Riot police deploy pepper (OC or Oleoresin capsicum) spray at a small group trying to help a man already incapacitated by an earlier pepper spray attack, and at photojournalist Beth Wald covering the scene. The event happened at the end of a largely peaceful rally held on February 15, 2003, in Colorado Springs.

Free the
Dairy Queen Dozen

Story and photos by Beth Wald

POSTED AUGUST 5, 2003 --

February 15, 2003, was an International Day of Peace, and became a worldwide day of protest against the looming war in Iraq. Unprecedented numbers of people, tens of millions, took to the streets around the globe in anti-war, pro-peace rallies and marches. Of the hundreds of events worldwide, there were only two where police used “chemical weapons” against the demonstrators. In Greece, tear gas was used against 50,000 rowdy protesters who were flinging rocks and gasoline bombs at the police. And, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the very end of a largely peaceful rally, police fired tear gas at a few hundred people of all ages as they were calmly leaving the area, and chased down and pepper sprayed those not dispersing rapidly enough.

Colorado Springs was the site chosen for the main anti-war rally in Colorado on February 15 because of the large number of military installations and academies in and around the region. The rally was organized mainly by the local Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission (www.pikespeakjusticeandpeace.org ), and the Colorado Coalition Against the War in Iraq (www.ccmep.org/ccawi.htm) who had obtained permits and spent a great deal of time discussing the event with city and police officials. A civil disobedience action was also planned, which was to take place after the rally at a different location near the entrance to Peterson Airforce Base.

PALMER PARK RALLY

As part of a larger project to document the anti-war movement, I traveled to Colorado Springs and arrived at Palmer Park at about 12:15, 45 minutes after the rally had begun. There were thousands of people, of all ages and persuasions and from all over the state, and despite the cold, grey weather, the mood was friendly, energetic, positive and a bit chaotic. Closer to the stage, one was able to hear the speeches and watch skits and puppet shows, but on the fringes of the crowd, people danced, painted posters, chanted their own slogans and networked. Organizers later admitted that the crowd, estimated at from 3,000 to 4,000, was about twice what they had expected.

As the speeches and skits wound down, the organizers of the rally made an impromptu decision to have the energetic crowd move from Palmer Park and line the sidewalks along Academy Boulevard, a major thoroughfare. (The organizers had not obtained a permit for a march, but thought a mile long line of “picketers for peace” would create a powerful visual impact.) At about 12:50, streams of demonstrators with signs and chants began moving along both north and south sides of Academy, and despite the efforts of designated “peace keepers” and the light police force present at the time, intersections become clogged with people trying to cross.

In addition, some people spilled into the street itself, but mainly complied with efforts by the few police who were there to return to the sidewalk. CopWatch, a Denver-based organization that monitors police actions, had five observers at the rally, and in their report of the event they state, “Officers moved people along in a professional manner, aided by the peace keepers,” although perhaps “not enough officers or peace keepers were on hand considering the numbers and the large area of the demonstration.” A participant in the rally, law student Taylor Pendergrass wrote that:

“The uniformed, non-SWAT officers did a remarkable job of balancing the individuals’ right to assemble and protest with their charge to protect citizens’ safety. For the better part of three hours they were respectful, reasonable and rational.”

The mood began to change at about 1:20, when a group of nearly 100 protesters gathered at the intersection of Constitution and Academy, where some of the demonstrators repeatedly moved into the street to block traffic. A part of this gathering was a group of young, self-styled “anarchists” whom had previously been blocked by the police from moving west on Constitution to a different intersection, where they had planned to stage a breakaway demonstration and civil disobedience.

Stymied in their attempts to create a more radical, separate action, the high energy of this small group was redirected back into the main demonstration. Regardless, a squad of regular police, helped by the admonishments of the bulk of the demonstrators, were successful in moving the crowd to the east side of Constitution and out of the intersection, with only one arrest.

By this time, police had closed Academy to most traffic, an action that both confused and angered many of those present, who assumed police were attempting to keep drivers from seeing the large demonstration, and from hearing their message. It also encouraged people to move into the street.

Even though the situation had been defused at Constitution and Academy, a Tactical Unit in full riot gear: batons, helmets with face shields, body shields, dogs and OC spray, began to deploy in the street facing the demonstrators, who were chanting, singing and waving banners on the sidewalk on the northeast corner. The confrontation continued uneventfully for about 15 minutes, until a couple peacekeepers and/or organizers got the group moving along Academy back north towards Palmer Park.

The Tactical Unit began moving north behind the demonstrators, occasionally ordering people out of the street. Everyone complied, although a small group farther ahead of the riot police walked and danced in the empty street, not having heard the orders.

Supposedly, at 1:48, an order to clear the streets had been given from a patrol car between Constitution and Academy. Unfortunately, this alleged order occurred after the demonstration had already become quite spread out, and after people had begun to disperse and wander back to the park. In all liklihood this order was probably not heard by most people.

One participant later wrote, “I did not hear any warnings at all, nor even see any policeman with a bullhorn,” and another suggested that “the Col. Springs Police Department inspect the loud speaker systems in their patrol cars...neither of these systems was used or anything comparable to communicate that it was time to clear the area”.

Back at the corner of Academy and Maizeland, where the demonstration had begun, protesters began to drift back towards cars parked in a lot southwest of the intersection, or back to Palmer Park to the northwest. Meanwhile, despite the calm and the fact that the majority of people were leaving or preparing to leave, the Tactical Unit stopped just south of the intersection, faced the parking area and at 2 pm began to put on their gas masks. (2:00 was the official end of the rally) A small line of protesters (fewer than a dozen) stayed on the sidewalk facing the riot police and called out that they were peaceful. A small group of about 30 did try to move back into the intersection, but were quickly pushed back by a squad of regular police, who made a few arrests.

Around 2:25, the Tactical Unit moved towards the parking lot, where people, including elderly and families with kids, were getting into their cars and leaving. There were no demonstrators in the street, and the scene was entirely peaceful. At 2:27, the police at the corner of Maizeland and Academy announced that the assembly was illegal and everyone must disperse or gas would be deployed.

This warning was inaudible to the majority of the people in the parking lot, which was more than a hundred yards away from the intersection. Even those who heard the warning did not consider that their presence in the parking lot was an issue. Taylor Pendergrass, who was in the parking lot, wrote that “Many, like myself, were saying goodbye to friends and preparing to leave. We heard the order to disperse over the megaphone, and weren’t attempting to violate it.”

But less than a minute after the disperse order was given, the first round of about three cans of tear (CS) gas was fired onto the sidewalk on the west side of Academy Blvd, and plumes of toxic smoke drifted north and west into the parking lot and Palmer Park. The handful of remaining demonstrators ran west, further into the field, others north to the Park.

The CopWatch report of the event states that “Video tapes of the gassing show a number of women running with children clutched under their arms.” At about 2:30, a heavier round of tear gas, perhaps four to five canisters, was fired directly into the parking area, where people were already struggling to leave. According to Copwatch, a third round was fired around 2:31, to “disperse a small group filming the action.” The report also states, that, although one person did toss a tear gas canister back towards the police, that this was the single act that could be construed as in any way violent, and that the rest of the people “remained non-violent and non-confrontational.” (The Tactical Unit hit the young man who tossed the canister with a rubber bullet and with a taser-ie stun-gun.)

In statements to the public, including in a radio interview in Boulder, Chief of Police Skip Arms said that only two canisters of tear gas were fired, and that at the time of deployment there were hundreds of people in the street. These statements, along with many others made by Mr. Arms, are patently false, and there are hundreds of witnesses and dozens of videos and photos that prove his obvious mendacity.

As the tear gas was drifting through the parking area, a squad of police moved into the field, sweeping behind people fleeing the area. At this point, there were fewer than a dozen demonstrators left in the field, with at least twice or three times that number of police. At about 2:40, I began following and photographing a young man, Taylor Pendergrass, who was retreating in front of a squad of about 10 police officers in riot gear, carrying a sign.

He kept calmly moving west in front of them and did not confront the officers in any way. At one point, he looked down because of rough footing, and when he looked back up, an officer had sprinted towards him and fired an extended stream of Pepper (Oleoresin Capsicum or OC) spray directly in his face. Gasping in pain, Pendergrass dropped his sign and began to run, clawing at his eyes and face. He made it out of the field and collapsed on his knees on the sidewalk at the edge of a residential area.

Two other people on the sidewalk came up to his assistance and began rinsing his face with water. Despite the fact that their victim was obviously completely incapacitated, the squad of riot police kept advancing, moved across the street and swept the entire group - Pendergrass, those assisting him, and myself who was shooting pictures - with a generous dose of pepper spray. Everyone instantly fled, blindly, farther into the residential area, and we were pursued no further by the police.

During this time, numerous other people in the parking area and in Palmer Park were accosted with pepper spray and/or violently arrested. CopWatch has determined that the use on February 15 of the OC spray, which, according to Amnesty International has resulted in the death of over 60 people in police custody since 1990, was in violation of the Colorado Springs Police Department’s own protocol and rules.

According to the CSPD General Order 710.20, OC spray may only be used “to defend self or others against unarmed attack, to prevent a suicide attempt, to subdue a person who is resisting or interfering with an arrest, to subdue animals when circumstances warrant.” Additionally, “chemical agents shall not be used indiscriminately or against non-combative persons.”

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

After cleaning pepper spray residue off my cameras and face, I decided to try drive with my companions over to Peterson Air Force Base to witness the end of the Civil Disobedience action there. The route was easy to find as there were numerous police cars heading to the same destination.

After exiting the highway towards the base, we found the entrance blocked by a police car. Having been instructed by event organizers to park at a small shopping center just outside the base, we asked the officer if we could enter the parking lot of the center, and he said we could, and directed us into the lot. It was about 3:35, and it was immediately evident that the event had already ended, as only a few people and cars remained in the parking lot, along with a number of police officers.

The scene was tranquil. My four companions exited the car. I remained inside to finish cleaning my gear, and soon determined that everything was over, so we prepared to leave. One of our group, Rolando Garibotti, walked over towards the nearby Dairy Queen to use the bathroom. While crossing the parking lot, he was confronted by three officers, who ordered him to return to his car. After asking why, he was again told to return, and when he said he was just trying to find a restroom, he was arrested. It was about 3:38, or three minutes after we had arrived in the parking lot.

At that time, I exited the car and we soon realized that several other people in the parking lot were being arrested, also for no apparent reason. All of these people had, like us, arrived well after the civil disobedience action had ended, and at least 20 minutes after any order to disperse had been given.

One man, Eric Doub, was arrested in the Dairy Queen after he got out of line in order to move to the window to see the other arrests. His companions, including his 67 year old father, were arrested by their van as they waited for Doub (who had the car keys) in the parking lot. One 51 year old female kindergarten teacher was dragged out of the van, arrested and handcuffed. (See statements). In all, a dozen people were arrested in the parking lot or adjacent businesses, and the group has since become known as “The Dairy Queen Dozen”.

We later learned that the first part of the civil disobedience had been carried out according to script - 10 people had crossed a line and were ceremoniously arrested. The problem came afterwards. Apparently due to a miscommunication with organizers, the 200 to 300 people who were witnessing the action were standing in the street leading up to the base instead of on the sidewalk. As soon as the planned arrests had been made, and people began naturally to leave, the police announced that the assembly itself was illegal, and that everyone must immediately disperse. Numerous arrests were made as people walked back to the parking lot, where our unfortunate experience later took place, including an arrest of man who was detained because he looked back at the police trailing him when ordered not to.

As at the rally earlier that day, it was evident that the police were primed to use tear gas and pepper spray, and to make arbitrary arrests, despite the fact that the situation did not merit such actions. The overriding impression was that there had been a plan by the Colorado Springs Police Department ahead of time to employ such harsh tactics, perhaps in a chilling attempt to discourage future peace events in the city.

In its summary of the events, CopWatch wrote that at the February 15 rally

“The situation was under control; the use of tear gas by the police on peaceful demonstrators was unwarranted and the arrests unnecessary."

Copwatch has also called for an independent investigation of police conduct. A participant at the rally, Paul Jensen, was more blunt when he described the police tactics as “a spectacularly bad decision.” Colorado Springs City council did hold an emergency meeting days after the rally, where dozens of witnesses of the police action testified, but ultimately the council declined to investigate the police, stating that they stand fully behind their police department.

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Epilogue

Media Critique

The alternative media such as the Boulder Weekly (www.boulderweekly.com), the Colorado Springs Independent News Weekly and community radio stations like KGNU (www.kgnu.org) did a decent job of covering the February 15 events from a variety of angles and perspectives. However, most of the mainstream newspapers, TV stations, and radio concentrated almost exclusively on the tear gas incident, and repeatedly quoted police statements and justifications for the actions (many of which later were determined to riddled with errors) while giving short shrift to civilian eye witness accounts, and to the larger scope of the rally itself, and the focus of the protests. There was a general lack of skepticism of the police action by the mainstream media. One article which covered an emergency City Council meeting held a few days after the rally contained numerous quotes from Police Chief Luis Velez and a few from council members (who were not at the rally), but none from the hundreds of regular citizens attending the meeting who had been affected by the tear gas, pepper spray and rogue arrests.

Suprisingly, there have been no articles in ANY of the press about the arrests of the “Dairy Queen Dozen”, which were the most odious examples of irrational and repressive police behavior. Even the fact (revealed at the first hearing for arrestees) that the arrests had been made illegally - by city officers on county property - did not make it into any of the articles covering the February 15 events and the subsequent fallout.

Court Action

And what of the fate of the 14 people arrested at the February 15 rally, and the 21 or more arrested at or near Peterson Airforce Base? That information is not easy to come by, as there have been many court hearings, some involving groups. But many (most?) individuals were tried alone, without fanfare or media attention.

An initial hearing for most of those arrested at and near the Peterson Airforce Base was held on ???. Of the 10 people who had participated in the planned civil disobedience (stepping across a line and being arrested for trespassing), three accepted plea bargains and deferred sentencing, while the remaining seven decided to go to trial as a group, calling themselves the “Peterson Patriots”. Meanwhile, the pro bono lawyers for the “Dairy Queen Dozen”, those arbitrarily arrested in and around the businesses at a small shopping mall outside of the Airforce Base, had discovered that these arrests had been made on county property by city police outside their jurisdiction. Therefore, the summons for the Dozen were invalid, and none of them appeared in court, which forced the Colorado Springs Police Department to issue and serve new summons.

The trial for the Peterson Patriots took place May 17. Defense lawyers, in an earlier motions hearing, had been denied the inclusion of international law, treaties and the supremacy clause of the US Constitution in the defense. The jury found all seven defendents guilty of trespass, and each was sentenced to pay a fine of $310 or 44 hours of community service. Two defendants declined to pay the fine or do the service, and were reluctantly sentenced by the judge to six days in jail. (For more information, see reports by Chris Friedman at 1 and 2).

The Dairy Queen Dozen still await their day in court. A hearing is scheduled for August 28th, 2003, and the lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the cases against them.

What of the dozens of people traumatized physically and emotionally on February 15 by tear gas and pepper spray, including an infant who ended up in the hospital, an elderly man in a wheelchair, and numerous people trapped choking in the field or in their cars? A spokesperson for the Pikes Peak Peace and Justice Commission says that they, in conjunction with the ACLU, are conducting an investigative report into the events and will use their findings as a basis for a potential civil suit against the Colorado Springs Police Department.