Tacoma protest leads to arrests

3 from Olympia jailed in port anti-war rally

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published March 07, 2007

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The Tacoma port resistance group was formalized midday Saturday and included representatives and support from several area peace organizations, Edelbacher said. Activists from other parts of Western Washington also have participated in the initial protests at the Port of Tacoma.

�They have the experience,� he said of the Olympia group. �We sort of looked to them.�

Added Drew Hendricks, a member of the Olympia port resistance group: �We�ve got the prior expertise in the same kind of situation. They�ve asked us for our help, and we�re lending our assistance. This is a national issue. This isn�t just Olympia; this isn�t just Tacoma.�

As for the arrests, police securing the port established a line of control that neither the officers nor protesters were to cross, said Officer Mark Fulghum, spokesman for Tacoma Police Department.

�When the convoy started moving through, the crowd moved up against the line of officers and at different points these three forced their way through the line and forced their way through the officers,� Fulghum said.

Some witnesses disputed that story, saying there was no physical contact between the officers and three protesters.

One of the suspects was shot with a rubber projectile after he charged at the officer after breaking through the line, Fulghum said.

Another suspect was wrestled to the ground by officers after breaking through the line, Fulghum said. Fulghum said the suspect told officers he received a cut knee.

No one was seriously hurt.

Both Berryhill and Cuddeford await trial in Thurston County District Court on a second-degree trespass charge from a May 30 protest at the Port of Olympia.

Fort Lewis sent out its public advisory about the military convoys early Monday morning, two days after convoys began arriving at the Port of Tacoma.

The executive officer of the 833rd Transportation Battalion, the Army unit responsible for loading the equipment on a ship, declined to comment on why the equipment moved through Tacoma instead of Olympia, saying it was classified. He also refused to comment on whether the May protests led to the Army decision to forgo the Port of Olympia.

Tom McCarthy, another member of Tacoma Port Militarization Resistance, expected the protests to grow.

�What�s happening here is people are realizing that despite the election, the politicians are escalating the war, and that it�s going to take more than voting to end this war,� he said.

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

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