Rush guitarist continues legal fight

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is far from through in his legal battle with some police officers that stems from his arrest in Naples, Florida, in December 2003. Lifeson was dealt a setback recently in his case against some sheriff's deputies in Collier County when U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson of the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida's Fort Myers division ruled that the officers were in the right when they arrested and used Tasers on Lifeson and his son Justin Zivojinovich.

The guitarist told the Canadian Press that he's appealing the decision because "I'm not the first person that's been beaten up in Florida... but I can't just not do something. I can't just let it go." He added, "I feel terrible for the guy who doesn't have any money or doesn't have any celebrity who this happens to all the time... If I can do something to make it easier for the next guy who gets jumped on by the cops, then I'll feel good about it."

Lifeson also slagged the judge's ruling when he said, "We have thousands of pages of documents, we have about 15 witnesses, we have video, we have so much compelling evidence of the brutality that we went through that night. To have it just thrown out, and to have a judge, who advocates me being punched in the face twice by two cops, breaking my nose and Tasering me six times, (deem it) as adequate and appropriate conduct on the part of the police, that's not right."

The Lifeson men were arrested at a New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and during the melee, Alex's nose was broken and he and his son were zapped multiple times with Tasers. He said, "I didn't sleep for months (afterward). Not more than two hours. I was in total fear. My wife was in a deep depression and that was killing me to see that. She was worried that her husband and her son were going to jail, and they were threatening me with 30 years in prison at the time." Alex and Justin eventually took a plea deal and have already finished their probation.

Rush released a new album this week called Snakes & Arrows. They kick off a North American tour on June 13th in Atlanta. Alex admitted that the band's travel arrangements have been affected by the situation when he said, "We used to stay at Ritz-Carltons all over the place, we used to spend a lot of money with them. We don't now."
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