COLUMBUS, Ohio, October 21, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to the pro-life group Created Equal, a video released Thursday shows a Planned Parenthood security guard repeatedly assaulting a Columbus police officer at an October 19 fundraiser for the abortion organization.
According to Mark Harrington, executive director of Created Equal, when he and fellow pro-lifers arrived to protest the Planned Parenthood event, a condom “fashion show,” he approached off-duty Columbus Police Officer Jack Addington, who was acting as Planned Parenthood’s security guard, to introduce himself.
Harrington reports that Addington was immediately hostile, and said that if the pro-lifers were to hold their protest on the sidewalk they would have to “keep moving.” Harrington protested that they were within their rights to protest on public property, and that they would keep the sidewalk free for pedestrians, but Addington insisted that they “keep moving.”
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At this point the pro-lifers say they complied with Addington’s request, but also contacted Criminal Information Unit Detective Roger Dickinson, who they say has been helpful in the past.
“When Detective Dickinson arrived, he began discussing the issue with Officer Addington,” said Harrington. “Officer Addington angrily disagreed with Detective Dickinson.
“The next thing I knew, Officer Addington began to physically assault Detective Dickinson by forcing him into the stairway of the Shadowbox (Live) Theatre and pinning him up against the wall.”
“Several of our members immediately called 911 to report the incident and ask for help,” said Harrington. “Even after police arrived, Officer Addington continued to assault and shout at Detective Dickinson.”
Harrington says he does not want to “impugn” the entire Columbus Police Department for Addington’s behavior, saying that, “in my experience, the vast majority of Columbus Police behave professionally.” According to Harrington, an internal investigation is underway.
The Columbus Police Department did not respond to a request for comment from LifeSiteNews.
The event that the pro-lifers were protesting was the local Planned Parenthood’s fourth annual Condom Couture, a “fashion show” that features clothing made entirely of Planned Parenthood-brand condoms, including a hand-painted, zebra-print ball gown, which used more than 800 condoms.