something like this happened a year or two ago when I was living downtown Birmingham.

A local business person brought ut up during a downtown neighborhood meeting at the downtown library.

Three Birmingham police men at the meeting were asked about the incident during that meeting.

The answer they gave was that they had gone by procedure.

When I asked if that procedure was in writing and if it was where I could find a copy of the procedure, I was told to be quiet or I would be asked to leave the meeting.

Then the three policemen grabbed me up and forced me into a police car and took me off to the city jail for three days charging me with disorderly conduct.

I was called to court twice and the police did not answer their own subpeona.

After the third court date, my lawyer was able to finally gwet charges dropped against me.

I tried to talk to legal aid, to the police chief at the time, to every person I could find.

No one would listen.

Even the U.s. Attorney's office said they could do nothing and that if I didn't like it I should leave, so leave I did.

I was born in Birmingham in 1954 and lived my entire life pretty much in the area.

I will never return there to live.

I never made a secret of any of this.

Yet no one ever seemed to care.

And believe me, I was treated better than many.

Craig Griffin
Austin, Texas