Protests spread beyond port into downtown Olympia

By Jeremy Pawloski and Diane Huber | The Olympian • Published November 11, 2007

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Another person was cut, but not badly injured, when officers sawed the PVC pipe, he said.

A week of unrest

Monday

The USNS Brittin lands at the Port of Olympia to unload equipment that was used in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team).

Tuesday

About 150 protesters carry signs and chant as they march from Percival Landing through downtown, backing up traffic on Fourth Avenue as they make their way to the fenced-off area where the USNS Brittin is docked. There is little interaction between protesters and police.

Wednesday

Two people are arrested Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Protests start out calm but escalate as the evening progresses and protesters chase or jump in front of combat vehicles leaving the port. Police use batons and drag protesters out of the road.

Thursday

Protesters gather at the port entrance, but no convoys leave the port and there are no confrontations with police. Police report the extra response to the protests cost the city $10,000.

Friday

At 4 p.m., about 40 people block the paths of two trucks carrying a Stryker and cargo containers. The Olympia Police Department does not have enough officers to remove the protesters. Protesters remain at the port entrance all night and build a barricade of garbage cans and a truck axle at the Market Street and Marine Drive entrance. Port workers appear to cleared the barricade at about 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

Saturday

• 10:20 a.m.: Police force a line of protesters to move away from the Market Street port gates. No one is arrested.

• 12:15 p.m.: Police arrest at least three people near Plum Street and Fourth Avenue after protesters jump in front of a truck.

• 12:30 p.m.: Police arrest nine more people who had linked arms through PVC pipe, partly blockading Plum Street near Union Avenue in an attempt to keep a convoy from getting onto Interstate 5.

• 2:30 p.m.: Olympia Port Militarization Resistance members meet to discuss upcoming plans and vow to continue to resist any shipments.
Previous protests

The current protests of shipments at the Port of Olympia are among several at Western Washington ports in the past few years. The others:

•May 2007: Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, the group that has organized Olympia's current protests, also organized several days of protests of a planned military shipment at the Port of Grays Harbor. More than 60 demonstrators marched, and no one was arrested, according to The Daily World newspaper. Some activists at the protest said they thought the military had decided to ship cargo from the Port of Grays Harbor to avoid the greater potential for protests in Olympia and Tacoma. Joe Hitt, a Fort Lewis spokesman, said that had no effect on the decision to use the Grays Harbor port.

•March 2007: Protesters targeted the Port of Tacoma to call attention to the shipment of 1,000 Strykers and other Fort Lewis vehicles from there to Iraq. Thirty-seven people were arrested during the nighttime protests. The biggest clash came March 11, when 23 were arrested while attempting an act of coordinated civil disobedience. Among those arrested was Olympia City Council member T.J. Johnson.

In July, a Tacoma Municipal Court judge declined to bring charges against 13 of those arrested, including Johnson. He ruled that officers misinterpreted the state law under which the protesters were charged. The city still seeks payment from the military and the Port of Tacoma for the more than $600,000 cost of policing the protests.

•May 2006: Nearly 40 people were arrested during 10 days of protests against a military shipment at the Port of Olympia, most during a protest in which some demonstrators damaged port gates, and authorities fired pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Charges against the demonstrators eventually were dropped.

The security detail cost the city $9,513 in overtime payments and $4,532 worth of comp time, which is time the officers can take off in return for their extra work. Twenty-nine police officers and four corrections officers spent a total of 213 hours at the event.

"We were trying to be humans to them, and they were not respecting us at all," he said after being released from the Olympia City Jail at about 4:30 p.m.

Police defend actions

Bjornstad said officers tried to talk to the protesters to get them to move. The use of pepper spray and batons was "based on what we get from the crowd. We gave them lots of warnings and lots of time, but there comes a point where that's our only option," he said.

Law enforcement officials with Lacey, Tumwater and the Thurston County Sheriff's office assisted Olympia police, Carlson said.

"It was a long day for a lot of people who were called in on days off. A lot of people had to be reassigned," he said.

Carlson said law enforcement officials were set to meet this morning to decide where resources are needed.

Port officials thanked police for their forceful response. Port spokeswoman Grant said once the barricades were gone, cargo was able to move steadily until the end of the day shift at 4 p.m.

"The port would like to commend the Olympia Police Department for removing the barricades and clearing the streets so that cargo could leave the port today. This was important so that truckers, longshore workers and military staff could do their job," she said, relaying a comment by port Executive Director Ed Galligan.

The protests were part of a weeklong series of demonstrations by the group Olympia Port Militarization Resistance. OlyPMR has been protesting the use of the port by the USNS Brittin, which landed at the port Monday to unload equipment that was used in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team).

Saturday's actions by police came a day after protesters were able to halt two trucks from removing military equipment � including a Stryker � that had been unloaded from a ship coming from Iraq.

Olympia police said the department did not have enough officers available to remove the protesters Friday, and that they were unprepared to physically remove several small children who were among about 40 protesters.

Edited 11/13/07 to correct the name James Steele, and clarify the role of the protester's "medics"

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