By: Vivienne C.
This is not an easy article to write, not the least because the slain Officer Lilith Fox will receive no justice for her murder. (Believe it or not readers, I have yet to be able to obtain information for an obituary for her or another officer we heard died in the line of ‘duty’. It is slow work with HPD and families, but we’re trying). Early in October, Wilbur Fitzgerald (Nightmen? – Ed) reached out to me to say he would hand himself over for the murder of Officer Fox. There are credible allegations against him, witnesses and all but am not privy to all the investigation details.
I met with him knowing that he is not an innocent. This article is not about vindicating the man. I will leave that for the jury and judge when he stands before the law. I agreed to live-stream his arrest because I wanted to see for myself if it would go peacefully, I also intended to follow up with daily visits to see how he fairs but the experiment failed in the sense they revoked his visitation rights and I got to know why later.
The Live-stream
On October 9th, I stood outside HPD with my camera awaiting Wilbur, who showed up with an associate on a bike appearing rather dressed for the occasion (to his standards that is). His defense as you might watch is dubious at best, there are conflicting stories and confusion. Officer Harvey Delaney was the first to show up on scene to make the arrest, he was cordial and despite Wilbur’s dramatic reactions. It went without any issues.
- Officer Delaney aka ‘puppy’ on Twitter.
The Lessons
The first one I would say is that HPD can behave themselves when there is an external pressure and expectation exerted on them. There was another officer in the scene and he too was cordial and polite. He might have mentioned “water-boarding” which Delaney corrected with access to shower facility but other than that, he was taken into custody without any brutality.
Next day, I went to try and see him, I was made to wait for ages in the visitation room before I was told his rights were revoked. I had not been able to see for myself what happened. Upon his release, I went to see him and ask how his time in the cells went.
Wilbur said he was anally searched three times while in custody, a practice that is intended for humiliation certainly because once is understandable but three times is a little too far. He also claims that Officer Delaney propositioned him for a blow job in exchange for not putting him in a cell with someone he has issues with. Which if true would explain so much about Delaney’s outward evangelist attitude that is perhaps wrapped around his closeted self. But I digress, Wilbur was also beaten rather badly by Officer Michael Montanari while in jail. (Hmmm – Ed)
So, the second lesson is that while pressure works to a point. It does not amount to much. There is no accountability mechanism for HPD’s repeated misconduct and gross human rights violations without a proper oversight. Would we ever manage to mobilize and form that oversight committee? it really depends on the contributions and collaborations of everyone involved, including HPD.
Stay Safe.
