Police Chief Who Oversaw 1999 WTO Crackdown Says Paramilitary Policing Is a Disaster
The police chief who oversaw Seattle's crackdown on WTO protesters learned the dangers of militarization.
Norm Stamper
November 17, 2011
They came from all over, tens of thousands of demonstrators from around the world, protesting the economic and moral pitfalls of globalization. Our mission as members of the Seattle Police Department? To safeguard people and property—in that order. Things went well the first day. We were praised for our friendliness and restraint—though some politicians were apoplectic at our refusal to make mass arrests for the actions of a few.
Then came day two. Early in the morning, large contingents of demonstrators began to converge at a key downtown intersection. They sat down and refused to budge. Their numbers grew. A labor march would soon add additional thousands to the mix.
“We have to clear the intersection,” said the field commander. “We have to clear the intersection,” the operations commander agreed, from his bunker in the Public Safety Building. Standing alone on the edge of the crowd, I, the chief of police, said to myself, “We have to clear the intersection.”
http://www.alternet.org/story/153111/police_chief_who_oversaw_1999_wto_crackdown_says_paramilitary_policing_is_a_disaster?page=entire 
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