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Alex LIfeson in jail 2004, what really happened?


YYZumbi
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I really couldn't blame Rush if they never came to the Militarized States of 'merica again. They have very, very, very little crime in Canada, and thus, very few cops, and they don't look like soldiers. People are able to work things out up there. This was just another case of visitors to the US not really understanding how militarized and brutal our police are, AND, of course, the failure of Americans to be willing to work things out, but just "call the law" at the first sign of "trouble." I'm pathetic.

 

Yes, you are.

 

You can always move to the liberal socialized mecca of Canada. Those of us who LOVE America are tired of paying for your America-hating sorry self anyhow.

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I really couldn't blame Rush if they never came to the Militarized States of 'merica again. They have very, very, very little crime in Canada, and thus, very few cops, and they don't look like soldiers. People are able to work things out up there. This was just another case of visitors to the US not really understanding how militarized and brutal our police are, AND, of course, the failure of Americans to be willing to work things out, but just "call the law" at the first sign of "trouble." I'm pathetic.

 

Yes, you are.

 

You can always move to the liberal socialized mecca of Canada. Those of us who LOVE America are tired of paying for your America-hating sorry self anyhow.

You're posting a lot of stuff out of ignorance. I'm sorry you can't see things in the country for the way they are. Sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade.

 

And, you're definitely not "paying for me."

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I really couldn't blame Rush if they never came to the Militarized States of 'merica again. They have very, very, very little crime in Canada, and thus, very few cops, and they don't look like soldiers. People are able to work things out up there. This was just another case of visitors to the US not really understanding how militarized and brutal our police are, AND, of course, the failure of Americans to be willing to work things out, but just "call the law" at the first sign of "trouble." I'm pathetic.

 

Yes, you are.

 

You can always move to the liberal socialized mecca of Canada. Those of us who LOVE America are tired of paying for your America-hating sorry self anyhow.

You're posting a lot of stuff out of ignorance. I'm sorry you can't see things in the country for the way they are. Sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade.

 

And, you're definitely not "paying for me."

 

Be easy on him. It's really hard for people to overcome their own misinformed ignorance.

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Cliff Notes Version: New Year's Eve party. Alex' son apparently went on stage when he should not have (alcohol involved). Cops and/or security intervened at the request of the hotel staff and it all got a little gruff. Alex tried to intervene (again, alcohol involved). Alex ended up with a broken nose and was tased multiple times (because, you know, that kind of force is needed when someone has a little too much to drink at a hotel party on New Year's Eve - sarcastic font there). Alex and his son eventually plead down to misdemeanor charges. The hotel later agreed to a confidential settlement with Lifeson and his family. Translation: Alex and his son probably weren't their best behaved that night, but the hotel and/or cops/security likely weren't either. All too often, we try to say this side was right and that side was wrong, but we forget to leave space for the possibility that both sides made mistakes.

 

If VH1 ever brings back "Behind the Music" and does an episode on Rush, this part will be the lone "bad boy rock star moment" in a 40+ year career.... it would be a very boring episode, I think.

 

This was on a top list of most shocking musician (or celebrity) arrests. It made it on the list because the guys had such pristine images.

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http://www.naplesnews.com/news/crime/ritz-carlton-settles-lawsuit-rush-guitarists-son

 

NAPLES - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit involving a rock band Rush guitarist's son who was punched and hit with Tasers at a 2003 New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, after attorneys agreed to a settlement.

 

U.S. District Judge John E. Steele, who sits in Fort Myers, recently dismissed the lawsuit.

 

He did so on the same day attorneys for Alex Zivojinovich — best known as guitarist Alex Lifeson — Zivojinovich's son, Justin, and the hotel and its night manager filed a notice of settlement involving events at a $500-a-plate, black-tie party that rang in 2004.

 

Attorney Michael R.N. McDonnell of Naples, who represented Zivojinovich, declined comment, saying only, "It's resolved. Everything is confidential."

Attorney Judith Mercier of Fort Lauderdale, who represented the beachfront Ritz-Carlton in North Naples, and night-shift manager Frank Barner, haven't been available to comment.

The settlement comes four months after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled on April 23 that a jury must decide whether statements made by Barner set off a series of events that caused injuries to Zivojinovich.

 

Other claims by Alex Zivojinovich and Justin's wife, Michelle, who had been plaintiffs, weren't reinstated by the appeal court.

 

Three Collier County Sheriff's Office deputies named in the lawsuit — Amy Stanford, Christopher Knott and Scott Russell — were fully cleared when U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson, sitting in Fort Myers, dismissed the Zivojinoviches' lawsuit on April 5, 2007.

 

He ruled Collier County Sheriff's deputies didn't use excessive force when they used Tasers against the guitarist and his son, and punched the father, breaking his nose, and that the hotel and Barner weren't negligent.

But the three-justice appeals panel overturned part of that ruling, finding that Justin Zivojinovich's claim should be heard by a federal jury.

The judges ruled that when Barner and front-desk employee Azure Sorrell exaggerated what was occurring to a 911 dispatcher, and when Barner then lied to deputy Knott, they knowingly put Justin Zivojinovich at greater risk of physical injury.

They also ruled Sorrell breached her duty under the law when she said "disorderly people" were "trashing the place," "jumping on furniture," and "ripping things apart" because that was untrue.

By exaggerating the severity of Justin Zivojinovich's misbehavior, the judges ruled, she increased the risk that the deputies would use force to remove him from the hotel.

And, they ruled, when the Ritz sold Justin Zivojinovich a ticket to the New Year's Eve dinner, the hotel had a duty to its guests to protect Zivojinovich from harm due to reasonably foreseeable risks of injury.

 

Court records provide this account:

Justin Zivojinovich was dancing boisterously and twice got on stage, where bands were playing — at one point asking the audience to cheer the band. The second time, his father jumped on stage with him, playing a conga drum.

 

Later, at 11:15 p.m., when Justin Zivojinovich began dancing with a male friend, Barner radioed the front desk, asking Sorrell to phone the Collier County Sheriff's Office to have him escorted out and to issue a trespass warning.

 

Sorrell called 911 and when asked if weapons were involved, she said she was worried because deputies weren't responding.

 

To ensure they had all the information, Barner also called a dispatcher to say two disorderly people were screaming and yelling, jumping on stage, commandeering the bandstand, and giving band members a hard time.

 

He said he'd warned Justin Zivojinovich, but he yelled back, cursing and carrying on. At the time, however, Barner hadn't even spoken with Zivojinovich.

 

Deputies Knott, Russell and Stanford arrived and Barner exaggerated the events, claiming Justin Zivojinovich cursed and yelled when asked to leave the stage. As his son was escorted out, Alex Zivojinovich pleaded with deputies, saying it was New Year's Eve and they hadn't done anything. He asked that his son be allowed to leave.

 

Stanford warned the father to stand back and later pulled Justin Zivojinovich's right arm up, prompting him to scream she was hurting him. As they entered a stairway, he pulled his arm away, straightening it. Knott pushed him, causing Zivojinovich and Stanford to fall down the stairs, where Zivojinovich landed on his chest and Stanford fell on him.

 

A struggle ensued, with deputies using Tasers and Stanford hitting the elder Zivojinovich's face, and Russell punching him and breaking his nose.

 

The father and son were arrested on a felony charge of resisting arrest with violence, but pleaded to a misdemeanor resisting charge and were sentenced to probation. A misdemeanor resisting charge filed against Michelle Zivojinovich was dismissed.

 

In a separate lawsuit filed in Collier Circuit Court, Stanford sued Alex Zivojinovich in July 2005, citing permanent and progressive injuries that included neurological and dental damage that required implants.

 

She and her attorney, Paul Finizio of Fort Lauderdale, went through mediation with Zivojinovich and attorney Paul Weekley, but reached a "total impasse" in February. In March, court records show, they settled and Zivojinovich paid her $75,000 for her injuries.

 

Stanford's signed "release of claims" says the settlement is the "compromise of a doubtful and disputed claim and that the payment is not to be construed as an admission of liability on the part of Zivojinovich."

 

Although it wasn't sealed in the court file, the three-page release says the terms are confidential and not to be disclosed to the public or media without consent of the parties involved. Finizio declined comment, citing the confidentiality clause.

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What Neil Peart says about the incident from his book Roadshow:

 

 

tirade about the Florida law enforcement, KKK, ect.) In 2004, my band mate Alex was living through a more recent bad experience with the Florida law enforcement. Earlier that year, a horrible, nightmarish encounter had left him severely battered, bloody, and facing serious felony charges. He and Charlene had bought a holiday home in a luxury property in Naples, Florida, and on a previous New Year's Eve, they attended a black-tie event at the neighboring Ritz Carlton hotel, with their son Justin and his wife Michelle. They were all having a wonderful time, enjoying a great meal and dancing wildly to the live band. Just after midnight, while the band was taking a break, Justin stepped up on the band platform to wish his wife a Happy New Year over the microphone. A grumpy keyboard player called hotel security to have him removed.

 

 

When they tried to escort him off the property, Alex stood up and told the security goons his son wasn't going anywhere. They decided to call the local sheriff's department. When the deputies arrived they dragged Alex and Justin into a stairwell, out of sight of witnesses (well they thought) and security cameras. They started beating on Justin, shoving him down the stairs, and Alex, like any father, tried to intercede and defend his son-who was guilty; after all, of taking into a microphone.

 

 

In a nightmarish few seconds of unbelievable violence, Alex and Justin were both brutally beaten and shot with Tazer guns, 10 times altogether. Alex found himself face down on the landing in a pool of his own blood, his nose broken, then he was cuffed and hauled away to jail. In growing horror and disbelief he was held for the worst two days of his life and charged with several felony offenses of assault against the deputies. He faced not only automatic prison time, but felony conviction that would ban him from the United States forever.

 

 

(…tirade about Alex's treatment at the hands of the Florida constabulary and other comments.) A year later, a witness finally came forward to corroborate Alex and Justin's story, as reported in the local Naples newspaper (which had, unbelievably, published actual his home address in its first story about the incident). A former employee at the hotel said that he had seen the way Alex and Justin were treated, and that it had been, "extreme police brutality." He also testified that it had been the female deputy who had thrown Alex down the stairs: "She grabbed him by the throat and he went falling backward."

 

 

Neil says in his book that Florida Police in general are by far the worst in America and I believe him. He also says that Florida people in general are the rudest by percentage, but there are still 9 good ones for every bad one. Can't comment on that as I've never visited the State.

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I saw this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGJhaCS6WA

 

I know that he had some problems with the law, back in 2003-2004, but Im not really sure what happened.

 

Someone that could please tell me?

 

It's amazing to me how polite and calm he is with that douchey fan there and after everything he just went through.

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I saw this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGJhaCS6WA

 

I know that he had some problems with the law, back in 2003-2004, but Im not really sure what happened.

 

Someone that could please tell me?

 

It's amazing to me how polite and calm he is with that douchey fan there and after everything he just went through.

 

And that weird woman who tried to hug/assault him and this is in a place with security and cameras. What creepy people (I wonder if they post here?). And people wonder why Neil is leery of fans? Imagine what some "fans" could be like in a normal situation.

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Rush doesn't have much good luck in Fla . Anyone here remember or was at the Hollywood Sportatorium show when the riot broke out? I think it was Permanent Waves tour. As far as Florida people being the rudest well ....OH I don't know . I mean I grew up in Ft Laud area and yah I guess Fla has it's share of jerks.I've seen some seriously effed up stuff during those famous 1980's spring breaks off Ft Laud beach. Not from the police but from the people there. Still it was generally known not to give the Ft Laud city police any grief . I'm just surprised none of those Naples officers even recognized Alex. I mean how can you not know one of the greatest guitarist of all times? And even if he was a little tipsy does it warrant the abuse? NO!
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What does this have to do with Rush and their music?

Yeah this is probably the wrong sub-forum but I'm glad I got to read posts #7 and #19, since I was just wondering this morning what really happened.

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What does this have to do with Rush and their music?

Yeah this is probably the wrong sub-forum but I'm glad I got to read posts #7 and #19, since I was just wondering this morning what really happened.

 

What about #59 and #60?

 

*cries in corner*

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What does this have to do with Rush and their music?

Yeah this is probably the wrong sub-forum but I'm glad I got to read posts #7 and #19, since I was just wondering this morning what really happened.

 

What about #59 and #60?

 

*cries in corner*

Sorry I moved on after aboot 20 posts on the subject. Did you have something insightful to add?

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What does this have to do with Rush and their music?

Yeah this is probably the wrong sub-forum but I'm glad I got to read posts #7 and #19, since I was just wondering this morning what really happened.

 

What about #59 and #60?

 

*cries in corner*

Sorry I moved on after aboot 20 posts on the subject. Did you have something insightful to add?

 

Nope, just a lot more details and sources.

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I saw this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGJhaCS6WA

 

I know that he had some problems with the law, back in 2003-2004, but Im not really sure what happened.

 

Someone that could please tell me?

 

It's amazing to me how polite and calm he is with that douchey fan there and after everything he just went through.

 

And that weird woman who tried to hug/assault him and this is in a place with security and cameras. What creepy people (I wonder if they post here?). And people wonder why Neil is leery of fans? Imagine what some "fans" could be like in a normal situation.

 

I know, that was really weird. Uhh...not really the time for that, lady. Alex was as polite as could be given the situation.

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Looking at a map to see how close Naples is to Miami...

 

Naples is supposed to be the more quieter, more subdued side of south Florida.

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