Series of Real-time Reports Concerning (N-30) Demonstrations Against the World Trade Organization in Seattle, WA - 30 Nov 99 to 08 Dec 99
04 Apr 2000 - Late entry
SEATTLE, WA:
Seattle Police Release Official Report On WTO Mayhem
In an official report made public on Tuesday, the Seattle Police Department blamed a lack of financial assistance and poor planning for their difficulty against a "well-trained and equipped adversary" during the violent protests against the World Trade Organization last fall. The report said: "In retrospect, SPD commanders put their faith in historical precedent -- the Seattle tradition of peaceful protest -- in assessing the needs for policing the WTO event." Seattle said its police department was "taught a hard lesson by a well-trained and equipped adversary." The report cited demonstrators' use of the Internet, two-way radios and cell phones and the "critical mass achieved with the rapid marshaling of forces from all directions nearly simultaneously..."
ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Wednesday, December 8, 1999-Vol. 3 - 342-09:00CST
SEATTLE
Police Chief Says He Will Resign; Mayor Sees No Reason To Quit
Saying that he was saddened that many of his own officers felt that he let them down during massive riots that disrupted last week's World Trade Organization meetings, Seattle's police chief announced on Tuesday he would resign next spring.
Police Chief Norm Stamper denied he was taking the fall for police failure to stop rioters from smashing store windows as thousands fought through clouds of tear gas and rubber bullets to block WTO delegates from attending trade meetings. The 55-year-old Stamper said: "I don't accept the label of victim or martyr. I've reached the end of my career." Stamper has been Seattle's chief for six years.
At a joint news conference Seattle's beleaguered Mayor Paul Schell said that he had no intention of leaving office himself. Schell, a self-admitted former street protester himself, said: "I'm not going to step down. It's important for the whole community to get the facts."
Seattle police officers have blasted Stamper and especially Schell for poorly equipping them and for moving too slowly to get help from other agencies, leaving many riot cops on the line with little or no food for up to 17 hours at a time. Stamper is quoted as saying that he decided months ago to resign in January after seeing the city through any Y2K computer problems that might arise.
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Sunday, December 5, 1999-Vol. 3 - 339-09:30CST
SEATTLE
Seattle Police Chief May Lose His Job
Reports on Saturday would seem to indicate that the violent protests that disrupted Seattle's World Trade Organization summit this week may cost Police Chief Norm Stamper his job. The city council has scheduled hearings on Stamper's handling of the WTO event and the police officers union will ask its members to vote on whether to demand that the chief step down.
Seattle has been criticized for supposedly poor intelligence that underestimated the level of the demonstrations and led to a perceived lack of preparation. Former Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Saturday: "The police officials have admitted publicly that they screwed up. If this happened in a company, they would get rid of the CEO. In this case, that's Stamper."
Stamper, who became chief in Seattle after spending 27 years with the San Diego Police Department and nearly becoming their chief, has said he has no plans to resign. Police officers have voiced anger at Stamper for his alleged lack of planning. Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Edwards told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday that the organization would ask the rank- and-file to vote for Stamper's resignation. He added: "We're disgusted."
The Union-Tribune also said on Saturday that criticism of Seattle officials was being voiced from the White House. One White House official told the paper: "Our law enforcement agents spent a lot of time with the folks in Seattle running through different scenarios. It shouldn't have come to this."
It is also known that anti-terrorism analysts, including ERRI and the FBI, sent several intelligence reports and memos in the weeks preceding the WTO summit, detailing the high possibility for violence.
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Friday, December 3, 1999-Vol. 3 - 337
SEATTLE
Situation In Seattle Eases Up
A few thousand demonstrators rallied at the Pike Place Market on Thursday, marched to the King County Jail 13 blocks south and then dispersed after dark in relative calm when city officials agreed to allow jailed activists to meet with lawyers. On Thursday, there were no reports of tear gas or pepper spray use. Just two people were arrested, bringing the total number of jailed protesters to 587, including 13 people taken into custody before the WTO meetings began.
Not all those who rallied outside the jail were happy to leave Thursday evening. They had been demanding release of all of their comrades, and some were not mollified when the city agreed to let lawyers meet with those inside if the hundreds outside would move on. When one protester smashed a bottle into the street, he was hounded out of the area by others who insisted the demonstration remain peaceful. Also on Thursday, the mayor reduced the 24-hour curfew area to the 17-block area immediately surrounding the WTO meeting sites.
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Thursday, December 2, 1999-Vol. 3 - 336
SEATTLE
ANOTHER DAY OF RIOTING IN SEATTLE
After new clashes with rampaging opponents of global trade talks on Wednesday, authorities imposed a curfew in Seattle for a second night as baton-wielding police fired tear gas in an effort to disperse crowds of "whacko" protesters. Police temporarily sealed off a downtown hotel with POTUS inside as clashes erupted nearby toward nightfall, dashing police confidence that they had protests against a World Trade Organization (WTO) conference under control.
Weary police used mass arrests to enforce a security zone around the convention center where WTO ministers tried to hammer out an agenda for new global trade talks. Seattle police said there were 400 arrests of demonstrators.
As darkness fell on Wednesday evening, new clashes erupted. Police wearing helmets and body armor fired tear gas at about 200 protesters not far from the WTO conference after earlier firing tear gas at a nearby downtown intersection. The hotel where POTUS was staying was briefly sealed off soon after he returned from addressing WTO delegates.
Earlier on Wednesday, police had seemed to get the upper hand after massive protests by trade unionists and environmental activists on Tuesday forced the cancellation of the WTO opening ceremony and imprisoned frightened delegates in their hotel rooms. Officers arrested just 46 on Tuesday. The huge police presence, enforced by mounted officers, armored cars and National Guard reinforcements, emptied the streets of the usually bustling city center and enabled trade ministers to attend the WTO talks.
Police rounded up hundreds of arrested protesters and took them by bus to a former U.S. Naval facility on the city outskirts.
The question ERRI analysts were asking on Wednesday was -- what happened in Seattle? For weeks preceding the WTO conference, analysts, including those at ERRI, had sent out numerous intelligence reports and memos to the appropriate authorities, warning about the potential for violence.
The blame, it appears, may rest squarely on the shoulders of Seattle officials. What Mayor Paul Schell said he wanted from the World Trade Organization meetings was a chance to showcase Seattle as a place where disagreements are aired "Northwest-style, in a civil, reasonable environment." Schell, a liberal who says he agrees with many issues voiced by tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators who marched in Seattle on Tuesday, said he was surprised by the chaos brought on by a radical few.
ERRI's Senior National Security Analyst, Clark Staten, said, "Our very preliminary analysis would indicate that the street cops in Seattle have done a 'hellva' job so far -- given the circumstances with which they have been faced." "It does appear, however, that there was an 'intelligence and planning failure' that placed them in an unfavorable tactical situation," Staten added. "We are not presently sure where an apparent disconnect in the flow of information occurred, but there certainly was reason to believe -- before the event -- that the so-called 'anarchists' would do exactly what they eventually did," Staten concluded.
Although police set aside $6 million for overtime and riot control gear, the initial plan was to stand by and contain demonstrations, letting people shout and march but not disrupt or destroy. That quickly fell apart as a small group of protesters vowed to "shut down the WTO" -- most pledging non-violence, but some intent on using any means necessary.
Militant protesters broke off from approximately 40,000 peaceful demonstrators Tuesday, smashing windows, vandalizing shops, spray-painting obscenities and setting spot fires. Schell, who himself marched against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights, said that in the face of violence, he did the right thing.
Ed Joiner, assistant chief of operations for the police department, acknowledged that the department's "threat analysis" had failed to predict violence, even though the last WTO meeting, in Geneva, was greeted by rioting that included protesters over-turning cars and setting them on fire.
Despite all kinds of warnings from U.S. anti-terrorist analysts, Joiner, incredibly, said: "Based on the threat analysis, quite frankly we didn't have any reason to believe they would engage in this behavior."
It is known that numerous intelligence reports and memos were sent to authorities. Whether the reports or memos were read, remains another question.
Finnish WTO delegate Entero Tuominen, who was trapped in the Seattle Sheraton, by protesters said: "In Finland and Europe, they would have closed neighborhoods down and not let anyone in the area. It's kind of embarrassing. Maybe the police were not well prepared."
Schell defended the police department and the decision to wait until last night to call for help. He said that calling out the National Guard before the protests began "would have inflamed and made circumstances worse." And he also defended the police decision not to make mass arrests, saying that mass arrests would have diverted too many officers from downtown.
Despite widespread publicity about demonstrations that included visits by reporters to a civil disobedience training camp, the police seemed to be caught by surprise by the number of marchers who arrived in the city and by the percentage of marchers willing to engage in violence.
14:30CST - 01 Dec 99
Police Say "Crackdown" Underway in Seattle
Seattle Police Capt. Jim Pugel is quoted by FOX News this morning as saying that at least 45 to 50 people have been arrested today and charged with "pedestrian interference,'' a misdemeanor, after they blocked streets and sidewalks in Seattle's downtown area. A Reuters News report, this afternoon, places the number of those arrested as much higher, maybe as many as 200. A massive police presence is reportedly evident in the area near the convention center, where WTO meetings are being held.
Seattle's mayor promised to stop the anti-trade demonstrators from continuing the violence of last night. "It won't happen again today," Mayor Paul Schell told CNN. "We've got more resources to address this issue." Mayor Schell was apparently referring to both additional police reinforcements and National Guardsmen, who have been deployed to assist Seattle police in maintaining order.
ERRI analysts said this morning that they had previously issued threat advisories to a number of law enforcement and emergency service agencies addressing concerns about the possibility of "outside agitators," including so called "anarchists," who would be attending the WTO meeting for the purpose of engaging in violence. Emergencynet News continues to monitor events in Seattle and will provide updates as circumstances warrant...
ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Wednesday, December 1, 1999-Vol. 3 - 335-09:30CST
SEATTLE
SEATTLE TURNED INTO A WAR ZONE
Worried city officials on Tuesday declared a civil emergency and the National Guard has been called in after thousands of protesters fought running battles with police on Tuesday. The riots threw the start of global trade talks into dissary. As delegates to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting tried to hold negotiations on the agenda of a new round of global trade talks in seattle, anti-trade activists clashed with police who tried to clear the city center.
In scenes reminiscent of U.S. civil rights and anti-war protests of the 1960s and 1970s, police in full riot gear used tear gas and shot rubber pellets they called "stingers" to clear protesters who had clogged the streets and blocked access to the convention center where the WTO meeting was being held.
Masked protesters broke windows of shops, set fire to trash cans and hurled tear gas canisters back at police. At the Westin Hotel, where U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her Japanese counterparts were staying, guests were told to go to their rooms for fear demonstrators would storm the hotel. Seattle Mayor Paul Schell declared a civil emergency and said he would impose a 19:00PST-to-dawn curfew for the city's downtown area and police immediately began clearing the city center. State of Washington Governor Gary Locke called up two national guard units specializing in crowd control and ordered them to the streets of Seattle to assist police.
Police had running battles with anti-trade activists throughout the day as about about 16,000 labor union members and other workers staged a peaceful march to voice their demand that worker rights be a part of future trade deals.
Seattle police admit they were taken by surprise. Police Chief Norm Stamper conceded: "These demonstrators, particularly those who were bent on violence and destruction, made it difficult for us. It was a calculated strategy of major, active and threatening disturbances."
19:15CST - 30 Nov 99
Seattle Mayor Paul Schell Declares 'State of Civil Emergency' and Sets Curfew
Seattle, WA, Following a series
of violent clashes between police and anti-WTO protestors, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell
has declared a civil emergency and imposed a 7 p.m.-to-dawn curfew for the city's downtown area.
In a statement published by the Reuters News Service Schell said, "People are advised to leave downtown now, using southern routes, if at all
possible, and avoiding the curfew area.''
City officials said that the curfew order remains in effect tonight, effective from 7 p.m., Nov. 30, until 7:30 a.m., tomorrow, Dec. 1. Police said the only official traffic and personnel will be allowed in the downtown area during nighttime hours. One 'unofficial' reports also says that the Washington National Guard has been put on alert in the event that they are needed to assist in keeping order...
13:30CST - 30 Nov 99
Police Deploy Pepper Spray in Confrontation With WTO Protestors
Seattle, WA (EmergencyNet News) -- Seattle police have deployed pepper spray this morning in an effort to disperse a crowd of protestors in the vicinity of 6th and Union, near the WTO convention center. The confrontation occurred at about 10:00PST as conference delegates tried to make their way into the opening meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Some of the protestors had vowed yesterday to disrupt this morning's meeting by blocking streets and staging sit-ins. A few other acts of sporadic vandalism, such a spray painting of buildings and breaking of windows are also being reported. EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Seattle closely and will provide details as circumstances warrant...
*****
13:30CST - 30 Nov 99
WTO Protestors Battle with London Police
London, England (EmergencyNet News) -- Concurrent with a reported confrontation in Seattle, a preliminary report is coming in that a crowd of approximately 1,000 anti-WTO protestors is engaging London police in an area near Euston Station, one of London's main rail terminals. The crowd, many of whom are described as "wearing masks," have apparently been throwing rocks and bottles at a police cordon. At least six people were reported injured and at least 15 arrests have taken place. EmergencyNet News continues to monitor events in London as well...
(Added - 10 Apr 2000) The Seattle Police Dept. After-Action Report, Nov 29 - Dec 03, 1999, World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference
13 Nov 1999-Chicago Emergency Institute Issues Worldwide Terrorism Advisory (includes warning of street violence in Seattle)
© EmergencyNet News Service, 1999. All rights reserved.
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