A-Infos (en) US, Denver, MEDIA, No DNC news: Two detained at anarchist center

More Protests And Demonstrations --- 3,000 march in largest demonstration of DNC
Protester on video says officer hit her four times ---- Cyclists surge through 
downtown. More stories: 
»http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/news/politics/denver-dnc/dnc-protests-demonstrations/
BRIGHTON BOULEVARD -- Two people were arrested and the equipment used to make 
banners was seized after police raided a center used by activists on the 4300 
block of Brighton Blvd. ---- Witnesses associated with the center said that 
police approached sometime around noon. A person was repairing a bus outside. 
Witnesses said police claimed the bus was located on the property of a nearby 
railroad. When a person outside tried to warn others inside of the officers 
approach, he was yanked off the steps, witnesses said. Beside those arrested, 
two others are also being visibly detained for small period of time.

Police say they responded to a call of two suspicious individuals. When bicycle 
officers standing post for the Rage Against the Machine concert at the Denver 
Coliseum, approached, police say they ran. Both were charged with disobedience 
of an order. Their names were not immediately released. One of those arrested 
was also charged with the possession of an illegal weapon, a knife.
Activists and protesters have used the site, which they call the convergence 
center, as a place to distribute information and construct protest banners, 
according to Jeff Berryhill, an activist using the space from Olympia, Wa.
The activists said they felt the raid and the removal of the equipment was an 
example of police intimidation.
"I find it astounding," Berryhill said, "but not out of the ordinary."

--------------


Protester on video says officer hit her four times
Pelosi: Denver convention first where women are majority
People on Brighton Boulevard surprised at march
ABC producer arrested outside Brown Palace
CodePink member 'optimistic' after release; officer pulled from protests
No water or toilets at Freedom Cage
Two detained at anarchist center

Protesters say police used overkill; cops say anarchists had rocks

  Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Keith Valentine, 20, of Denver, sits with Hawzien Gebremedhin, 19, of Denver, 
after they and others were detained by police Monday night near 15th Street and 
Court Place. Nearly 100 people were arrested after protesters, some reportedly 
carrying rocks, tried to walk through a police line.Brian Lehmann / The Rocky
Keith Valentine, 20, of Denver, sits with Hawzien Gebremedhin, 19, of Denver, 
after they and others were detained by police Monday night near 15th Street and 
Court Place. Nearly 100 people were arrested after protesters, some reportedly 
carrying rocks, tried to walk through a police line.
Police detain a protester Monday evening near 15th Street and Court Place after 
several hundred people reportedly belonging to a group called Unconvention- al 
Denver tried to stage an impromptu demonstration. No one was injured in the 
confrontation.Tim Hussin / The Rocky
Police detain a protester Monday evening near 15th Street and Court Place after 
several hundred people reportedly belonging to a group called Unconvention- al 
Denver tried to stage an impromptu demonstration. No one was injured in the 
confrontation.
Related Links
ROCKY ROUGH CUT VIDEO: Protesters confront police
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/rocky-rough-cut-video-protesters-confront-police/
ROCKY ROUGH CUT VIDEO: Police disperse crowd
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/rocky-rough-cut-video-police-disperse-crowd/
ROCKY ROUGH CUT VIDEO: Police arrest protester
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/rocky-rough-cut-video-police-arrest-protester/
More Denver Democratic National Convention 2008

CURTIS: Turns out Rage Against the Machine is a marching band

Onstage, Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha bounced up and down 
while screaming into his microphone. Music that sounded like an air- raid siren 
shook the Denver Coliseum, and thousands of fired-up fans pumped their fists in 
the air in time to the beat.
In many ways, it was a normal rock show.
But it was also the culmination of a week of events by the groups Iraq Veterans 
Against the War and Tent State University, and people in the crowd knew that 
what was coming next wouldn't be normal at all.
They knew because they were also getting their marching orders.
After the band's final song, they would gather on the streets outside the 
Coliseum behind de la Rocha and dozens of uniformed veterans and march to the 
Pepsi Center to bring delegates of the Democratic National Convention a strong 
antiwar message.
Those willing to be arrested were instructed to sit on the ground.
Those who weren't were told to march behind the yellow protest banner.
If an arrest happened, former Marine Lance Cpl. Jeff Key planned to play taps - 
the call used for funeral ceremonies.
Volunteer medics and marshals would monitor the health and safety of the crowd 
during the long, hot walk to the Pepsi Center from the Coliseum.
The detailed planning had some of the elements of a military campaign.
If it worked.
"We're pretty confident on our end," said David Solnit, a civilian volunteer 
with the veterans. "The police said they'll respect our right to march."
But would the fans respect the request of everyone from de la Rocha to Vietnam 
veteran Ron Kovic to the leader of the Iraq vets to remain peaceful during the 
march?
Esequiel Torres of Highlands Ranch said the nonviolence message came through 
loud and clear.
"I'm not looking to get violent," Torres, 27, said just a few blocks from the 
Coliseum. "I don't think anyone is."
He said the band inspired him to join the antiwar protest.
"It's Rage Against the Machine," he said. "You have to march. You'd be ashamed 
if you didn't. I have a brother in Iraq, and there's nothing more that I want 
than his safety."

In the cage: Well, no, we can't go
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/27/freedom-cage-free-amenities/
Celebrity whirlwind blows here, there and everywhere
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/28/celebrity-whirlwind-blows-here-there-and-everywher/

More stories »
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/news/politics/denver-dnc/



An old man recited poetry into Keith Valentine's camera. A couple of people 
talked about racism in America. Bands played.
Valentine's camera caught the peaceful beginnings of a march that would end in a 
dramatic clash downtown as the Democratic National Convention opened a mile away.
The march was getting ready to begin at Civic Center - Colfax Avenue to 15th 
Street then over to the 16th Street Mall. The protesters didn't have a permit to 
do that, but, then again, they were anarchists.
Hawzien Gebremedhin, 19, walked along and saw someone spray-painting a newspaper 
box. Valentine, 20, saw the anarchist symbol sprayed onto an electrical box. 
Both were near the Webb building.
At that point, hundreds of police officers in riot gear swarmed the protesters, 
boxing them in and stopping their march at 15th Street and Court Place.
Officers sent pepper spray into the crowd and held back protesters with batons. 
By the end of the evening, 106 people were arrested. Dozens of video cameras 
captured the drama.
Protesters claim the police action was overkill and aggravated an otherwise 
peaceful march.
Police say they acted because some protesters "were carrying rocks and other 
items that could be used as weapons."
They say their actions were not only justified but also reasonable.
Both sides seem to agree on one thing: The standoff escalated when anarchists 
covered their faces with bandanas, linked arms and tried to walk through a 
police line.
At that point, there already would have been several "flare points" to trigger 
crowd control actions, said Joe Key, a retired Baltimore police officer who once 
developed crowd control and riot training and is now a consultant on 
use-of-force issues.
Among them: Not having a permit to be where they were, refusing to stop when 
ordered and trying to walk through the police line.
Overwhelming force
Police have an obligation at that point to force a crowd to comply, while people 
were still rational enough to follow orders and before things got more out of 
hand, Key said.
"The end result of not controlling it early and forcefully and getting the 
situation resolved is chaos," Key said. "Both sides end up with unnecessary 
casualties."
Think about the 1992 Los Angeles riots that killed more than 50 people, and the 
destruction caused in 1999 when protesters at the World Trade Organization in 
Seattle broke store windows, looted and blocked intersections.
"If it can be done prior to any of that occurring, then it's better to do it, 
before people are burning cars," Key said.
Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said officers had information from protesters 
"that they were going to go do damage downtown."
Officers confronted the protesters when they wouldn't get out of the streets.
"We're celebrating free speech as much as you can do it," Mayor John 
Hickenlooper said Tuesday. "But when a group looks like they're bent on 
destruction and violence, we have to step in."
Hundreds of officers surrounded the crowd in a show of force designed to elicit 
voluntary compliance. People were then shepherd's into smaller groups.
That practice of "divide and contain" is a common - and effective - tactic in 
crowd control, said Ira Somerson, a security consultant from Pennsylvania with 
49 years experience in crowd control.
Somerson likened it to breaking up a bar fight.
"What do we do when we have a bar fight?" he said. We surround them and divide 
them and get them out of the bar."
Police account disputed
Somerson, who has seen video of Monday's incident, said it clearly wasn't as bad 
as it could have been. "I don't see anybody dead. I don't see anybody in the 
hospital," he said. "The police did their job."
The group, Unconventional Denver, had said its goal all week was to "disrupt the 
DNC."
Denver City Councilman Doug Linkhart, chairman of the City Council safety 
committee, said police officials told him after the confrontation that some of 
the protesters were seen stopping by the portable toilets in Civic Center to 
"refuel their weapons" with feces.
But Valentine and Gebremedhin, who are making a documentary of the 2008 election 
for a college class, disputed the account.
There are no visible weapons on Valentine's video of the march. It does, though, 
show protesters sitting down in the middle of the street when police begin 
surrounding them and ordering them out of the street.
Rocky Mountain News reporters who were in the crowd with demonstrators did not 
see rocks or weapons in the hands of anyone in the crowd.
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