Mar 18, 2008

Police brace for protests

Big crowd expected to mark Iraq war's 5th anniversary

By Doug Oakley / Daily News Staff Writer

Facing criticism over their handling of recent demonstrations, Berkeley police are bracing for a flood of protesters Wednesday who intend to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Police plan to have 50 or 60 extra officers on duty to keep crowds from getting out of control, Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said.

Officially, three groups are applying for event and amplified sound permits, but it's anyone's guess what unofficial protests may take place. Events are planned all over the Bay Area.

CodePink will have its usual protest in front of the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting center on Shattuck Avenue. World Can't Wait -Drive Out the Bush Regime plans a protest at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, just a block and a half from the CodePink protest. And a group called the Answer Coalition plans an event with speakers and a hip-hop group in Civic Center Park.

Kusmiss said the department's crowd-control team has been used more in the past 2 1/2 months keeping anti-war demonstrators in line than it has in the past 17 years. The team was called out the day of the Feb. 12 city council meeting when up to 2,000 people converged on Civic Center Park while the council debated whether to retract a statement telling the Marines they are unwelcome intruders in the city.

Since then, the team has been used to control crowds at the recruiting center. The last time it has been used this much was in 1991, when there were violent protests at People's Park over a plan to install volleyball courts, Kusmiss said.

"We're going to have extra officers working in overtime capacity that day, much like the day of the protests during the big city council meeting in February," Kusmiss said. "Not preparing or anticipating crowds would potentially be very problematic. (During recent protests), we have had vandalism and criminal behavior, which has an impact on business and traffic flow."

During the Feb. 12 council meeting, the department spent $93,000 on officer overtime. On Feb. 15 and Feb. 20, the department spent $20,000 each day in overtime controlling anti-war protesters downtown, said city spokeswoman Mary Kay Clunies-Ross.

The police department has taken some criticism for its use of force during those three events.

Berkeley's Police Review Commission, which takes citizen complaints about police behavior and recommends policy changes, held a hearing last Thursday to hear complaints about the department's crowd-control team.

The commission voted to form a subcommittee to look into the complaints, and Berkeley Police Chief Douglas Hambleton will meet with the subcommittee, said Lt. Andrew Greenwood.

And two commissioners met Monday with Hambleton and City Manager Phil Kamlarz to make sure the department is well prepared for Wednesday's protests.

"Force was used (during those three events); we have been open to saying that," Kusmiss said. "There has been more guidance given by supervisors about the team's approach. The size of the team is not large enough to work with crowds we have had. The leadership of the department sees it as an ongoing effort, so we are doing some more training."

Kusmiss said the team has endured some attrition, and the department has had to transfer some patrol officers to monitor World Can't Wait and CodePink.

"The feedback we have received is officers have been professional and shown tremendous restraint under challenging situations," Kusmiss said.

Clunies-Ross said the city is hoping to achieve a balance Wednesday.

"It's hard to tell how big the events will be and what will happen," Clunies-Ross said. "Our goal is to preserve people's safety and to allow people to have their voices heard against the war."



E-mail Doug Oakley at doakley@bayareanewsgroup.com.