Protestors: A Tale of Two Cities
Dan Clore
Protesters: A tale of two cities
by Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
PORTLAND - Police Chief Mark Kroeker found a lesson
in the Seattle police response to World Trade
Organization protests: Police need to make a show of
force, even display a bit of bristle when street
violence is a threat.
"If you're willing to take a stand you're going to do
a heck of a lot better than if you vacillate," Kroeker
said.
On May Day in Portland, 150 city police fired beanbag
rounds, swung batons and sprayed pepper gas in a
face-off with 350 marchers. The downtown businesses
came through largely unscathed. But with 19 arrests and
about 20 claims of injuries, marchers accused police of
overreacting and stomping on constitutional rights of
expression.
Police in Olympia faced with May Day protesters put the
emphasis on tolerance. They suited up a riot squad in
case of trouble but kept it hidden and allowed 400
demonstrators to occupy a busy intersection for five
hours. That approach earned praise from protesters but
was attacked by irate residents upset by snarled
traffic and bawdy conduct.
In the Northwest, there's still no consensus within
communities - sometimes even within police ranks - on
where to strike the balance between force and tolerance.
The protests aren't likely to stop soon. Activists are
eager to build on the successful November mobilization
with more events around the region and the nation. Police
are wary, fearing even small marches may offer cover to a
minority bent on property damage.
They are sharing intelligence, monitoring activist Web
sites and debating tactics. Last week's national convention
of the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, D.C.,
included a headline talk by former Seattle Police Chief Norm
Stamper titled "Sleepless in Seattle."
Police tactics also were the subject of much debate last
week in Olympia and Portland. In Olympia, the lenient
approach came under fire.
"What is wrong with this picture? Why should we have to put
up with this? Have they no tear gas?" wrote Chet Meyers, an
Olympia resident in a letter to the editor published in The
Olympian.
But a tough stance holds political peril. Last Tuesday
evening at a public forum convened by Portland Mayor Vera
Katz to review police conduct, Kroeker faced a hissing,
booing crowd.
"We're calling on the mayor to censure Police Chief
Kroeker - and if such an incident should repeat, to fire
him," said Melodie Silverwolf, a May Day marcher whose
remarks drew cheers and foot stomps from activists who
jammed the forum. "We will no longer tolerate being
treated like criminals for having the audacity to
exercise our rights."
Kroeker, a former Los Angeles deputy police chief who
took over the top Portland post last December, still has
a firm hold on the job. But it's been a rough few weeks
for a man who made his mark in California as a plain-spoken,
progressive officer.
City Commissioner Charlie Hales, who happened to see the
protest, has expressed concern about police conduct. And
The Oregonian, the state's largest newspaper, ran a
front-page article last week about rank-and-file police
officers questioning the May Day tactics.
Kroeker said the show of force was prudent, prompted by
intelligence reports indicating some people might carry
out the kind of attacks Seattle businesses suffered when
the World Trade Organization met there last fall. On the
eve of the Portland march, someone smashed windows and
sprayed graffiti on the exterior of a Nike outlet store
in northeast Portland, Nike officials said.
The next day, Monday, marchers assembled in that same
section of town. Their ranks included labor activists,
affordable-housing advocates and environmentalists. Also
present: 30 to 40 people dressed in black with face masks
and stocking caps similar to those worn by anarchists
linked to trouble in Seattle.
The marchers took a roundabout route through a residential
neighborhood, across a Willamette River bridge and into
downtown Portland. Though they held permits for a picnic,
they had failed to get a permit to make the walk to that
site.
As they made their way through the streets, the 150 police
followed them, some on horseback and most in full riot gear.
Most marchers were peaceful.
"Every once in a while one of those guys with black masks
would jump up and try and get us to do something. But we
ignored them," said Jamie Walton, a 50-year-old Portland
woman attending her first protest.
But police grew uneasy. Someone threw a brick or rock at
Portland's flagship Nike store. Someone else threw a
firecracker into the lap of a mounted officer. And a group
of black-masked marchers headed toward police in what
Kroeker termed "a very aggressive move."
Police declared a "street emergency" at 3:45 p.m. and
ordered the marchers to evacuate to a riverside park. Some
police charged the crowd on horseback. Others moved in on
foot.
"I was crossing the street when one officer just went
running through the intersection and knocked me down,"
said Walton, who came to last week's community forum with
two black eyes and a bruised forehead. "I'm 6-foot-1 and
weigh 280 pounds. So I think he saw me. He just took me
down."
Many other May Day marchers angrily spoke at the community
meeting.
-- Several people say they saw a mounted officer press a
marcher and her young daughter against a storefront in an
action that risked trampling the girl underneath horse
hoofs.
-- Attorney Brent Foster showed videotape of a police
officer firing beanbag rounds close-range at four marchers
in retreat. Beanbag rounds are 12-gauge shells that contain
a fabric bag filled with lead shot.
-- Tiffany Smith, a 17-year-old veteran of the Seattle WTO
protests, said she was trapped between police ranks, then
beaten with batons. She pulled up her shirt to show a deep
purple welt on her back. "I was gassed in Seattle but never
saw anything as crazy as in Portland."
Kroeker stoically endured the criticism, telling the crowd
an internal review is planned. "I'm not here to tell you
that everything this organization does is perfect," he said.
"I'm here to listen."
In Olympia, police also are reviewing their response to May
Day marchers. They're wondering whether they were too soft
when they allowed the protesters, many from nearby Evergreen
College, to illegally occupy a busy intersection.
Olympia police said they were on alert because of strident
Internet rhetoric before the march. They wanted riot police
on hand but were concerned the helmets and batons might
provoke the crowd.
Officials opted for a strategy of "soft" and "hard" forces.
The soft force was composed of unarmed police who met with
protesters and monitored their activity. The hard force of
riot police would stay hidden unless there was trouble.
The event ended up being part protest against capitalism and
part May Day frolic as music blared from speakers and women
began baring their breasts. The group eventually disbanded
peacefully.
In the days that followed, dozens of Olympia residents
complained about police inaction. Next time, police say,
they might act differently.
"People are upset, and we're going to have to take a look
at how we deal with this in the future," said Lt. Tor
Bjornstad.
Hal Bernton's phone message number is 206-464-2581.
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Dan Clore
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