"Not Guilty!" Benny Warr Arraigned

Primary tabs

Submitted by T. Forsyth on Tue, 2013-05-14 19:02

On May 14, 2013, Benny Warr entered Judge Stephen Miller's courtroom flanked by his lawyer, Charles F. Burkwit, his wife, Nina (pronounced nine-ah), and other family members and supporters. The proceedings got underway promptly at 9:30am with Warr's arraignment first on the docket.

When Judge Miller asked Warr to enter a plea, Warr, in his baritone voice, said, “Not guilty.”

On May 1, Benny Warr was waiting for the bus in his wheelchair at the intersection of Bartlett St. and Jefferson Ave., near his home. As he was waiting for the bus, a Rochester police cruiser rolled up to the intersection. The officers exited the car and told Warr, using expletives to move on. Warr responded by saying he was only waiting for the bus. According Warr, the officers then maced him in the face and proceeded to throw him out of his chair where he was kicked, punched, and kneed by police while on the ground. He was put in handcuffs for nearly two hours until he received care at Strong Memorial Hospital for his injuries. He sustained broken and fractured ribs, numbness in his hands, neck injuries, internal injuries, and cuts on his wrists.

In a statement Warr made outside City Court today, he said, “I was minding my own business. I was catching the bus and it is my right to catch the bus.”

In response to multiple questions, from the corporate media, asking if he had done something to provoke the attack, Warr emphatically responded, “No way!”

In the early morning hours of May 2, he was released and given an appearance ticket. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

There is a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 30 in Judge Miller's courtroom at 9:30am.

The incident was videotaped by a bystander and posted on YouTube.com. Rochester Indymedia has published the original video here, which, while clearer, is also sideways. Rochester Indymedia apologizes for this and will be uploading the video again this evening but right side up.

“This was a blatant case of excessive force used on a disabled man in a wheelchair. It's despicable,” said Burkwit who is representing Warr.

Burkwit explained that he is nearing the end of his investigation into the attack on Warr and intends to file suit in both city and federal courts alleging civil rights abuses.

Nina Warr, Benny's wife, said, “I expected it to be short and simple and that he would plead not guilty. And that's what it was.”

The family and friends of Warr have called for a rally, march and speak-out this Saturday, May 18, 12:30pm, at the intersection of Jefferson Ave. and Bartlett St.