Police Attack Reclaim the Streets Party

Compete Full Article at Reclaim the Streets Website

While today\'s quickly organized demonstration began with energetic good spirits and beautiful props, we experienced a taste of the repression we were protesting when we took the streets for a party and protest in solidarity with the indigenous peoples of Ecuador who have arisen in the face of brutal violence and genocidal repression by and for U.S. corporate interests.

The demonstration got off to a happy start, with scores of bicyclists reclaiming the streets with cheers of joy after singing happy birthday to fellow masser Tristan Anderson under a hailstorm of complimentary cliff bars. The costumed and revelous riders rolled through town to the top of Bancroft at College, where they met with a group of protesters protesters on foot and joined together, dancing to music and taking the streets. A large dollar sign was burned in front of the campus ROTC US military office at the Hearst Gym to protest the U.S. military base in Ecuador, there for Plan Colombia. (Demonstrators first made way for an AC Transit bus which had been behind them. Note that one of the victories of the peoples\' uprising in Ecuador was a concession to allow the young and the old half-off on fares for public transit, in the face of skyrocketing transportation costs).

Ironically, this was when they were hemmed in by police, who showed none of the same courtesies of the demonstrators. Perhaps owing to many flyers and emails declaring that an effigy would be burned, the demonstration was faced with a large riot police presence which blockaded the demonstration above and below, forcing people to filter through campus and the art museum to escape the threat of mass arrest.

Demonstrators regrouped at Bancroft and Telegraph but were quickly descended upon by police who seized property and made an enormous ring in the intersection. While speeches were made and onlookers gathered, police used targeted violence against individuals and property with the express goal of repressing free speech.

At least five were reportedly arrested (police initially claimed three), and two are being held on $36,500 bail and $10,000 bail for such allegations as \"inciting a riot\". Yet the riot police, in attacking peaceful protesters, were the ones who were inciting a riot -- and no riot occurred but for their abuses.

Tristan Anderson was arrested with multiple misdemeanor and felony charges. Police directly targeted him, making a spear charge from the front and back of the crowd on the sidewalk, then violently dragging him and clubbing him almost 40 feet to the center of the street. It is unkown why police targeted Tristan, and some speculate it was because it was his birthday (police have a history of being violent towards Critical Mass on birthdays).

Tristan Anderson is struck repeatedly and dragged almost 40 feet. Before leaving with Critical Mass, Tristan made a speech about how it was his thirtieth birthday and how Jack Weinberg of the Free Speech movement had said never trust anyone over thirty -- and now Weinberg is 60. Tristan described how Weinberg had also been the one locked into the UCPD car on Sproul plaza, when people had surrounded the vehicle and made speeches from its roof. On his birthday, perhaps because of it, Tristan was involved in a re-enactment of sorts as the arrest van was surrounded by whooping cyclists, and inexplicably made a dash over the curb to lower sproul, tumbling over four brick steps on the way -- making a terrible sound and throwing brick and mortar pieces everywhere. Broken bricks and concrete, huge crashing sound, Then the wagon searched in vain for a way out like a rat in a maze. Tristan gets all this on his birthday, just for trying to exercise free speech in 2001. Why did they arrest him? (\"Perhaps the cops don\'t trust anyone over thirty either?\" went one sardonic joke).

Police violations of our human rights did not stop there. A banner was ripped out of the hands of a student and crumpled up into the garbage.

In one case, a young asian woman holding a long pink banner on the sidewalk (with the words \"INDIGENOUS FREEDOM\") was rushed by riot police who snatched the banner away and crumpled it up, then threw it into the trash.

In separate instances, police targeted two bicycles with trailers, one carrying a sound system and the other carrying The Couch. Police charged and tackled the gentleman with the couch, and walked the apparatus back into their circle of control at Bancroft and Telegraph where they stood guard in a large circle while an unidentified man in a trenchcoat stuffed the couch -- over the owner\'s loud objections -- into a garbage truck where it was crushed. This is the second couch which has been destroyed (the first was the victim of arson and sabotage, with police being the primary suspects).

Say goodbye to The Couch. This super-light couch was the inspiration for someone to join the AIDS ride, to be the first person to bike a couch to LA. He was going to cover it with a special AIDS quilt.

Police stole and destroyed property before scores of witnesses.

This is not the first time that Public Works and the Berkeley Police have conspired to destroy property. One such attack occured just before our major S26 demonstration as described here. The Bicycle Civil Liberties Union reports this complaint about a homeless man having his chair stolen by Berkeley police.

Police and public works continued by loading the speakers, amplifiers, and other electronics, along with one person\'s essenger bag, into trash cans which were hung off the dump arms of the garbage truck, waiting to go in. The owner demanded that the perpetrator be stopped and arrested. The person was throwing away perhaps thousands of dollars in equipment -- and had already crushed the couch and trashed the indigenous freedom banner (which is so symbolic of this disposable culture of genocide and ecocide for overconsumption, which will trash the world, trash free speech, trash whole cultures --and certainly trashes indigenous freedom).

In fact, numerous witnesses say that police literally attacked the sound system, tackling it, kicking it, and clubbing it.

The sound system in disarray after being attacked by police.

When police failed to respond to plees to save the sound system and backpack, the person trying to save his valuable posessions declared that \"When the police will not enforce the laws, it is up to the citizens to enforce the laws, and the police must be deposed. Stand aside as I must defend my property!\" Each time he said such a thing he would step towards the police line, and the police would leap forward and strike him back with their batons. One particularly vicious blow yielded a large swollen welt.

Police repeatedly clubbed Santa Clause-Claws for objecting to property destruction. Meanwhile, although police guarded the impounded bicycles, they made every effort to let private motorcars pass. Some speakers pointed out that the automobile is a direct extension of the military-industrial complex, and indeed, is the militarization of our neighborhoods and everyday lives. When you try to use the streets for people rather than these relatively new machines, armed police violently suppress you. \"Plan Colombia\", and its military base in Ecuador, is directly linked to the U.S.\'s desire to continue to extract oil and other resources from that region through force.

Police charge and club a student before arresting him.

The march went on to the jail after this great delay. Six witnesses (a number of whom were not part of the demonstration) report that a young woman with a bullhorn was targeted by police as she walked quietly along the sidewalk. She was allegedly grabbed by the head and thrown out into the street. One prisoner in jail reports she had bad bruises on her face when being booked. As a minor (reportedly), she was taken from the jail (and as of Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10, 2001) we do not know where she is) [note, as of Sunday night Feb. 11, 2001, we are told she was released]. A man who was walking with her was seen to be arrested when he verbally challenged the arrest of the young woman. One other demonstrator, also allegedly a minor, was also reportedly arrested and nothing else is known at this time.

The regrouped march took the intersection at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way (what a horrible, deadly street to be named after such a wonderful man) in front of the so-called `Public Safety\' Buildling, which riot police made a wall in front of. Food Not Bombs made it to this point as well and continued serving hot steaming food in the misty magical night. A second wall of riot police ran in and, feeling surrounded, the marchers began moving again, taking intersections throughout downtown for some time, and communicating to passersby. Even when there were fewer than 20 demonstrators in the presence of police, crosswalk actions occurred.

It is clear that had police exercised proper restraint by allowing the first amendment event to be carried out, far less harm would have been done in every respect. Instead they violently attacked people, arrested people with trumped up charges, blatantly and physically suppressed free speech, destroyed property, held up an intersection for over an hour, confiscated sources of joy, and smashed the University\'s stairs -- all at a cost of many thousands of dollars to the City of Berkeley. That is why they are called \"riot\" police.

The police have published this overview of the event. Note, there are glaring falsehoods contained therein.

The everyday repression on Telegraph and Downtown in Berkeley continues.

While the police abuses must not be ignored, let us not forget that this event was a success. We should be proud that we are standing up to the IMF and Plan Colombia from within the belly of the beast, in solidarity with the brave and principled indigenous people of Ecuador.