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Police issue guiding principles on riot control

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published May 10, 2008

The chief law enforcement officers for Thurston County and its three largest cities have reiterated their "zero-tolerance" policy for property damage and violence arising out of civil demonstrations.

Guiding principles

Following are the guiding principles as released by Thurston County Sheriff Dan Kimball on Friday:

The chief law enforcement officers of Thurston County Sheriff's Office, the Cities of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater, and the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney, re-affirm the following principles and responsibilities for law enforcement response during and after incidents of civil demonstrations:

• We uphold the Constitution and support the rights of individuals to free speech under the First Amendment.

• We recognize that individuals have the right to peaceably assemble, in celebration or protest.

• We will continue to work with organizers and leaders of those assembling peaceably to ensure open and honest communications before, during, and after such an event.

• We recognize that public safety shall be of paramount concern to law enforcement in dealing with civil demonstrations.

• We expect that acts of assembly will not harm, endanger, or adversely limit the rights or freedoms of other individuals or the provision of necessary public functions.

• We have zero-tolerance for acts of violence and property damage and that an individual committing such acts will be held accountable.

• We acknowledge the benefit of interjurisdictional and multi-disciplinary training and exercises to foster a consistent and unified county-wide approach for law enforcement response during incidents of civil demonstrations.

• We re-affirm these principles so that the law enforcement officers within Thurston County continue to have a unified response to incidents of civil demonstration that balances the rights of individuals to peaceably assemble and maintain the rule of law and order as mandated.

The stance was contained in a series of guiding principles released Friday that describe how officers and Thurston County's prosecuting attorney will respond in the event of future incidents.

The principles reiterate what law enforcement officers say they already do, but Thurston County Sheriff Dan Kimball said it's time to send a public message that the agencies are unified both against such illegal behavior and in their response to it. "People expect us to show leadership, and I think this is a statement of leadership," he said.

The Port of Olympia protests in 2006 and 2007, the February post-concert riot at The Evergreen State College and last week's May Day demonstration all erupted into violence and property damage.

Kimball said that in particular, the agencies want to stop the criminal element that has emerged in those incidents from hijacking the rights of citizens to peacefully protest.

In part, the guidelines require that law enforcement agencies work with organizers and leaders of peaceful assemblies, but they stress that they "have zero-tolerance for acts of violence and property damage and that an individual committing such acts will be held accountable."

In an e-mail, Christopher Taylor, an attorney for The Evergreen Law Group, wrote that he was "encouraged that local law enforcement seems to be aware of the Constitution and its contents." His law firm has represented many people who were arrested during the high- profile incidents during the past two years. "I worry that the individuals committing acts of violence or property damage will be 'held accountable' with summary punishment by batons and pepper spray, rather than through the criminal justice system," he wrote.

In all the past incidents, protesters have criticized the response of law enforcement as overly aggressive.

In January, four people filed claims with the city of Olympia seeking damages totalling $13 million for alleged acts of police brutality during the November port protests.

Taylor said his firm will sue the city next week because the city has not responded to the claims. Assistant City Manager Subir Mukerjee said the city's insurer still is reviewing them.

Christian Hill covers Lacey and the military for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5427 or chill@theolympian.com.