Criminalizing those who rush to help their neighbors

An op-ed from Andrew Marsh

Hey all! As I’m working on about five different stories on the Haxhiaj verdict, none of which are ready, I want to share an op-ed written by Andrew Marsh, a Worcester political observer you may have seen testify at city council, coining the legendary phrase “balderdash of the highest order,” or on recent episodes of our Twitch program, Worcestery Council Theatre 3000, where he’s been cracking me the fuck up. He also has a fun fiction newsletter you should check out.

Andrew says well what we’re all thinking. For those coming in cold: Etel Haxhiaj was found guilty of assault and battery on a public employee and not guilty of interfering with police after a two-day trial this week. She has maintained her innocence and her assertion the trial was politically motivated, hitting on both in a statement made outside the courthouse Wednesday.

The political context was expressly barred from entering the courtroom during the trial, for reasons that are themselves political. The defense was prevented from talking about the Department of Justice investigation into the WPD, and from calling police union president Thomas Duffy as a witness, despite the serious open questions about his role in the filing of these charges. But Thomas Duffy was there at the courthouse for the entirety of the trial—even walking out to face the jury pool with the six cops the Commonwealth planned to call as witnesses, after it was ruled he would not be a witness (mistrial, anyone?)—and on Thursday he used his mouthpiece at the Worcester Guardian to put the conviction in an overtly political context.

The Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union Local 911 praised the verdict. "Last November city residents sent a strong message in our local election and today Etel Haxhiaj was convicted by a jury of her peers for assault and battery on a Worcester police officer," union president Thomas Duffy II said in a statement. "We can never allow or tolerate violence of any kind to be directed at any member of law enforcement. In recent days we have seen multiple officers shot in Spencer and Fall River, we continue to pray for their recovery. We ask that God always protect members of law enforcement as they perform this dangerous job. I want to thank the overwhelming majority of citizens of this city who show support for our officers as they perform a difficult and dangerous job daily.”

To which I say

and

(Bluesky is the only place I’m posting these days)

Anyway, let’s get to Andrew’s great op-ed. That’s all from me for today (at least in this outlet). I will continue to update the open notebook as I work on my follow ups.

Please consider supporting this outlet so I can continue to provide a forum for necessary voices like that which you’re about to read!

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Criminalizing those who rush to help their neighbors

By Andrew Marsh

We recently saw a devoted public servant get convicted in a court of law on the charge of Assault and Battery of a Public Employee. This verdict was a sham, unsupported by evidence presented, and completely out of line from the instructions presented by the jury, failing to meet even preponderance of the evidence, let alone beyond a reasonable doubt. It was little more than a “Worcester Witch Trial”, and should be treated with the same level of contempt as the Salem Witch Trials over three centuries ago.

I don’t know why the jury made their incomprehensible judgement that flies in the face of rational thought and logic. Frankly, though, I don’t care. The more pressing question is, what kind of societal precedent does this case set? It establishes the standard of criminalizing good samaritans who rush to help their neighbors, particularly against state violence. It reduces the serious charge of assault to coincidental touches, and effectively strips the right of self-defense from the public, in contradiction of the spirit of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Even more terrifyingly, it gives the already powerful police department, and their associated union, unprecedented societal and political power. Attorney Gagne said during the trial that “nobody is above the law”, in an effort to scold Etel Haxhiaj for her bravery. Perhaps he should have reserved those words for the members of the Worcester Police Department who, in violation of their oath to protect and serve the most vulnerable in our city, actively protected ICE and allowed them to kidnap one of our own.

Any good faith and rapport the police hoped to foster with the residents of Worcester has been put through the shredder, from their actions on Eureka Street, the charges they levied on two incredibly brave defenders of our community, and the contradictions they voiced on the stand. Nobody has any reason now to trust that the police department will actually defend them in their hour of need, as they have proven that they will gladly inflict pain on those most in need and criminalize anyone who dares to stand up and offer their assistance.

We as a community must take action. We must work tirelessly to lift up the veil of shadows that people like Thomas Duffy and Officer McGuirk cower behind. We must defund every penny from the Worcester Police Department, and redirect it to community organizations that will actually stand and resist state-sanctioned violence. They have forever lost the trust of this city, and they no longer deserve our hard-earned tax dollars.

Lastly, for those in positions of power, to the City Council, to the Mayor, and to the City Manager: You could have stopped this injustice that masqueraded as justice. You could have all lent your voices and reigned in a police department and a police union that acted with vindictiveness and malice. The fact that you stood on the sidelines and let events play out as they did, events that will chill the ability and desire of our neighbors to help each other in times of crisis, in an era when we need to lean on each other even more, is more of an indictment against your collective characters than against the passionate civilian that our legal system saw fit to punish.

Etel Haxhiaj will go down in history as a proud, patriotic progressive that was unjustly persecuted and punished by those in power, like Eugene Debs a century ago. Her legacy of public service and the goodness of her soul is unimpeachable, regardless of whatever judgment any court hands down. It is now our collective responsibility to make sure her good deeds are rewarded in the long term. We must work tirelessly to ensure this city is safe and welcoming for all, and that when one of us comes under attack, we all rise up to defend them.

To all in power who stand aside and enable violence against the innocent? There are no words in the human dictionary to adequately convey how reviled I am by your character, nor the level of disgust your condoning of state malice makes me feel. And to Etel Haxhiaj and all the dedicated good samaritans who put everything on the line to protect your neighbors in need? Thank you. The city and the world could use way more of you. We cannot hope to measure up to your deeds and your heart. All we can do is try to live by your example.

Andrew Marsh is a writer and political commentator based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Follow his work on Bluesky and Substack.