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It's all about public relations
Topic Started: Feb 26 2014, 07:52 AM (249 Views)
Quasimodo

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http://www.cotwa.info/

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Motivational speaker wrongly arrested for sexual assault


Myles Himmelreich, a Calgary-based motivational speaker with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, was wrongly accused of sexual assault. Here is his story, as reported here:

Last October, Calgary police released a grainy photo that showed Himmelreich, along with a statement they were looking for the man in the photo as a suspect in a sexual assault. It ran all over the local media.

It's the kind of publicity no public speaker seeks, and since Himmelreich could prove he was speaking at a conference in Vancouver at the time, it should have been easy to clear up.

It wasn't.

Himmelreich told the story in Winnipeg Tuesday -- how he called the detective in charge, how he was forced through a humiliating arrest scene at his gym and cuffed in front of his friends, all before he could see the detective.

Worst of all, he was released without any official confirmation he'd been falsely accused. What he did next turned an embarrassing public episode and potential ruinous criminal record into a public success story that cleared his name.

Children and Youth Opportunities Minister Kevin Chief, in the audience Tuesday, nudged a reporter as Himmelreich launched into the ordeal and said "Listen to this. This is a powerful story."

Himmelreich said he didn't fall apart, nor did he sue the police.

He hired a lawyer, sought help from family and friends and gave the whole miserable incident a lot of thought.
Then he went to the police, got a TV interview with the local Global station and did what he does best: talk about the arrest, how a false accusation can damage an innocent person and offer a face-saving way for the police to make amends without spending a penny.

He gained a lot of new allies to his cause and a promise from the Calgary police to attend a talk of his on FASD.

"You know," Himmelreich said after the presentation, "I could have overreacted. As I sat in that van, I thought 'I can act differently or I can act in a way that it is going to make a change.' I sat in that van, and I knew I needed to do the right thing, which was keep calm and just keep moving forward."

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Quasimodo


Recall the impact that Dave Evans' speech had--it almost turned the tide.

And IIRC the dustup among the defense attorneys over whether or not Kirk Osborn
should have released the photo of Seligmann at the ATM--

but that turned out to be another major factor in turning public opinion.

Perhaps the better strategy would have been to recognize that the lax case wasn't
going to be tried by law, but by public opinion--certainly the other side was
attempting to do so (consider Nifong's 70 TV appearances).

And to respond in the public forum--give interviews, present evidence (post it all
on the NET), and go on the offensive against Nifong and co.

(MOO)





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Quasimodo

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My name is Dave Evans, and I'm the captain of the Duke University men's lacrosse team. I have to say that I'm very relieved to be the person who can come out and speak on behalf of my family and my team and let you know how we feel.

First I want to say that I am absolutely innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me today; that Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are innocent of all the charges that were brought against them. These allegations are lies, fabricated, and they will be proven wrong.

If I can go back to two months ago when the police first came to my home, I fully cooperated and have continued to try to cooperate with them. When they entered in and started to read the search warrant, my roommates and I helped them find evidence for almost an hour, and told them that if they had any questions we would gladly answer, to show them that nothing happened that night.

After that I went down to the police station and gave an uncounseled statement, because I knew that I had done nothing wrong and did not feel that I needed an attorney. After going through photos of my teammates and identifying who was there, I then submitted, perfectly willingly, DNA samples to the police. I then turned over my e-mail account, my AIM account, any kind of information that they could have, to show that I had not communicated in any way that anything had happened, because it did not happen. After that I asked to take a polygraph, which was refused by the Durham Police Department.

Over the past several weeks I have repeatedly through my lawyers tried to contact the district attorney. All of my attempts have been denied. I've tried to provide him with exculpatory evidence, showing that this could not have happened. Those attempts have been denied.

And as a result of his apparent lack of interest in my story — the true story — and any evidence proving that my story is correct, I asked my lawyer to get me a polygraph. I took that polygraph, and it was administered by a former FBI top polygrapher with over 28 years of experience. He's done several hundreds of sexual cases, and I passed it absolutely. And I passed that polygraph for the same reason that I will be acquitted of all these charges, because I have done nothing wrong and I am telling the truth, and I have told the truth from day one.

I'd like to say thank you to my friends and family, my coach and members of the community who have stood by us, through everything from the initial weeks to now. Their support has given me the strength to come through this. But the thing that gives me the most strength is knowing that I have the truth behind me, and it will not faze me.

If I can close, I have always taken pride in my name. I take pride in my name today, and I will gladly stand up to anything that comes up against me. I've never had my character questioned before. Anyone who's met me knows that this didn't happen, and I appreciate your support.

As for my teammates, I love you all. The honor of being voted captain of all of you — the 46 best guys you could ever meet — it's been the greatest honor of my life.

If I can clear things up and say this one more time, I am innocent, Reade Seligmann is innocent, Collin Finnerty is innocent. Every member of the Duke University lacrosse team is innocent.

You have all been told some fantastic lies, and I look forward in watching them unravel in the weeks to come as they already have in weeks past and the truth will come out.

Thank you for your time.
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