Jami Tillotson, a deputy public defender for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, was arrested on Tuesday for doing her job.
Tillotson was standing with her client, an African-American male, when San Francisco Police Inspector Brian Stansbury began taking pictures with a camera phone. Tillotson stepped in to stop the questioning and prevent the pictures, pointing out that her client was in court on minor theft charges and that Stansbury was questioning him on an unrelated matter.
“Look, you can either step aside, he can be released in two minutes or we can make this … ” Stansbury says in the video footage of the incident.
Tillotson responds, “I’m pretty sure that we’re OK here. We don’t need any pictures taken, thank you.”
Stansbury says, “No, you’re not pretty sure. If you continue with this … I’ll arrest you for resisting arrest.”
“Please do,” Tillotson says, at which point she is placed in handcuffs and led away.
Of course, the public defender’s office was livid at the arrest.
“This is not Guantanamo Bay. People have an absolute right to have their attorneys present during questioning,” San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said in a press release. “A uniform does not give you a license to bully innocent people into submission. If this happens to a public defender in front of her client, I can only imagine what is happening on our streets.”