back against political repression, police brutality, and apparent retaliatory misconduct by the University of Michigan (UM), Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD), and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie. On January 23, 2007, Dr. Wilkerson was charged by Mackie's office with two counts of attempting to assault/resist/obstruct "a person … performing his or her duties" in connection with a police disturbance last November on the University of Michigan campus. In fact, Dr. Wilkerson's only 'crimes' were to take responsibility for the well-being of a man apparently rendered unconscious by UM police and to file a written complaint about the police brutality she suffered at the hands of AAPD Officer Kevin Warner.

Last year, the American Movement for Israel invited Ray Tanter, PhD, to speak at the UM. In his 1998 book, Rogue Regimes, Tanter admitted to being an unindicted co-conspirator in the illegal Iran-Contra arms deal. In October, 2002, Tanter told the Michigan Daily that the coming US invasion of Iraq would be " 'an antidote' and that there would be no backlash. 'Arab people won't go crazy, Muslim people won't go crazy. They'll roll over because they hate Saddam Hussein.' " Vanity Fair reported that in a speech in late 2005: "Tanter went as far as to suggest that the U.S. consider using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran." During his UM presentation, Tanter advocated reversing the State Department's designation of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq as a "foreign terrorist organization" so that they could receive funding to expand their terror campaign in Iran and bring about a "civil war."

It was against this backdrop that an informal group of local peace and justice activists, including Dr. Wilkerson, decided to stage a nonviolent protest. The protest began uneventfully outside the UM's Michigan League, where Tanter was to speak on November 30, 2006. It was inside that things went awry when UM police physically attacked to suppress the free speech rights of an Iranian-born woman who was heckling Tanter, as is explicitly permitted under the UM's policy on "Freedom of Speech and Artistic Expression."

In the ensuing overly aggressive police response, three people were arrested. As the senior medical professional on scene, Dr. Wilkerson took responsibility for the well-being of a middle-aged man who was forced by police to the floor. The man, at least twice, told the two police officers on top of him, "I can't breathe." After he lost consciousness, Dr. Wilkerson exhorted police to get off him and allow her to check his breathing and pulse. Wilkerson later protested when Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel adopted a punitive, potentially dangerous approach and breached ethical medical practices by forcing ammonia into the man's nostrils and face. It was at this time that she was physically assaulted and detained by Ann Arbor police. To this day, Wilkerson still requires physical therapy for the shoulder injury she needlessly suffered at the hands of Officer Warner. Wilkerson was never handcuffed or even required to produce identification because she had committed no crime in advocating for a patient in her care. However, nearly two months after the incident and just seven days after she filed a police brutality complaint, she was charged by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie's office, at the request of the UM police, with two attempted felonies—one against Officer Warner and one against the EMS personnel.

For more information on how you can get involved or make a contribution to Dr. Wilkerson's legal defense fund, explore this website or contact Aimee Smith at (734) 761-9901. The Committee's work is supported by the Nationals Lawyers Guild, Detroit & Michigan Chapter; Council on American Islamic Relations, Michigan Chapter; and, the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality.