Harassed Midwife, CopBlock Writer, Katie McCall Publishes Memoir
The Tyranny of the Cubicle showcases today’s out-of-control “criminal justice system”. Unfortunately it is factual, and the entity that has been harmed is not some amorphous “state” but its author, Katie McCall, a sweet, kind mom, respected midwife and most-recently, Cop Block writer.
From the books description:
Katie McCall went from being a mother of two and professional midwife, to homeless single mother and convicted felon, at the whim of people she’d never met, who decided from within their cubicles that she needed to be punished. Let her cautionary tale show you how easy it is to fall victim to the tyranny of the cubicle.
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Six months ago Katie McCall shared with Cop Block readers:
In August 2009, my world was knocked upside down by a police officer at my door who told me he “didn’t need a warrant.” I apparently “didn’t know who” I was “dealing with.” He was with Rampart LAPD after all. I mean, really. Who was I, a recently divorced mother of two young children?
He gave me to the count of 10 to open my door or he threatened to kick it in. He began his countdown as I cried, still asking him why he didn’t need a warrant. Meanwhile, one of his brothers in blue slipped around to the back of my home and slid through the gate. My understanding of my country was forever altered. As Benjamin Franklin so aptly stated, “Where liberty is, there is my country.” At that moment, I realized for the first time that my allegiance was not to this man, or to the power he professed to represent.
But it was too late. He chained me like an animal (I had never before been in handcuffs) . . . Peaceful human beings should never be chained or put in cages like I was.
I am so happy to find this forum for exposing and holding accountable mere men who exert violence in the name of a badge. The LAPD cop at my door was not the last time that I encountered these kinds of threats. He was the introduction to a parade of individuals with overblown ideas of personal power. DCFS, family court, the Medical Board of my state, the criminal justice system, the LA County Sheriff’s Department, the county jail, the probation racket…
Katie has been dragged through a bureaucratic labyrinth of unaccountability. She never hurt anyone – in fact she helped to rectify a precarious situation – yet, like many of us who have first-hand experience with those who claim the authority to dictate our lives, she’s – to say the least – been wronged. Currently she’s told she cannot practice her skill. Her passion. Or else.
In the 200-pages that make-up The Tyranny of the Cubicle you’ll see the insidious impact caused by others “just doing their job”, which erects hurdles that severely hamper Katie’s ability to provide for herself and her family. This situation is exemplary of something we often point-out here at Cop Block: incentives matter.
Despite the on-going harassment Katie, through her book and other outlets, is speaking-out and making her situation known to others. She’s also connecting with other midwifes who are similarly targeted. She’s taken a subpar situation and leveraged it to make clear that changes need to occur. The alternative she proffers is one that I can get behind: consensual interactions for all goods and services.
I’ve been fortunate to call Katie a friend since earlier this year. Her tenacity is enviable. Come January, Katie should be free to travel outside the prison defined by the artificial political boundaries known as California. And with that, hopefully a better life for her and her family, where she can practice her trade with those who hire her without fear of some strangers trying to steal her money or threatening her with a cage.
- Katie’s blog: supportmidwifekatiemccall.wordpress.com
- All posts authored by Katie on CopBlock.org
- Porc Therapy podcast episode on which Katie is a guest
