Schell claims his involvement in WTO policing was limited

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Schell claims his involvement in WTO policing was limited

Wednesday, May 24, 2000

By KERY MURAKAMI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Reacting to criticism from the Washington State Patrol, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell yesterday said he didn't call the shots for police during last fall's World Trade Organization conference and associated riots.

Schell, at a press conference, said he only called a meeting of police and protesters on the next-to-last night of the protests, and agreed to let protesters march down Fifth Avenue to hold a rally at the King County Jail.

State Patrol Chief Annette Sandberg has said she was alarmed by Schell's agreement to allow the march, saying it meant giving control of the street back to protesters only days after police had finally secured a downtown no-protest zone. Worse yet, delegates staying at the Four Seasons and Cavanaugh's hotels would have been cut off from the WTO conference at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center.

Sandberg, saying she could not ensure the safety of the delegates trying to get to the conference, had threatened to pull her state troopers out of downtown. Police then persuaded the marchers to take a different route.

Sandberg told the story to a Seattle City Council citizens' panel examining the city's handling of the WTO last week, implying that Schell interfered with police as they tried to handle the protests. According to notes of the meeting, she told the panel that, "A police chief needs a certain amount of autonomy to run a department without interference from political leadership and it was apparent the SPD's managers did not have that kind of autonomy."

In an interview last month and again through a spokesman yesterday, Sandberg said she had no specific knowledge that Schell had a hand in police operations, other than agreeing to the march.

Schell, meanwhile, said the decision to allow the march was the only time he was personally involved in how the police dealt with protests, and that he was only trying to end the protest with a measure of cooperation.

King County Labor Council chairman Ron Judd told the City Council committee last month the march was important to labor activists, who felt their legitimate political message was drowned out by riots.

Schell, at the press conference, said the Seattle Police assessment of the WTO protests made no mention of interference from his office. A law enforcement consultant, McCarthy & Associates, hired by Schell's office also made no mention of political interference, although the consultant said that as mayor, the city's handling of the WTO was ultimately Schell's responsibility. Nevertheless, the McCarthy report criticized the police for not taking stronger measures against protests, such as clearing a way for delegates to get into Paramount Theater.

P-I reporter Kery Murakami can be reached at 206-448-8029 or kerymurakami@seattle-pi.com