âI fought the law but no one wonâ.
Lead singer of The Plasmatics Wendy O. Williams and band manager Rod Swenson in court at the Milwaukee County Courthouse in 1981 (photo by Andree Peyrot / Milwaukee Journal).
After the usual punk mayhem and naughty routine at a Plasmatics gig in Milwaukee, undercover cops attempted to arrest Wendy O. Williams because of conduct prohibited in licensed premises, since she was making âsexual gesturesâ with her -possibly naked- upper body covered in âwhat appeared to be whipped cream or soap latherâ but then a cop touched her indecently while she was being put into the police van, so she slapped him and a fight broke out.
ââŠAccording to the reports of her arrest in the Journal and Sentinel, police said Williams kicked one officer, injuring his hand, while Swenson, trying to stop police officers struggling with the singer, kicked another officer in the face..
âŠWilliams told the Journal in a Jan. 20, 1981, story that âshe was thrown to the ground by about five police officers, held outside in the snow for a long period of time and forced to walk from the police van into the police station with no shoes onâŠ.â
Chris Foran of the Journal Sentinel
However, in a dramatic turn of events, some local photographerâs photos came to light, showing an officer âwith his hand on Williamsâ neck, shoving her head into the snow, while she appeared to be crying out in painâ and the Assistant District Attorney initially dropped some of the charges, while the rest were dismissed in court.
In turn, Wendy O.Williams filed a $5.95 million lawsuit against the police officers involved in her arrest but after 3 years the jury ruled that they hadnât used excessive force or unlawfully arrested her.
It seems that all that had taken place during this incident, her naughty performance, her arrest, as well as the kicking, punching and fighting with the cops were within the limits of the lawâŠ
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