Tacoma
Police Aggressively
Attack Peace Demonstrators
By Kevin Zeese
20 April, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Recently, a friend moved to the
U.S. from China. She had never seen the Tiananmen Sq. demonstrations
including that famous scene of the lone demonstrator standing in front
of the Chinese tank. I thought how amazing that a billion people can
be kept ignorant of something so important. Then, a week after the events
described below I saw an amazing video about a peaceful demonstration
in Tacoma, WA that turned violent when police opened fire with tear
gas and firing rubber bullets at close range on the demonstrators.
You can see the video of the demonstrations and the police violence
at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=q1_lmvhkv3c
The video, one of many, showed how extreme the militarism of the United
States had become. It has also shown how the establishment media does
not cover all the news; indeed, sometimes the most important news is
not covered. As far as I know the video was never shown on CNN, MSNBC
or any of the major networks – hundreds of millions of Americans
were kept ignorant of what occurred. Would seeing the videos of the
aggressive police action had enlightened Americans of the militarization
of our country?
In an effort to expand knowledge about this event I interviewed, Caitlin
Esworthy of resident of Olympia, WA, who participated in the demonstrations.
She is a student at The Evergreen State College, a member of Port Militarization
Resistance of Olympia and the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace.
These are two of the four organizations involved in this project. The
others were Students for a Democratic Society and United for Peace,
Pierce County. Descriptions of the organizations and their contact information
are at the end of the interview with Ms. Esworthy.
Kevin Zeese: “What was the purpose of the demonstrations
at the Tacoma port?”
Caitlin Esworthy: I think there were a number of goals set out during
the two weeks of protests, some articulated and some unspoken. Most
attainably, we aimed to show our support by voicing our desire to see
that the 4th Stryker Brigade 2nd Division remains home and to demonstrate
non-violently our opposition to the war in Iraq. Ultimately though,
we would like to end the occupation and bring our troops home, and we
hope that our actions contribute to the success of the anti-war movement.
KZ: “Describe the protests? What were the protesters doing?”
CE: The protest spanned about two weeks and the community activists
as well as the police chose numerous tactics and methods of organizing.
Visibility vigils in the downtown area as well as at the port, marches,
chants, holding signs, assembling nearest we were able to the Stryker
convoys and the ship being loaded to get our message to the troops and
longshore workers that we want the 4th brigade to stay safe at home,
street theater with the Tacoma Puppetistas, etc. We were using nonviolent
direct action and expressing our democratic right to assemble and show
dissent with the government’s policies.
KZ: “What was the police reaction?”
CE: In sum: force, intimidation and erasure of numerous constitutionally
protected rights. Over the course of the two weeks (from March 2nd to
the 17th) the police chose to daily escalate their tactics in response
to the large groups of people voicing their opposition to the occupation
of Iraq and in favor of keeping the 4th Brigade home. There were consistent,
daily attacks on our civil liberties and safety as citizens including:
harassment, use of nighttime spotlights on pedestrians and drivers that
resulted in disorientation and intimidation, use of “less-than-lethal”
(read: sometimes lethal) weapons on non-violent protestors, RAMPANT
violation of citizen’s right to not be videotaped by public officials
without probable cause, officers refusing to identify themselves, restriction
of the right to wear backpacks on a public street and the repeated restriction
of citizen’s right to assemble within reasonable proximity to
that which they are protesting so that the nature of their protest is
not fundamentally altered (both of which are supported by Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals decisions), vehicles being searched without cause or
warrant, the list goes on.
KZ: “What kinds of injuries were there? Was any emergency
medical care provided on the scene? How about private medical assistance?”
CE: I was the first person the police decided to arrest and I sustained
scrapes, numerous bruises, and am still dealing with a costly and painful
neck injury. On that same night following my arrest, Wally Cuddeford
was tased three times WHILE he was passively lying on the ground with
a number of police officers restraining him. Shortly after, Jeff Berryhill
was shot with a rubber bullet while lifting a cloth “Courage to
Resist” sign with both hands above his head to render it visible
to the bus of military personnel driving past. During the week pepper
spray and tear gas were deployed numerous times on nonviolent protesters
resulting in varying reactions, those with contacts or asthma having
a more painful and traumatic experience.
The medical care that was
provided was primarily by our trained medics who were present at the
protests. I would add that because we were not allowed to bring backpack
into designated areas (what I call our “free speech zones”)
many of the medics were left without necessary equipment. After Jeff,
Wally, and my arrest, we were given access to police provided medical
attention. I would also add that I personally did not feel comfortable
getting treatment from the same unit that had just brutalized me. This
would contrast with the Olympia medical attention provided in May 2006
when the fire department and emergency response team established a fire
truck, water, and medical treatment behind protest lines to render attention
more accessible and safe for those not willing to risk arrest because
of an injury.
You can see a video of medics not being allowed to assist people at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KXO7t0GGVPI
More reports of injury are likely to surface in any further civil suits.
Many have filled out claim of damage forms already.
KZ: “How do the police defend their actions? And, what
is your rebuttal?”
CE: To be honest, I have no idea how they justify much of their actions;
it is beyond my comprehension. I think that in the post-1999 Seattle
WTO protest world police repression is approached with confidence in
a reduced level of accountability as well as media complicity (evidenced
with the Republican National Convention and the Miami FTAA trade round).
I think that the Tacoma police,
in conjunction with over four other regional policing forces, approached
their being hired by the Port of Tacoma to ensure the safe shipment
of deadly Stryker vehicles and support vehicles as a way to maintain
order. The idea that repressing citizen’s right to assemble, harassing
and injuring nonviolent demonstrators, and illegally videotaping protestors
are acceptable tactics to maintain order and even that they are strategic
is beyond me. I don’t think that any police force should ever
be above the law and there is no excuse for these transgressions.
Additionally, they did not
fulfill their duty to communicate properly, which became particularly
consequential when a number of people sitting peacefully were tear-gassed.
They would occasionally send a representative to dictate with whatever
they deemed to be the appropriate spokesperson of the protestors “the
ground rules.” Sergeant Barrett claimed that he wanted to have
a “nice event” yet he was one of the officers in charge
the night Wally was tased.
One of the ways the police
defend their actions is about deliberately lying, particularly to media.
One example of this is documented on YouTube in which a detective told
a local news program that protesters threw wooden barricades at the
police which are what provoked the tear gassing on Friday the 9th. In
an interview caught on independent media, two activists challenge him
to substantiate those claims, which he was not able to. Another example
is the fact that there was a verbal rumor in the police unit on duty
the night after Wally, Jeff, and I were arrested that we had attacked,
charged, grabbed at and threw gravel during our arrests. If that had
actually happened perhaps our third degree assault felony charges would
have some basis. Unfortunately, our charges were dropped immediately
and as of yet no cause report has been filed to explain the Tacoma police’s
arrest and charging of us.
You can see a video of the police comments to the media and the very
clear evidence that they were lying at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=z-w7g_8ZCYU
KZ: “Were there any prosecutions of demonstrators? What was the
result?”
CE: The charging and prosecution of those arrested has been less than
consistent. Peter Ryan, was arrested on the 9th with obstruction and
failure to disperse. Of the 23 people arrested on March 11th I believe
11 are being charged. The eight who chose to risk arrest my wearing
backpacks into the ‘free speech zones’ have been charged
with disobeying a flag officer, which is a traffic violation.
In an interesting addendum, the trial that happened two weeks ago for
the people arrested in Olympia during the May 2006 shipment resulted
in an interesting conclusion. After four chaotic days in the courtroom
(which included the defense catching a police officer lying while on
the stand, the judge declaring a rarely granted recess after the prosecutor
had an emotional breakdown, and the prosecutor tainting the jury by
bringing up incriminating evidence on the defendants that they had decided
to not include during the pretrial and flashing pictures of mug shots
to the jury) the judge declared a mistrial. The circumstances were highly
questionable. Throughout the week it had become clear that the jury
appeared to favor acquitting the defendants. On the afternoon of Thursday,
March 29th three men entered the courtroom and presented to the judge
evidence that confidential jury information had been leaked. The evidence
presented was e-mails sent out on a PRIVATE, moderated list serve populated
only by the defendants and the legal team. It requires a moderator to
sign anyone on and on this particular list there had been communication
issues because there was such a delay between sending and posting (because
both the e-mails and entrants had to be “okayed” by the
moderator and he wasn’t always around to do so). The conclusion
that the defendants seem to have made is that the list serve was hacked
into and tampered with allowing for others to join without the knowledge
of the moderator. The right of lawyer/client confidentiality clearly
allows e-mail as a mode of communication.
KZ: “What actions are planned for the future?”
CE: We are looking at two more Stryker deployments out of Fort Lewis
within 2007. We have been working to solidify organizational structure
and a regional network to facilitate better and more effective communication
as well as create more effective actions.
Further information:
Port Militarization Resistance (PMR):
The main group involved in
organizing, two chapters exist, the first one in Olympia and the second
in Tacoma.
PMR was formed in Olympia in May 2006 during the two-week protest period
of the deployment of the 5th Stryker Brigade. Formed at an OMJP meeting,
it was a diverse group of people working on a campaign to end the use
of Olympia’s municipal property for the occupation of Iraq. I
have attached a campaign plan drafted in February 2007 by Olympians
in preparation for the deployment of the 4th Brigade 2nd Division, which
we believed was going through the Port of Olympia.
Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace (OMJP):
A broad, socio-economic justice
group formed during the First Gulf War that works on issues from health
care to homelessness. Serves as a main hub of peace and justice organizing
in Olympia. Many individual members were involved in the March 2007
port actions but OMJP was not directly responsible for the organizing.
www.omjp.org Offers
the most complete compendium of documents, photos, articles, etc., of
both the May 2006 and March 2007 port protests.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS):
Includes chapters in Olympia
and Tacoma. Tacoma SDS, a student group formed last year was the main
group organizing out of Tacoma. Tacoma SDS was instrumental in securing
meeting locations at the University of Puget Sound, outreach to the
community, etc., during the March 2007 port protests. SDS Olympia and
Tacoma are both multi-issue organization but have focused primarily
on anti-war organizing with teach-ins and vigils. www.tacomasds.org
United For Peace Pierce County (UFPPC):
UFPPC is a local chapter
of the United for Peace and Justice national organization. They are
involved in various peace activities involving themselves in numerous
campaigns and demonstrations. UFPPC was integral in producing commentary
and independent accounts of what transpired during the demonstrations.
The group accumulated all of this information, as well as photos, and
posted them on their website providing a critical element in building
and communicating the sentiments of the growing anti-war movement. www.ufppc.org
Kevin Zeese is director of
DemocracyRising.US and co-founder of VotersForPeace.US.
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