The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

How the Police Help Criminals Victimize the Poor

Statement of Facts Greyhound Bus Lines, San Antonio, Texas, February 23, 2011 Civil Rights Incident, Part 1

Personal Information My name is Denise McVea. I am a resident of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. I am an award winning journalist, historian, and human rights advocate. I am the author of Making Myth of Emily, a popular Texas history book. I am a graduate of Texas Woman's University and a past New Voices Fellow in Human Rights and International Cooperation (2001). In 2003, I founded the Auris Project, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is to help poor and otherwise marginalized communities gain access to important rights and development information. For the first five years of the organization, we worked in rural Mexico, running information and development programs in the municipality of Catorce, San Luis Potosi. I am fluent in Spanish. In 2009, the Auris Project expanded to urban San Antonio. For the past two years, I have worked with volunteers on the construction of an information center located in a depressed neighborhood on the city's historic Eastside. I was a keynote speaker at the recent International Woman's Day March in San Antonio, Texas. I am an African American woman. Overview This is a statement of facts related to an incident that occurred February 23, 2011 at the Greyhound bus station at 500 N. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio, Texas, 78205. It is my intent to bring Civil Rights charges, Title 2, against Gary Daniels, Greyhound Bus driver; David Galbreath, contract security guard; Officer Robert Munoz, Badge #1371, San Antonio Police Department police officer; an unidentified SAPD police officer; Greyhound Bus Line, Dallas, Texas; unknown security company; Officer Justin Carter, Badge #915, SAPD police officer; and the San Antonio Police Department. It is my belief and contention that the above mentioned individuals and organizations conspired to deprive me, Denise McVea, of my constitutional rights, that they took direct action to deprive me of my rights, and that at all times, they were aware or should have been aware that the actions that they undertook were violations of federal and state civil rights laws. The narrative and all other text in this document were created by Denise McVea and no other. Background 1 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

On February 21, 2011, I purchased a one way bus ticket from San Antonio, Texas to Houston, Texas online, using Greyhound's Internet ticket service. My purpose in purchasing the one-way ticket was to obtain a van that my nonprofit organization had purchased from the University of Texas Health Science Center and drive the van back to San Antonio. I printed a copy of the ticket that was provided to me by the online service as proof of purchase. My bus was scheduled to leave the San Antonio Greyhound downtown bus station for Houston at 6:50 a.m. on February 23, 2011. Upon arriving at the Greyhound station, I immediately approached the ticket counter to verify the online ticket I had purchased. The ticket clerk examined the ticket and noted that it did not print out correctly. I asked the ticket clerk to verify the validity of the ticket. The ticket clerk consulted Greyhound computer terminals, and assured me that the ticket was valid, my name and purchase were documented in the Greyhound computer system, and that the ticket I held was sufficient for boarding the Greyhound bus to Houston. He was not pleasant, but he was polite and professional. He directed me to a line waiting to board the bus. The Greyhound Incident I approached the bus driver, Gary Daniels, a 53-year-old black male, and handed him my ticket. Mr. Daniels immediately began repeating in an extremely loud voice: "This ain't right. This ain't right." I told Mr. Daniels that the ticket had been approved at the ticket counter and that there was proof of purchase at the ticket counter if he had doubts about the ticket's validity. It is unclear to me if Mr. Daniels heard the entire explanation because he continued to yell throughout my explanation. I asked Mr. Daniels why he was yelling. At that point, I looked behind me in the line and saw several people standing in line who were responding negatively to Mr. Daniels' behavior. Several people looked at me with sympathy. There were murmurs of confusion and disapproval. I turned back to Mr. Daniels and out of the corner of my eye saw the security guard Galbraith quickly approaching. I again turned to Mr. Daniels and asked him why he was yelling. He stated: "Because you are not hearing me." He said this in a very loud voice. At this point, Mr. Galbraith stepped closer in a menacing fashion. Mr. Daniels rudely ordered me out of the line, gesturing with his hand that I should get out of the way. My state of mind at this time was annoyance and bemusement. I did not like being treated that way. I felt that the proper and professional thing to do was to allow me to enter the bus, and then verify with the ticket master the validity of the ticket. I felt that the controversy was contrived, and that Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith had targeted me, a single black female traveling alone, for public humiliation as a sport. I felt that this 2 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

was not the first time that these two men had harassed and abused a Greyhound customer. In a calm (and admittedly imperious) voice, I said to Mr. Daniels: "Well, I am going back to the ticket master, since you do not know what your own tickets look like." I turned and began walking back inside. Mr. Galbraith immediately walked up behind me and said in a threatening voice, "you do not talk to Gary that way." I continued to walk and responded, "I will talk to him how I please." Mr. Galbraith came closer to me and, gesturing with one arm, said: "You get out, " pointing at the garage exit to the street. At this point, Mr. Galbraith came within reach of me. Mr. Galbraith was extremely threatening. "I am going to talk to the ticket master," I said, speeding up. "I'll put you out," Mr. Galbraith said and positioned himself even closer to me. He appeared to be positioning himself to subdue me, because as I turned my head to the right to see him, he stepped to the left to be at my back. At that point, it was clear to me that Mr. Galbraith was preparing to attack me, and that this was something that he had done successfully before. Mr. Galbraith is a muscular man in superb physical condition. At that point, I was in extreme fear of physical violence against my person. I turned completely to face him in order to keep an eye on him and began walking backwards. I looked behind him to see if others were watching this scene, but a second bus was obscuring us from the passengers on the bus to Houston. "You lay a hand on me," I said, still walking backwards, "and you will rue this day." "No, I won't," he said, but he did allow me to put distance between us. We continued bickering as I entered the building. At this point, the argument had escalated into a series of insults flying back and forth. Mr. Galbraith told me that I didn't deserve to be there, that I was not going to get on any Greyhound bus. I told him that he would lose his job for his behavior. He told me that he didn't care. He called me crazy. I called him an idiot. In fact, Mr. Galbraith called me a lot of things that revealed a deep prejudice and bias against the person he thought me to be. I was dressed in jeans and tennis shoes and I have natural black hair. Mr. Galbraith's insults indicated that he thought I was poor and uneducated. He asked me if I was bipolar. He asked me if I was schizophrenic. 3 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

Extremely agitated, I approached the ticket counter and complained to the ticket clerk that I was being harassed by Mr. Galbraith and that Mr. Daniels, whose full name I did not know at the time, would not let me board the bus. The ticket clerk instructed me to keep my voice down. Again, his response and demeanor indicated to me that this was, if not a common occurrence, something that he had seen before. I told him my voice was raised because I was afraid, provoked, and agitated by how I was treated. He was unsympathetic. At this point, Mr. Galbraith instructed the ticket master to give me a refund so that I could leave. I found this order very interesting, because up to this point, Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith had acted under the pretext that I had not paid for the bus ticket and that was why I was not allowed to board the bus. The ticket master handed me a sleeve similar to the one that he had placed my ticket in, but there was nothing in it. Meanwhile, Mr. Galbraith continued to hurl insults at me, making it very difficult for me to have a civil conversation with the clerk. Mr. Galbraith again told me to leave; I ignored him. I told the ticket clerk that I wanted to speak to a manager. He responded that the manager would not be in until 9. I asked him to call the manager, but he refused to do so. I told him that I would wait for the manager. I turned and made my way to a nearby chair. Mr. Galbraith approached and told me that I was not going to sit down, but that I was to get out. Again, I felt physically threatened by Mr. Galbraith. I turned to the other passengers, who were looking on the altercation with interest. I made and announcement. I said: "We deserve better than this. We deserve to be treated with respect at all times," I said. My purpose in addressing the crowd was to make a public statement that this type of behavior from Mr. Galbraith was unacceptable and that we do not have to stand for this type of abusive treatment. I made this statement in a calm and modulated voice. Because I felt that Mr. Galbraith routinely abused passengers he took to be powerless, and because my mission as a community advocate is to bring information and support to marginalized communities, and because many Greyhound passengers are below the poverty line, I felt it was important to clarify the altercation to the people present in the room. It was important that they knew this treatment was inexcusable. I sat down. Mr. Galbraith stood over me and continued verbally assaulting me, calling me crazy, and schizophrenic, and trash. Standing over me, he told the ticket master to call the police. I told Mr. Galbraith that I wanted to talk to the police because I intended to file charges of assault, 4 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

intimidation, and terroristic threat against him. He said he didn't care. He walked away. I called a friend who is a licensed social worker. At this point, the energy level in the room had returned to normal, and I felt relatively safe and calm. I recounted to my friend a brief summary of what had transpired, and told her that I would press charges against Mr. Galbraith when the police arrived. She asked me if I had already called the police. I told her that Mr. Galbraith had called the police and that out of respect for police dispatch (the police department struggle to educate people about unnecessary calls to 9-1-1) I would press charges with the police officer already on his way. At that point Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith approached the ticket master. I overheard the ticket master telling my abusers that the ticket was valid and that there was no reason to deny me entry onto the bus. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith looked chagrined and worried, but neither men approached me to apologize or offer me my seat back on the bus. I was very upset, but I felt it was important to remain calm so as not to alarm my friend or get off on the wrong foot with the manager when he arrived. A few seconds later, Officer Munoz arrived and began conversing with the security guard Galbraith. I saw Mr. Galbraith point to me and Officerr Munoz look in my direction.

(Continued in Part 2)

Statement of Facts
Greyhound February 23, 2011 Civil Rights Incident, Part 2
Summary This is the second part of a statement of facts related to a civil rights incident that occurred at the San Antonio Downtown Greyhound bus station, whereby Denise McVea, the author of this document, was harassed, denied public accommodation and physically threatened by employees of the Greyhound Bus Line; denied equal protection by officers of the San Antonio Police Department; and unlawfully arrested under 5 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

color of law. My complaint against SAPD Officer Robert Munoz (Badge #1371); an unidentified SAPD police officer; SAPD Officer Justin Carter (Badge #915), and the SAPD is that they refused to allow me to press charges against the men who had threatened and menaced me, and assisted those men in avoiding responsibility for breaking the law. My complaints against Officer Munoz also include the facts that: 1. Officer Munoz, under color of law, threatened me with arrest and did arrest me under color of law in order to prevent me from filing charges against my attackers; and 2. Refused to investigate the incident where I was attacked and abused, and refused to interview even one of more than two dozen witnesses who would have corroborated my version of events. 3. Officer Munoz falsified a police report as part of his efforts to illegally arrest and detain me under color of law.

Denial of Equal Protection "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." - Title 1, Fourteenth Amendment of the United States.

Incident (continued). SAPD police officer Robert Munoz approached me where I was sitting in the Greyhound bus station. Upon his arrival the bus station environment was tranquil and quiet. I attribute this to the fact that the security guard, Mr. Galbraith, had stopped his abusive behavior towards me. I told the person I was talking to on the phone that the police had arrived . I hung up the phone and greeted the officer. Officer Munoz asked me what the problem was. He was very polite and inoffensive. In fact, it is important to stress that Officer Munoz at no time raised his voice or acted rudely towards me throughout my interactions with him. But he made several comments that indicated that he thought me to be uneducated, lacking in social skills, and unaware of my rights. Out of consideration for the other passengers, I asked Officer Munoz if we could step outside to discuss the incident. He agreed, and we stepped out 6 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

the door and stood near a wall in the garage. He asked me again what had happened. I told him in detail what had happened. I did not raise my voice, but I could feel it trembling as I recounted my experiences with Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith. As a talked, Officer Munoz studied me, first looking at my hair, then my clothes, then my tennis shoes. When I finished recounting the incident, Officer Munoz said: "Ok. Now I have heard what you have to say, and now you have to leave." I was dumbstruck for a moment. "I'm sorry?" I asked. "I listened to what you had to say and now you have to leave." "But, I want to press charges against those men for attacking and harassing me," I told him, but he shook his head. "They no longer want your business, so you have to leave," he said. I explained to Officer Munoz that I had a valid bus ticket, that I was refused entry on the bus for no reason, and that Mr. Galbraith had physically threatened me and verbally abused me for no reason. He responded by saying that that is what happens, "when you act a fool." I told him that I did nothing to warrant the treatment that I suffered at the hands of Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith and that they had violated my civil rights, but had also broken criminal laws, especially, Mr. Galbraith. I told him that I had felt in danger of imminent assault from Mr. Galbraith and that I had a right to press charges. He refused again. He said that once I was told to leave, I had to leave or be arrested for criminal trespassing. I told him that I am not obligated to obey orders that violate my civil rights and that as a ticket holder I had effective consent from Greyhound to be present on the property. He told me then that because I "acted a fool," I no longer had Greyhound's permission to be on the property as Mr. Galbraith represented Greyhound. I told him that I did not believe that Mr. Galbraith's illegal behavior could on the face of it be taken as representative of Greyhound and that the manager was on his way. I told him that the manager, who was not accused of assault and threat, would be the person to determine if I had consent to be on the property. He asked me for my Texas driver's license. I handed it to him. I again asked him to investigate my charges against Mr. Galbraith. He again refused. I told him that there were numerous witnesses to my interaction with Mr. Daniels and Mr.Galbraith and that they were still on the property. I begged him to go and interview some of the other passengers who were in line with me. He again refused. I told him that I was going to call the police. He said he was the police. I told him that if he were the police he 7 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

would do police work, and in this case, police work would involve him interviewing the witnesses to the altercation between myself and Mr. Daniels and Mr. Galbraith. Another officer arrived and immediately began telling me to get off the property. I tried to explain to him what the situation was, but he waved me off. I asked him to interview the witnesses present before their bus departed for Houston. He refused. At no time during my interactions with any of these officers did I raise my voice or become combative. Officer Munoz told me that if I did not leave immediately, I would be arrested. I told him that I could not leave until we had either confirmed with the manager that I did not have effective consent and issued a refund, or the police officers present conducted a proper investigation by interviewing the witnesses to the incident that he was called out on. He told me to turn around. I complied. He put handcuffs on me and handed my purse to the unidentified officer. The unidentified officer walked me to the street side of the police car and opened the back door. I asked him again if he would interview the other passengers. He said in a rough voice, "get in the car," and shoved me down. I did not enter the car but turned and looked at him sadly. He immediately changed his posture and said more gently, "Get in the car, ma'am." I immediately complied. He is the only person to actually physically touch me throughout this incident. From the backseat, I could hear the two officers talking. Officer Munoz grumbled that I had forced him to do paperwork that he did not want to do, ostensibly because I was arrested, and he asked the unidentified officer to take my purse to the property room. The unidentified officer complied. The two men made a thorough search of my purse, and then the unidentified officer took the purse and departed. ( I later was unable to identify the officer through San Antonio Police property records, because although the officer was in possession of my purse, he used Officer Munoz's name and badge number to file the purse into the property room.) From the vehicle, I could see Mr. Galbraith and Officer Munoz engaging in a friendly chat. It was clear that the two men were acquainted with each other and held high esteem for each other. At one point, Officer Munoz patted Mr. Galbraith on the back. Officer Munoz entered the vehicle and asked me, "Do you think I am the police now?" I repeated that police officers actually do police work, and that since I had not seen him perform any, I did not consider him police. He laughed and stated that I probably "do this all the time, run around acting a fool." I told him that that was not true, that I had not "acted a fool" in Greyhound, and that he would know that if he had performed even a modicum of police work. 8 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world.

At that point, Security Guard Galbraith approached the vehicle and asked for my driver's license. He took it from Officer Munoz and departed. He returned a few minutes later, handed Officer Munoz my driver's license, and thanked him. "No problem, buddy," Officer Munoz told Mr. Galbraith. I said sarcastically: "What, is that your boyfriend?" Officer Munoz did not respond. I said, "Everyone is subject to the law, Officer, and that includes your friends." He responded that "those guys have to deal with this all the time." I responded: "that is because they are victimizing people who they perceive as being defenseless and they can count on you to allow them to continue breaking the law. That security guard is a brute and a bully and you are an accomplice to his crimes." Officer Munoz laughed again. It took Officer Munoz about an hour to construct the following oneparagraph police report to explain why he arrested me. The report is a classic case of false reporting:
Upon arrival I contacted V1 and W1. V1 stated that he is a bus driver and he explained to AP1 that she had the wrong ticket and needed to get the correct ticket to enter the bus. V1 stated that AP1 started yelling and using profane language and would not calm down. W1 who is a security officer at location heard the disturbance and immediately responded. W1 stated that AP1 was yelling and using profane language towards V1 and appeared to be getting combative. W1 stated that he asked AP1 leave repeatedly. Ap1 refused to leave and went back into the bus terminal and sat down. W1 no longer wanted AP1 business and felt that it would not be safe to allow AP1 on a bus after she displayed her aggressive anger towards V1. I approached AP1 and asked her about the matter. AP1 responded that "you are not the police I don't have to talk to you". AP1 continued to yell and would not listen to what I had to explain. I continued to ask AP1to leave and she refused (and) continued to yell and cause a disturbance. I placed AP1 in handcuffs and she was transported to 401 S. Frio where she was arrested for criminal trespass. -SAPD Officer Robert Munoz, San Antonio Police Department Offense Case # SAPD11046131, February 23, 2011. This police report is interesting for several reasons. First, it states that Denise McVea, as AP1, was yelling and using profanity at V1, the bus driver Gary Daniels. A simple inquiry of any of the numerous people in line would have revealed that statement to be false. Second, Security Guard Galbraith is not named and is referred to only under the W1 pseudonym, effectively keeping his name out of the record and cloaking his activities so that no pattern of abuse

9 www.aurisproject.org

The Auris Project, Inc.

Because the right information can change the world. would be evident through the police department's public record. Third, it display's Officer Munoz's willingness to distort and falsify the record, in order to permit civil rights abuses by people who he considers worthy of police intervention. I was released from Bexar County detention facilities later that day. A few days later, I went to the police department to again try and press charges against Mr. Galbraith. I spoke briefly with SAPD Office Justin Carter (Badge #915). He refused to allow me to press charges against Mr. Galbraith. He said I would have to get a lawyer. To date, I have been unable to press charges against Mr. Galbraith, who assaulted, menaced and threatened me, in violation of Texas criminal law, and who deprived me of my rights to public accommodations, in violation of federal and state civil rights laws. The criminal trespass charges against me were dropped at arraignment. The Bexar County prosecuting attorney declined to press the case, citing insufficient evidence.

Implications I am a limited public figure who is well known in San Antonio and communities across the country as a polite, very strong minded, highly intelligent and informed advocate for equality and justice. The suggestion that I simply began yelling and using profanity and threatening a 53-year-old black man over a ticket (particularly at 6:30 am without having had a single cup of coffee) would seem ludicrous to people who know me, including people in the San Antonio Police Department. But what about those people who are not well-known? What about those people who would not know how to press their case, or who are unfamiliar with their rights? I found it chilling that Mr. Galbraith kept assaulting me with taunts of "Are you bipolar? Are you schizophrenic?" It is equally disturbing watching Officer Munoz carefully avoid taking any action that would potentially reveal what appears to be a pattern of abuse by Mr. Daniels, Mr. Galbraith, and Greyhound. Officer Munoz, as he has shown, cannot be counted on to provide the most vulnerable among us with equal protection under the law.

10 www.aurisproject.org