People in mass arrests have rights, city told

People in mass arrests have rights, city told

Judge's consent decree spells out the rules for a temporary jail in chaotic conditions

Friday, March 9, 2001

By TRACY JOHNSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The city of Seattle must make sure it doesn't trounce anyone's rights when chaos erupts and police make mass arrests, according to an agreement reached yesterday stemming from the World Trade Organization tumult.

Police arrested hundreds of WTO protesters in 1999 and carted them to a temporary lockup at the Sand Point naval station, where many complained they were not allowed to talk to lawyers or get aid for their injuries.

A group of activists and attorneys quickly filed a lawsuit -- not only to help the people being detained, but to make sure the city doesn't deny anyone else medical or legal help if a similar situation arises again.

"This is not about money, it's about protecting constitutional rights," said Seattle attorney William Broberg, who represents a Seattle activist group, the Direct Action Network. "We're making good public policy."

The consent decree, approved by King County Superior Curt Judge Richard Eadie yesterday, lays down specific rules should the city ever have to set up a temporary jail again.

People who are arrested must be allowed to call or see a lawyer "as soon as feasible," the agreement states.

And that right does not hinge on whether the person answers police officers' questions, including "what is your name?"

The city must let representatives of the Defender Association -- a county public defense agency and plaintiff in the lawsuit -- and the state Criminal Justice Training Commission take a look inside the temporary jail to see how people are being treated.

Police must also "provide access to reasonable medical care."

Broberg contends that during the WTO madness, a few of the people arrested and brought to Sand Point weren't allowed to talk to a lawyer for two days. Others suffered injuries in the downtown mayhem, he said, but they were not given the treatment they would receive in any other jail.

City officials dispute the conditions were that bad, but acknowledge they could have been better prepared.

"Clearly, the mass arrests during WTO were challenging," said Assistant City Attorney Sean Sheehan. "I think it would be fair to say it did not work optimally."

Sheehan called yesterday's agreement beneficial to everyone.

He said giving lawyers and law enforcement representatives open access would help convince the public that everyone is being treated fairly.

Rumors about how police were treating people at Sand Point were far worse than what was really happening there, he said, adding that yesterday's agreement would help "dispel the urban myth" that "there were terrible things going on in the dungeons."

P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattle-pi.com