A peaceful protest of a Planned Parenthood event in Columbus, Ohio, erupted in violence when an off-duty city police officer hired by the abortion group attacked a colleague who arrived on the scene at the request of pro-lifers, forcing civilians to call 9-1-1 for help.
The pro-life group Created Equal had sent 15 to 20 people to peacefully picket on the sidewalk in front of the Shadowbox Theater in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 19.
Inside the theater, Planned Parenthood was holding an annual fashion show called Condom Couture 2011. The event is a fundraiser for the taxpayer-supported group that features fashion designed by area students made entirely out of condoms.
See video recorded by a bystander after an off-duty officer allegedly "dragged" a fellow officer up stairs and pinned him in a corner:
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Created Equal Executive Director Mark Harrington, who was one of the picketers, described to WND what he called a very "bizarre" sequence of events that night.
Harrington told WND that off-duty Columbus Police Officer Jack Addington had been hired by Planned Parenthood to act as security and was at the theater.
Lisa Perks, CEO for Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio, didn't return a WND request to verify the information.
"As is my custom, I approached Officer Addington and introduced myself," Harrington told WND.
"I informed him that we were law-abiding citizens who had come to express our First Amendment rights and share the pro-life message with those attending the [Planned Parenthood] fundraiser. I explained that we would keep the sidewalk free to pedestrians."
According to Harrington, Addington's demeanor was noticeably hostile towards the group when the officer said, "You will need to keep moving."
When told that the group would not be allowed to remain in one place and would have to constantly move, Harrington told WND that he tried to explain, "With all due respect, that is not the law regarding demonstrations of this nature."
"I said, if that is the law, then you will need to inform the 'Occupy Wall Street' demonstrators to 'keep moving' and remove the encampment on the sidewalk in front of the state house."
The officer replied, "This isn't the state house."
Harrington said that he informed the officer that his group would have no problem complying with any lawful order.
"I asked to see the law or ordinance that compels protesters to 'keep moving' when they are on a public sidewalk," he said.
According to Harrington, the officer barked out, "Let me prove to you who's in charge."
Taking the statement as a physical threat, Harrington had the group comply with the officers' command, but Harrington called someone he had turned to in the past for advice, another Columbus police officer, Detective Roger Dickenson.
"Detective Dickinson has in the past been helpful in resolving any issues and concerns we have had regarding the law and safety when protesting," said Harrington.
"He told us to comply with Officer Addington's commands until he could get there."
When Dickenson arrived, Harrison said, "he told our group that it wasn't necessary to keep moving, as we weren't obstructing movement on the sidewalk anyway."
Harrington said that the detective and security guard began talking, and all of a sudden "Officer Addington angrily disagreed with Detective Dickenson and began physically assaulting him."
"It was just crazy," Harrison recalled.
The pro-life group immediately pulled out video cameras and recorded the rest of the incident.
In the video, a heavyset, uniformed officer can be seen pinning a smaller, non-uniformed man with a badge visible on his belt into a corner of the building.
The smaller man, identified as Dickenson, is heard saying, "You are out of control. Let go of me. Why are you still putting pressure on me?"
The larger officer is heard to say, "You're trespassing."
Harrington said that he witnessed Addington "drag" Dickenson up the stairs from the sidewalk to pin him into the corner of the entryway.
Dickenson is also heard in the video explaining to Addington, "I'm here on official business," "Why are you acting this way?" and, "Let go of me Jack."
Within a few minutes, police sirens can be heard coming toward the scene, and according to Harrington, "Probably six or more squad cars and a dozen or more police officers arrived."
Sgt. Rich Weiner, information officer for the Columbus Police Department, confirmed to WND that Dickenson and Addington are both members of the department.
Weiner told WND: "There is currently an Internal Affairs investigation into this matter, but I can tell you that Detective Addington was off-duty, on 'special assignment."
He explained that "special assignment" means a private entity can request uniformed officers for assignments. The officer is paid by that entity, which was the case with Addington.
Weiner also confirmed for WND that Dickenson was on duty at the time of the incident and that his duties included "monitoring protests like this one for both intelligence purposes, as well as compliance with the law."
After more on-duty officers arrived at the scene, Addington released Dickenson. Harrington said that the rest of the evening was peaceful.
"We were questioned, told there would be an internal investigation and everyone left a short while later, with Officer Addington still on guard," Harrison said.
"God only knows what compelled Officer Addington to act violently and behave unprofessionally with one of his fellow officers."