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Police, protesters clash on second night of curfew
Police beef up presence; hundreds arrested
Wednesday, December 1, 1999
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
(Last updated 2:10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 2)
With downtown Seattle under a 7 p.m.-to-dawn curfew for the second night, confrontations between police and protesters continued in other parts of the city.
For a second night, demonstrators, residents and police clashed on Capitol Hill. Police tried to scatter the crowd with tear gas, flash bombs and pepper spray.
(See new story for today's WTO developments.)
Residents stood on street corners and shouted at police and National Guard troops to leave their neighborhood.
Also see our WTO photo galleries.
"Go home," the crowds chanted. "We live here."
But the police didn't leave.
A handful of residents shouted insults at the police and threw fireworks at them about 10 p.m. Police responded by spraying residents with pepper spray and tear gas -- without warning. They chased some down side streets, where more officers were waiting.
The confrontations followed a 90-minute demonstration by residents and protesters alike, who marched back and forth on Broadway Avenue, a popular retail and nightlife strip on top of Capitol Hill.
After the confrontation, a new standoff began as a large group of residents and protesters blocked the street outside the East Precinct at 12th and Pike on Capitol Hill. At 12:43 a.m. police ordered the crowd to disperse, warning that chemical irritants would be used if they did not obey. The crowd gradually thinned out over the next hour, but many remained.
Just before 1:50 a.m., police used tear gas and concussion grenades to disperse the crowd. The street was clear in less than five minutes.
NorthWest Cable News reported that King County Councilman Brian Derdowski was present at the scene to try and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
Skye Farr heard the tear gas explosions from her apartment and wandered outside to see what was going on.
Farr, who said her father is a Seattle police officer, yelled at the police to leave. "I almost became one of you. I understand you're doing your job, but stop it."
She said she was sprayed with pepper spray.
Tensions were also high at the former Sand Point naval station, where protesters were taken for processing after being arrested downtown. By midnight, As many as 140 protesters refused to get off the buses to be processed.
Earlier in the day, about a dozen people had to be dragged out of Sand Point to be taken to the King County Jail.
The protesters were transported to Sand Point by buses. But at least 150 people refused to get off the two buses which brought them there at noon, and about a dozen had to be dragged out and booked into the King County Jail downtown.
For the second night, downtown Seattle is under a curfew to keep demonstrators from disrupting the World Trade Organization conference that virtually ground to a halt when violence erupted Tuesday.
Protests were mostly light and sporadic throughout the day, and any demonstrators who entered a newly imposed no-protest zone near WTO events were immediately arrested.
Late in the day, the Secret Service placed the downtown Westin hotel, where President Clinton is staying during the WTO conference, under lockdown, The Associated Press reported.
Police dispersed protesters with tear gas Wednesday. Dan DeLong/P-I
Seattle police early today imposed a "demonstration-free zone" around the site of WTO meetings to avoid the scattered vandalism and looting that erupted when police and protesters clashed on the first day of the conference.
The disruptions led to cancellation of the WTO's opening ceremonies and delayed regular WTO meetings Tuesday afternoon, in part because delegates couldn't get to the sessions.
The Seattle Host Organization announced today that a reception for WTO delegates Thursday night at Seattle Center also had been canceled. But Susan Kruller of the host organization did not blame it on the curfew or the protests. Rather, she said, the decision was made "due to the extensive work schedule" of delegates.
But one popular Seattle tradition was canceled because of the curfew: opening ceremonies for the 1999 Christmas Ship Festival.
With the no-protest zone in place and fewer protesters downtown today, WTO sessions proceeded as scheduled, including an address by Clinton.
There also were hundreds of arrests today, many because demonstrators ventured into the no-protest zone.
As the evening rush hour approached, demonstrators -- at times numbering in the hundreds -- picked up their activities and began swarming through areas in and near downtown.
Around 6 p.m., police began making arrests and trying to clear the streets for the curfew. There were altercations between police and protesters near
the popular Pike Place Market. Police using tear gas quickly broke up the crowd, which moved to other parts of the city. They had to be out of the curfew zone by 7 p.m. and stay out until sunrise (see map).
As 7 p.m. neared, emotions seemed to cool. Police in armored personnel carriers and on horseback and motorcycles moved protesters north on Fourth Avenue toward the Seattle Center and out of the curfew zone.
At its worst moments Wednesday, the fray resembled the battles of Tuesday.
At Second Avenue and Pine Street, marchers chanted "peaceful protest," when police attacked them with rounds of tear gas, rubber pellets and concussion bombs.
Smoke, panic, screams and the sound of shattering glass filled the air. With one hand, protesters grabbed the shoulder in front of them. With the other, they covered their mouths.
The tear gas was so strong that non-protesters were forced against the store-front windows. The gas spread quickly, gagging bystanders caught in the traffic and melee.
John Bowling of Eugene, Ore., helped those affected by pouring bottled water into their eyes and giving them vinegar-soaked rags to inhale.
"I just saw the riot cops jump in front of the crowd and let (tear gas) it go," said Bowling, 30, wearing an orange vest proclaiming him a medic. "It's like martial law."
About a dozen people were treated for gas and pellet injuries at local hospitals, and several police officers also were hurt by debris thrown by protesters.
On Tuesday, the day violence broke out and the first full day of the WTO, 68 people were arrested. Fourteen were being held on felony charges, with bail ranging from $2,000 to $25,000. A fifteenth -- who had numerous prior warrants and was suspected of looting -- was being held on $50,000 bail.
On the eve of the WTO conference, police said they had devised a strategy to avoid confrontations and allow protesters to express their views by letting them parade through downtown Seattle.
But the protesters came by the tens of thousands -- including a small percentage who authorities said were bent on causing trouble -- and officers were unable to keep order.
Police in riot gear lobbed tear gas canisters and pepper spray, shot off rubber bullets and used night sticks, but at times things got out of hand and some protesters resorted to violence.
Damage in downtown was considerable -- broken windows, spray-painted buildings, looted stores and damaged goods.
Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper said 99 percent of the demonstrators were peaceful and cooperated with authorities, and some protesters are even doing "everything they can" to help clean up the city.
Mayor Paul Schell blamed the violence on "hooligans taking advantage of the moment."
Clinton, in an address at the Port of Seattle before his WTO appearance, condemned the violent demonstrators but welcomed peaceful protesters to Seattle. He said he believes there should be greater public scrutiny and participation in world trade issues.
A security guard inspects a broken bank window. Dan DeLong/P-I
Ed Joiner, assistant chief of operations for the Seattle Police Department, said the no-protest zone was imposed because Tuesday's crowd-control plan didn't work.
As another tool to help control demonstrations and avoid disruptions to the WTO, Seattle police also banned anyone from possessing, using or selling gas masks in the city.
Some protesters have donned gas masks to stand their ground against police, and the no-gas-mask order gives officers the edge if they choose to use tear gas or pepper spray to disperse crowds.
The no-protest zone (see map) covers about 50 city blocks around the state Convention and Trade Center, where most WTO activities are being held.
It prohibits any demonstrations in an area bounded by Lenora and Seneca streets, and Fourth and Boren avenues.
Even though most of today's demonstrators stayed out of the no-protest zone, it didn't stop some from causing various disruptions, including running onto Interstate 5, trying to block traffic on downtown streets and sitting down in intersections.
The police presence was extensive throughout the downtown core, and officers had little patience for disruptions.
"We have the ability to make the number of arrests that are going to be necessary," Joiner said.
But, just like Tuesday, the majority of demonstrators did not defy police. Many peacefully gathered to express their concerns about world trade, the WTO or particular policies.
To help keep order today, the city's mayor and Gov. Gary Locke called in two National Guard units and extra State Patrol troopers to relieve and back up local police.
Joiner said police have "a large number of additional resources" and "we're going to be very mobile."
For more coverage, see our WTO index.
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