Pro-lifer Seriously Injured in Violent Attack; OR Says Officer Should Be Disciplined
Harrisburg, PA - Ed Snell, 69, received serious injuries that doctors feared could have cost him his life during an attack on December 22, 2007, outside the Hillcrest Abortion Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The responding female officer not only let the attacker go, but threatened to arrest witnesses that identified the perpetrator and demanded his arrest.
Mr. Snell was standing on a sturdy platform he had attached to the top of his vehicle in order to offer help to women over a fence that had been erected to prevent pro-lifers from speaking to them. Witness John McTernan said that a man who was escorting a woman into the abortion clinic, “leaped on the vehicle with Ed and catapulted him off of the vehicle and onto the ground.” Mr. Snell struck the pavement with his head. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he was treated for multiple trauma, bleeding in the area between the brain and the tissues that cover the brain, compression fractures of four vertebrae, right scapula fracture, and fracture of the fourth and fifth ribs.
Three officers arrived to investigate but allowed the perpetrator to leave the scene. When Mr. McTernan objected and demanded an arrest, the female officer threatened to arrest him for interfering with a police investigation. (Click here to read the entire story.)
“It is unbelievable that an officer would allow an attacker to go free after inflicting life-threatening injuries on an elderly gentleman, then threaten to arrest the witness to the crime,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “That was not only unprofessional conduct, but it showed a fundamental lack of respect for Mr. Snell’s life and beliefs. She should face serious discipline.”
Mr. Snell was released from the hospital the following day. His recovery is expected to take a full 8 weeks. Meanwhile, upon learning the seriousness of Mr. Snell’s injuries, the police finally arrested and charged the man with felony assault.
This incident adds to a growing list of attacks on pro-lifers in recent months, which have all included unprofessional police conduct. Operation Rescue recommends that pro-lifers establish regular communications with local police supervisors in order to educate them as to the peaceful nature of pro-life activities and their protection under the First Amendment.
Any concerns about Harrisburg Bureau of Police conduct may be addressed to:
Police Chief Charles Keller
Phone: 717-255-3103
E-mail: charleskeller@cityofhbg.com
Photo courtesy of www.RetireMcLeod.com
December 31st, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
America turned against the unborn and turns against the born.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:50 pm
I sent an email letting the chief know that as a longtime Harrisburg area resident in the 1980s and 1990s I still have friends in the city and that we are watching his response to this officer’s brazen lack of professionalism.
January 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
“Mr. Snell was standing on a sturdy platform he had attached to the top of his vehicle in order to offer help to women over a fence that had been erected to prevent pro-lifers from speaking to them.”
I suppose Mr Snell now understands that the 7-foot fence was there to prevent exactly what happened. Indeed, one would think that a 69-year-old man would have learned to respect fences and the rights of others to live their lives as they please. Gravity and legal abortion also are both laws that he should be respectful of.
What would Mr Snell’s reaction be if I stood outside his home window and screamed at him during his period of convalescence?
Please feel free to respond to AsudoNimh@yahoo.com. However, please refrain from quoting the bible, as that doesn’t constitute valid or relevant reasoning for anything. And, leave god out of it, too, for the same reasons.
Thanks for reading.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
reply to asudo nimh
imagine living in the united states in the 1800s … the laws allow my next door neighbor to mistreat his slaves … he has put a 7″ fence around his property so i won’t see him using the whip … but i can hear the crys of the slaves as they are beaten … should i respect his right to injure another human being ??? should i be respectful of the unjust laws that allow this behavior ??? no bible no God, just reason and common sense
January 12th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Reply from Asudo Nimh
But, the only ‘crys’ [sic] you’re hearing in the 2000s are in your mind, a product of your apparent obsession. And you seek them out - this isn’t your ‘next door neighbor’. Not a healthy sign. I think that’s how it all started with Paul. Get help.
ReReply to Asudo Nimh
To those whose ears are open, the ‘crys’ can be heard from both victims of the heinous crime of abortion … the ‘crys’ of the mother & the ‘crys’ of her unborn child. Mothers continue to experience pain long after abortion, soul, mind, & body - despair, depression, & the diagnosis of breast cancer. Unborn children feel pain as early as 20 weeks. And in this day of instant communication, to insinuate that any person in the world is not our neighbor is unthinkable. Imagine if we had closed our ears to the crys of our neighbors in Nazi Germany.
February 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
This is so horrible that a man trying to help others was injured to this extent. I commend anyone trying to save another from hurting themselves!!!! I am living proof that my first pregnancy that ended in abortion after a rape concluded with breast cancer!!! The research has been proven and only ignorance keeps this industry thriving!!! I am part of the Silent No More Awareness Movement. I also am an educated God fearing woman!
God forgives and just wants us to follow his ways! Let my Breast Cancer speak to MILLIONS who choose abortion instead of LIFE! You reap what you sow.
God Bless All