CHIEF OF SLAVE THEATER ARRESTED

Hardy’s arrest is an outrage! The day of the inspection, there was a first initial visit by the NYPD, but after receiving proper identification from the engineer there was no action taken and the inspection was allowed to continue. About an hour later, 8-10 police officers arrived while the building was being secured. At that time Mr. Hardy was placed under arrest outside the building. After being held at the precinct for a length of time, Mr. Hardy requested to be transported to Woodhull hospital, as he did not have his medication made available to him after the arrest and was concerned he would not receive it while in custody. The elderly Hardy was taken to the hospital strapped down and in hand and ankle cuffs and returned to the precinct hours later in the same manner, minus the body straps. Hardy was then taken to central booking where he was not arraigned until 1:00am on Monday morning.
The Slave Theater has been an open door for many community based organizations and the people of Bedford Stuyvesant for many years and Clarence Hardy has been a key individual in allowing these people to use The Slave as a platform to give valuable information to the community. Despite many obstacles and struggle for legal recognition, he has been the biggest advocate in maintaining the space as a cultural resource center. The disgraceful arrest and misconduct of the 79th precinct is a blatant tactic to rob the community of this resource and it is necessary that this arrest be looked into. No matter how much intimidation and harassment, Clarence Hardy and his supporters will continue to fight for this cultural gem.
All supporters of The Slave Theater will not give up and will not give in.