Protesters: Police pepper-sprayed 'peaceful' gathering

Paul A. Anthony and Ryan Sabalow, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 25, 2008 at 8:11 p.m.
Updated August 25, 2008 at 8:11 p.m.

Text size  

• 4 Comments
• Email
• Print

Tim Hussin © The Rocky

Denver surround, mace and detain protesters at 15th and Court.

Photo by Marie Griffin © The Rocky

Protesters are circled by swat teams on 15th street at 7:30p. on Aug. 25, 2008.

Photo by Brian Lehmann © The Rocky

Police surround a group of protesters after an impromptu demonstration near Civic Center Park on 15th street Monday night.

DOWNTOWN -- Protesters who clashed with police tonight near Civic Center Park say they were sprayed with pepper spray and shot with rubber bullets.

The protesters, 100 or more who range in age from their teens to their 50s, have been cordoned into an area of 15th Street between Cleveland and Court places by dozens of police in riot gear.

The standoff started in the park and then quickly moved, said Brandon Brown, a volunteer medic from Seattle, Wash.

Brown was carrying a bottle of water and offering it to the journalists and protesters who had been sprayed by officers.

Many coughed from peppery haze near the steps of the Wellington Webb Municipal Building.

When the crowd reached 15th, the officers formed a wall with their bodies.

The protest, which began about 7 p.m. in Civic Center Park, was an unpermitted event designed to "Disrupt the DNC," as a series of anarchist protests organized by Unconventional Denver have been labeled.

According to literature reviewed by the Rocky Mountain News, attendees were told to "come ready for quick, decentralized actions spanning the downtown area at a variety of risk levels."

Almost immediately, said protester Magi Belknap, 21, police fired pepper spray at the protesters, causing them to flee across the park and onto 15th Street, where numerous officers blocked them into a pair of parking garages.

"The police started hitting people," Belknap said. "We only walked for like a block" before the confrontation, she said.

Protester Honey Traiman, 55, said the police action was unprovoked.

"It was a very peaceful little march," she said. "They came from every side."

"They came from all around," said a young woman wearing a bandanna over her mouth after she made it past a wall of officers who had blocked her inside with their batons. "I tried to get out, but it was only when I started crying that they met me out."

The woman declined to give her name.

Some observers said it appeared demonstrators may have hidden dozens of protesters inside the parking garages on 15th Street.

"I think they were hiding in the garages," said John Chodkowski, who lives on Capitol Hill and said he was there to watch the events unfold after being caught in them while on a bike ride.

"This is pretty crazy."

Information officer Jim Shires of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said he hadn't heard of anyone being injured in the scuffle.

Shires said officers were separating those behind the barrier and interviewing them.

He said he didn't know if anyone had been detained.

Pete Nelson, 23, of Denver called the scuffle a "police riot," as he held a video camera, filming the wall of riot police.

"The cops were being brutally violent," he said. "They weren't doing anything but chanting."

The crowd continued chanting "let them go" and singing songs nearly a half-hour after the crowd rushed to 15th. But by 8:15 p.m., the protest seemed to die down.

• August 25, 2008

  8:27 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  mountaingoober writes:

  I was down there about 2 minutes before this all happened. Quite frankly, there were so many cops in riot gear that they were scarier than any greasy dirtbag anarchists. No offense to the anarchists. the cops were everywhere and thy looked like MLB catchers with big guns, sticks, spray and zipties. The police presence in this city is ridiculous right now. "Operation Shock and Awe" It is good that these protesters are not shocked or in awe of this show of force by the police who should be protecting and serving us.

• August 25, 2008

  8:53 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Sensible writes:

  typical libs

• August 25, 2008

  8:55 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  nouse4u2 writes:

  if they can't stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen

• August 25, 2008

  9:54 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  7_ogNiOj writes:

  They weren't planning on bringing "the heat." Though they certainly will now I bet.

Featured

• Legislature Blog

  

  Read live updates from the opening of the 2009 legislative session.

• Rocky multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Who's next?

  

  Complete coverage of the Broncos' search for a new coach.

• Rocky year in photos

  

  View an audio slide show of staff selections from 2008.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  Open Mic: Two-man advantage with Avs

• Shanahan's career

  

  See photos from Mike Shanahan's career as Broncos coach.

• 12 days of Drew

  

  Look back at the year that has been with Drew Litton.

• A dream fulfilled

  

  A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production