The Dane County Courthouse held preliminary hearings Wednesday morning for the cases of State of Wisconsin vs. Caleb A Brown and State of Wisconsin vs. Karl M Schultz. Brown, 23, and Schultz, 26, were arrested following the removal of a pro-Palestine encampment by police May 1.
Nearly 50 individuals occupied the courtroom to support Brown and Schultz at the call of Students for Justice in Palestine UW–Madison.
Brown is charged with the felony of attempting to disarm a peace officer and the misdemeanor of resisting or obstructing an officer. Schultz is charged with the felony of battery against a law enforcement officer.
Two police officers present at the encampment May 1 were examined. The first officer, who was tasked with pushing back protesters, said Brown grabbed his baton with both hands and attempted to pull him forward. The officer said he then struck Brown in the head three times.
“The crowd pushed forward as we were both very clearly engaged with each other and we both fell to the ground,” the officer said. “I maintained my grip on both ends of the baton, he maintained his grip on the center of the baton. I continued giving verbal commands to let go of my baton, he did not, so I delivered three strikes to his face with my left elbow.”
Following the officer’s testimony, Brown’s defense attempted to show the courtroom a video of the incident, arguing it contradicted the officer’s story. The judge overruled this request for irrelevance.
A preliminary examination is a hearing before a trial to determine if there is probable cause to believe a felony has been committed by the defendant. In Brown’s case, the judge ruled the video would not sufficiently challenge the plausibility of the charges against him.
The officer examined during the second hearing said he witnessed Schultz push a sergeant from behind. The officer then told the courtroom he intervened by shoving Schultz from the right side, knocking him to the ground.
The judge declared Brown and Schultz plausibly committed the felonies and the court will proceed to full trials. Students for Justice in Palestine is calling for individuals to attend another court hearing on July 17.
