Isak Bressler is a 26 year old law student at Seattle University who met me in my office. His narrative report is attached. He was a legal observer at several street events during the WTO and wrote a careful account of his observations. I found him careful and credible in his presentation.

Bressler emphasized that he was witness to the Dec 1 events on Capitol Hill, in particular the confrontation at Pike and Broadway. He said that prior to the police action, the crowd was "bored and ready to go home". He said the gathering was boisterous but peaceful, and could not fairly be portrayed as any threat to public safety. I pressed him several times about whether there was any provocation from the crowd, or from hangers-on, and he said convincingly that it was not a hostile environment for anyone.

Bressler claims that the white van driven by police drove into the crowd at about 20 miles per hour. He believes the driver wanted a confrontation and was baiting the crowd. He says the panic ensuing from the van incident was what precipitated police use of teargas.

Bressler believes that police were emboldened by the fact that they wore no badges or identification, and could act anonymously.

He recounted his experience later the same evening during the confrontation near the QFC at Republican and Broadway. He described a chaotic scene in which he was unable to approach police lines and never succeeded in asking questions.

Bressler says at no time did he hear any warnings to disperse or other announcements from police.

He was shot at close range by an officer firing a tear gas cannister, and says it did not appear to be accidental, as the officer was looking directly at him while firing. The cannister cut his head, caused profuse bleeding, and required four stitches.

Bressler described an officer who detained a medic on Broadway, and said he saw the woman "spread eagled" by the policeman with a hand on her shoulder and holding a nightstick in a menacing fashion. He believed the woman had been struck and injured, although he did not witness it.

Nicole Zimmer met with me in my office. She is a 24 year old law student at the University of Washington. She was a legal observer during events on Capitol Hill on Dec. 1. I found her credible and deeply concerned about her experience. Her report is attached

Zimmer arrived at Pine and Boren about 630 pm on Nov. 30th. After initially watching from behind police lines, she shifted to the "protestor" side and offered valuable eyewitness testimony. She saw two protestors throw bottles. She heard one police warning delivered with a bullhorn, but said it was badly garbled and hard to understand. She remembered that it specifically cited the municipal ordinance being used to disperse the crowd.

Zimmer said police action in general was more provocative than effective in dispersing the crowd, because it mobilized and angered local residents caught in the action.

She described a troubling incident in which a resident was driven from his apartment by teargas. He attempted to ask a police officer what was going on, but was told to leave the street. When he continued to ask questions, he was shot twice at close range with a beanbag gun.

Zimmer said a Channel 7 reporter witnessed use of a nightstick in unauthorized manner.

She said the militaristic appearance and actions of police had the effect of inflaming rather than calming the crowd. She described police action as going far beyond what was necessary to assert their authority.

Dr Ron Rosen is a practitioner of Oriental medicine and acupuncture in Denver. He is 52, and has participated in various demonstrations dating back to Selma, Alabama, in the 60s.

His message is that that it is a "myth" that police were simply reacting to property damage. And a myth that it was individual or rogue officers who went out of control. His remarks centered on what he saw at 6th and Pike on Tuesday, Nov 30.

His medic group gathered at 0545 am, and went to 6th and Pike. He says police began use of teargas without warning at about 9 am. He described police spraying locked down demonstrators, then beginning warnings about 10 minutes later.

He was in communication with DAN coordinators, and says it was clear that a command was given to use tear gas at several intersections simultaneously, based on radio traffic he heard.

"There were always enough police that they could have arrested all the demonstrators, but chose to use gas instead"

He cited a scholarly article claiming up to 70 people had been killed during use of pepper spray…(N.Carolina Medical Journal, 1997)
www.ncmedicaljournal.com

Rosen says he saw a woman whose jaw was broken at 4th or 5th and Pike. Says he personally saw four or five incidents where officers raised nightsticks above their shoulder.

Rosen, who is an anarchist himself, says "property destruction is just stupid when it could jeopardize medical operations or other protestors." He said the Black Block demonstrators were clearly endangering others, although he did not see them commit vandalism or property destruction.

Rosen says he saw at least 200 people treated for gas inhalation, asthma, pepper spray irritation, and blows from gas cannisters and wooden dowels.

Stefani was observer for National Lawyers’ Guild. She has background as a chemist and also served in US Army Intelligence.

On Nov 30th, she saw 'purported agents' (ie disguised police) at 4th and Seneca. Later, at Westlake Mall, she saw persons with wigs and earphones. She gave detailed observations of times and places she saw movements of officers and purported officers over three days she observed events connected with the WTO.

At one point she saw SPD horseback officers attempting to disperse a crowd by riding horses toward protestors. She asked the officers for their badge numbers but they declined to give them.

At 8th and Pine she saw 'purported officers' ( in this case, meaning police in riot gear who had no markings or badges to identify them as police). They were wearing ponchos and it was unable to know if they were police or 'others'.

Stefani went to 6th and Pike when she heard 'bangs'. She was tear gassed and collapsed in the street outside Old Navy. She was cared for and revived by demonstrators. At the sixth and Pike location she said about 1/3 of the officers carried no badge numbers or ID.

At 545pm she saw an officer throw a bottle at 2nd and Pine.

At 550 pm at 6th and Pine she heard an order to disperse given. At 555 gas was used. The crowd moved up the hill.

She provided numerous other examples of officers without ID. She said orders to disperse were often difficult to hear because of masks covering faces.

At NE corner of 2nd and Pike she was sprayed in face with pepper spray by someone inside a van pool vehicle that was marked 'SPD'. She was unable to confirm it was police inside the van.

She said National Guard Units had no ID whatsoever.

As a trained chemist, she was concerned to learn that some gas had methylene chloride as an ingredient, which she said is a known toxic agent. She was troubled that Seattle Police after action reports ignore this.

She personally had 3 months of adverse health impacts. She says she knows of an asthmatic person who died during the WTO but repeated refused to give details or a name, because she had promised anonymity. She has carefully examined photographs and determined that some police or guardsmen were carrying rifles in addition to less-lethal technology.

Additional Info

Mr Compton,

with regard to the testimony i gave in your office recently, and the summary posted on the ARC web pages, I just wanted to make a few corrections to the testimony as presented.

(1) "At 545 pm she saw an officer throw a bottle at 2nd and Pine." should be 6th and Pine

(2) "At 550 pm at 6th and Pine she heard an order to disperse given. At 555 gas was used. The crowd moved up the hill."

I heard an order to disperse, by someone whose identity i was not able to confirm.
Fails to mention unmarked/unidentified officers firing into back of bystander.

thanks you for making corrections.

stefani banerian

Pavlos is a 35 year old self-employed computer instructor who lives in Denver. He was interviewed by telephone on speakerphone with staffer Chris Neman listening.

He saw events on three days starting Tuesday, but we focused largely on events at 6th and Pike where he was a street medic.

Pavlos claims the first use of tear gas began at about 0915 without warnings or dispersal notice from police. He saw when arriving groups of demonstrators blocking the intersection in "lockdown" style by inserting arms in PVC tubes. He emphasized that there was an expectation that demonstrators would be arrested and taken away, not gassed. His argument is that force used to disperse was at all times disproportionate to the challenge faced by police. He saw use of pepper spray, initially, followed by use of tear gas and rubber bullets (he defined rubber bullets as including 00 buckshot sized balls, as well as paintball sized and larger bullets, some 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter.

"I heard occasional calls for dispersal, but no attempt to arrest. Just the use of gas."

"I saw chemical-caused injuries, as well as bleeding injuries, blood trauma, bruising, non broken-skin injuries. I saw persons struck in the kidneys in particular. I saw persons hit in the eye, and some who lost teeth when hit by various projectiles."

He also witnessed events at 8th and Stewart. Stavros said he did not personally see officers raise batons above the shoulder, but is personally convinced that occurred. One woman in particular on Wednesday was hit at short range by a tear gas canister or other projectile, and had "microfractures of the jaw", later confirmed by Xray.

He says he saw no specifically provocative behavior. Demonstrators sang, blocked the street, and successfully disrupted the conference, "but nothing warranted the degree of force used by police". He says although it was clear the street had to be cleared, the demonstrators expected paddy wagons and mass arrests. "We saw no need for the amount of force used."

"Police were numerically overwhelmed, and they panicked. And they used tactics they had no practiced previously. But they got hands-on experience in Seattle"

"The police offered no avenue of escape. It was an effort not to disperse, but to punish the crowds."

Pavlos Stavropolous is an anarchist, and refused to dissociate himself from behavior of particular demonstrators, saying those are matters of personal choice.

"No one should have power over anyone else. I believe in direct democracy. All forms of hierarchy should be abolished. I do not consider property destruction as violence, although I do not chose to engage in property destruction."

Williamson is the newly appointed head of the KC Labor Council. We met in my office, and he described his observations about several WTO events. It was in his words 'a defining experience' in crystallizing his ideas about global trade organizations and the importance of trade unions in speaking up on globalization and issues of free speech and assembly.

He saw the declaration of a free speech zone as deeply disturbing a 'preemptive strike against speech'. Williamson was particularly disturbed that demonstrators ordered to disperse had no way to escape and no instructions from police that would allow them to comply lawfully.

Williamson initially argued that those who supported the WTO were suppressing the right of WTO critics to protest against the world organization. I asked him if he meant to say that the WTO or its advocates had orchestrated a crackdown on speech. He conceded that the two issues were not directly connected, but saw a similar mindset in the attempt to control speech both in America and abroad:

"We protested the undemocratic values of the WTO. What went on in the streets extended the usurpation of democracy. They became intertwined."

"WTO was about corporate greed. At the WTO (ministerial conference) free speech emerged as a new issue, but they are in fact the same issue."

"I took the Mayor at his word that there would be room and resources for protest"

At 4th and Pike on Tuesday, saw some peaceful arrests, and "people were giving cops a lot of leeway". But then tear gas was used, and that precipitated the extreme anger of the crowd.

At Midnight Wednesday, Williamson went to Capitol Hill with a friend, both wearing Teamsters’ Union jackets (Local 174). They arrived to discover a chaotic scene at 10th and Pine. The crowd called on 'the Teamsters' to deescalate the situation. "The majority were in a conciliatory mood".

They took a white tee shirt from a protestor, put it on a stick, and attempted to signal a willingness to negotiation. Whereupon, the police fired gas. He saw this as a clearly disproportionate response to the challenge presented by demonstrators.

Joshua is a third year law student at UW who currently does prosecution work for King County under an apprenticeship rule. He offered information on Capitol Hill events and downtown events he witnessed.

On Tuesday the 30th he was legal observer on Cap Hill. He was at Broadway and Pine at about 6 pm. He describes a blue SUV carrying 4 officers that drove at high speed into the crowd. (He says 25 to 30 mph). One person was knocked down. He says the crowd threw debris and rocked the vehicle as a result of what he viewed as clear provocation. Josh says car incident was clear catalyst for what followed, triggering violence by both protestors and police. He believes that officers using tear and pepper gas were targeting observers and press with credentials and/or uniforms (tee shirts and hats).

Early Wednesday downtown he saw a crowd peacefully assembled in Belltown. A police (?) vehicle 'KC Van Pool' was parked and watching. At one point an officer rolled down his window and stated, 'if you don’t leave, you’re gonna get arrested'.

He reported frequent and severe communication breakdown. He tried to establish by talking to police what were the boundaries of the no protest zone. While chatting with an officer he was told by another officer in stern terms 'nobody stands near the Peacekeeper', and was threatened with 'mace'. He observed that 'officers were tired, exhausted, and thirsty, and I felt very sorry for them.'

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, he talked to a reporter near the QFC at Broadway and Republican. He witnessed a 'mad charge toward the reporters'. He was unable to get any badge numbers. Later he saw residents come out of their homes to escape gas. They too were sprayed. 'Officers just chased people'.

Josh said he did witness some behavior by the public that police might have deemed provocative, including breaking of windows in downtown Seattle.

Allison is a Seattle social worker was a legal observer during WTO. She presented us a written statement, which will be posed on the website. She read the statement aloud to Compton and a staff member, but declined to be recorded or have her audio made available. She personally conducted and recorded interviews with many demonstrators and eyewitnesses, and was deeply troubled by the events she saw and recorded.

Woynarowski is a first year law studnt at UW who was an observer for the National Lawyers’ Guild during WTO. He focused on events on Capitol Hill and events outside the King County Jail.

On Nov 30th he marched with DAN to 7th and Stewart. At 920 am he saw a protestor get into an altercation with police at 6th and Union. He reported this because he was troubled by the way the man was handled. The man was grabbed from the back, thrown to the ground, and detained then released. I understood he thought the use of force was disproportionate and unnecessary.

He witnessed use of gas at 6th and Union. He says that about 1113 am line of cops with riot gear and batons advanced. The command to disperse was not clear or audible. Says officer SPD 5193 gave commands. He says armored vehicle moved on crowd, spraying gas. KC Sheriff Deputies followed in Green Uniforms. He saw KC deputies spray protestors at point blank range. A girl with a bandanna over her face had it ripped off. He was concerned that protestors were gassed in location where they could not escape. He personally suffered a "panic attack". Several protestors were injured.

At 5 pm he was at 6th and Pike. He heard no dispersal order, but gas and concussion grenades were used to drive protestors up hill. He said the event was "very frightening". He claims a dazzling bright light was used to confuse protestors.

On Wednesday, Dec 1st, he went on bike from Capitol Hill to downtown. At Boren he was stopped and searched without explanation. This was clear constitutional infringement in his opinion. At Westlake mall, he said police occupied intersection. Then, without explanation, they ran toward individual protestors and "snatched" and handcuffed them. He witness random gassing of individuals near the Market.

He lives at Bellevue near Pike. When walking home about 930 pm, he encountered gas. Saw citizens come out of their dwellings, who were gassed with no apparent provocation. There was significant gas infiltration into his apartment.

At 430 pm Thursday he was at the KC Jail. He saw a man identified as a "provocateur" in the crowd. The man told him that he intended to "do violence". When he reported this to police, they refused to take any action against the man.

Dick Burton is a philosophy professor at Seattle Central Community College. He acted as observer during WTO events. He lives near Harvard and Pine.

On Wednesday night he was returning from a church event at the downtown Methodist Church at about 930 pm.

He observed a large crowd at Bill’s Pizza restaurant as he approached Broadway and Pine. He saw a Metro van "bolting from the Chevron at high speed". It was driven by police. The action angered the crowd. (dark green van? He is uncertain) The van pulled back, "then roared again into the crowd". Crowd was angered and frightened by the action, and some tried to rock the car and one struck it with a traffic cone.

Burton says the vehicle drove around the block, and when it returned, "an arm was out the window and five to ten people on sidewalk were pepper sprayed. He said this indiscriminate use of pepper spray was very troubling.

Burton said he saw no acts of violence or vandalism, but said that blocking intersections was something to which police should legitimately react... "maybe that counts as provocation".

Gilman is owner/proprietor of the Gravity Bar Restaurant on Broadway. She has owned the establishment for 14 years.

Gilman says that although she has a business with large windows on a busy street, she had no fear of damage from protestors, and was consequently troubled by Police efforts to encourage business closures.

"I saw and heard fear." She said police called the manager of the Broadway Market and asked that everyone close down. She says the police warned "there is going to be trouble" and strongly urged them to close. The market manager complied and shut down market facilities, forcing her to shut down.

"I was outraged. This was caving in to fear". She closed two nights because of market closure, and a third night because her employees wanted time off to attend WTO related events.

"I believe the police brought it all on. They instigated the violence."

Gilman pointed to ongoing difficulties between police and kids, and said she feared the police action on Capitol Hill was connected to their continuing efforts to get at the youth element on the street.

Tara is 3rd year law student who lives near Pine and Olive. She was a legal observer.

She was unable to leave her home on Capitol Hill without encountering tear gas or pepper spray. On the 30th she observed riot-clad officers coming up the street. She says that "rampant sub-lethal force was used." She agreed that less-lethal was a better term, to include pepper and tear gas, rubber and plastic bullets and projectiles, etc.

She assisted in collecting about 250 declarations that were to be used as basis for later lawsuits.

Herivel says she could see no purpose for police action to drive people up to Capitol Hill on the 30th. She says the use of less lethal force was unwarranted and unnecessary throughout the WTO.

Herivel spent three days taking affidavits from people who had been jailed. She said the reports were consistent and troubling. Medical help was denied to those detained, and some were denied medication. She says one woman was denied insulin and went into diabetic shock. She says all those detained were denied lawyers for at least 24 hours. She said there were numerous "horror stories" including the account of one 60 year-old woman who was thrown to the ground.

Eric is a second year law student who was co-coordinator for observers for National Lawyers’ Guild.

"Police tended to attack without provocation or legal rational"

"At no time did I have reports of attacks on police"

"Excessive force has to be in comparison with something. All the police action was out of proportion to the protestors’ actions."

Nelsen spent considerable time observing demonstrations and police actions, and says he heard no dispersal warnings or orders to move at any location.

He believes police at individual downtown locations were making their own decisions to move against demonstrators until a general order was made about 5 pm to clear the streets.

Eric is a merchant who operates Tenzing Momo in the Pike Place Market. He is president and Chair of the Pike Place Constituency.

Pollard says it has not be clearly reported how profoundly the WTO disturbances impacted the market, its merchants, and customers.

He reminded me how demonstrators and others were driven west from 1st into Pike Place. At one point a tear gas cannister was thrown into the Pike Place Atrium at 93 Pike, perhaps by a demonstrator.

Pollard says that the gas used was a direct contaminant for fish and produce on display. He says produce stands and fish merchants were advised to destroy fruits and vegetables, although not all complied. The USDA cautioned that consuming food contaminated with chemical irritants could have serious health effects.

Pollard says many viewed many as a safe place to escape street disturbances, but it turned out to be no sanctuary. He says this was ironic because the Mayor was saying the market was open... and encouraged people to shop. Majority of gas releases were focused around the pig statue on Pike place.

He says he witnessed considerable heckling and "visceral" chanting as they were "herded" from business core area to the market.

Pollard was troubled at the lack of consideration given to the collateral effects of gas and other less lethal technologies and how they could harm those doing normal business. He said it should be evident that chemical agents should not be used where they can contact fish and vegetables. He pleaded that the city should compensate its "hard working farmers and merchants" who lost business and inventory during the protests.