Eric
and Peter were arrested today, adnd here is the chronology of what happened:
Eric
and Andy and Peter walked up to the entrance point where they check credentials
and said they wanted to go to the "free speech zone".
The
police directed them ahead to the agreed upon area with the 2 grassy ovals
with the sidewalk on both sides, and the yellow police tape around the perimeter.
They
walked up to where the tape was across the path and stopped and unfurled the
banner and peace flag.
The
banner read "Democrats, please stop funding the war".
Other
police came and said you can't stand here.
The
police said this is an area for "boosters".
Eric
and Peter explained the meetings and the agreed upon area marked with police
tape.
The
police called a supervisor.
He
said move back 25 feet.
Eric
and peter explained the agreement again.
He
grabbed Eric's wrist and twisted it into a submission hold.
Other
police grabbed Peter and took him several feet away.
The
police took the banner and broke the supporting bamboo rod.
They
took the green peace flag everyone has seen and broke the bamboo flagpole.
They
took them to the sheriffs station on top of the hill overlooking the World
Arena and booked them for obstruction.
Then
they were told by supervisors the charge was changed to trespassing and booked
them again.
They
were then transported, not to Sand Creek substation, 1/2 mile away, but to
Falcon up by the Chapel Hills mall.
They
were let out of the police car in the parking lot and left there.
There
was no further processing that was needed, they were just taken miles away,
for no reason, and left there.
Eric
and Peter called friends for transportation back to the world Arena.
Stay
tuned
Eric
explains what happened
News
reports of arrests
Eric
gives an interview to TV media before the convention
Press Release:
The
police team coordinating security at the Colorado Democratic State Convention
used confusion and unreasonable exertion of authority to curtail public participation,
and arrest 2 men Saturday, May 17. Officers broke protest signs over their
knees and used arrest, detention, and relocation to keep some voices from
the public eye until the opportunity to influence the convention delegates
had passed.
According to Eric Verlo: "Even abiding by a post-9/11 limitation placed on
our civil liberties, the so-called 'Free Speech Zone,' my right to participate
in our democracy is being muted by a false authoritarian concern for public
safety."
Peter Sprunger-Froese (pronounced: FRAZE) and Eric Verlo, arrested on May
17, had posed no security threat. Neither were their voices disruptive of
the convention goers. Their banner which read "Democrats
please stop funding the war" elicited overwhelming support from the attendees.
Many delegates began booing the police actions as the two men were being arrested
for questioning police contradictions of previously negotiated access.
As the convention check-in began at 7AM, the two men entered the "Free Speech
Zone" as directed by police, walked to the edge of the police tape and unfurled
their banner.
Eric Verlo: "They were turning away everyone without credentials until we
asked about the Free Speech Zone. They answered: 'Oh, you're here for the
Free Speech Zone' and then waved us through. They didn't explain where it
was, or that it did not extend to the police tape boundary. An unversed citizen
would not have known to ask to enter the area, nor about its limits."
The two men were immediately informed by police officers that they were standing
in a spot reserved for "boosters" only and that they must move back a considerable
distance. A supervisor was called to the scene who simply commanded the activists
to move. After declining to explain himself, he grabbed Verlo in a wrist submission
hold while SWAT officers subdued Sprunger-Froese, throwing his banner and
peace flag to the ground after breaking the bamboo poles.
Sprunger-Froese and Verlo were handcuffed and driven to an El Paso County
sheriff's station across the street, charged with obstruction, which was then
changed to trespassing, photographed, fingerprinted, and then driven to a
distant city police substation before being released.
Eric Verlo: "Peter and I were dropped off in the parking lot of the Falcon
Police Substation 15 miles away. Only then was my cellphone returned so that
I could arrange a ride. By the time we were able to return to our friends
and vehicles at the convention, the 7-10am opportunity to influence the delegates
had passed.
Eric Verlo asks: "Was the Colorado Springs state convention used as a "dry
run" for the Denver DNC in August? For state security preparations the answer
would appear to be yes."
Tuesday,
noon, update:
1)
FREE SPEECH ZONES. For the first time, I am hearing the police officially
call the grassy islands in the World Arena parking lot "free speech zones."
2)
BARRIERS AROUND FREE SPEECH ZONES. Cmdr. Eells said on Tuesday that the sawhorse
barriers around the Free Speech Zones would be there to separate pedestrians
from vehicles, not delegates from the non-ticketed/non-credentialed public.
On Wednesday, Niski and Liebowitz denied this, saying that the sawhorses would
separate the sidewalks from the grassy islands. They maintained, however,
that it would be possible to hand printed literature from the free speech
zone to someone on the sidewalk as long as there was no obstruction of the
sidewalk. I am not sure which version is correct.
3)
HOURS: The World Arena opens for parking at 6:00 am (credentials and
tickets required). The doors to the World Arena will open at 7:00 a.m.
Once a credentialed & ticketed person enters, s/he can't leave and get
back in. This is per Democratic Party request and has to do with fire
code rules. The World Arena will be at capacity, with between 10,000
and 10,500 people inside. Since the schedule specifies that the convention
opens at 10:00 a.m., I am guessing we will see a rush to get in between 7:00
am and 11:00 am, followed by very light traffic.
4)
PARKING: There is a mix-up with credentials and tickets. Some people
who are supposed to be delegates may not have the paperwork they need to get
in to the World Arena. Those people will go to the Hampton Inn to work
things out. In the meantime, many of them may need to find parking outside
the World Arena. That means we can expect parking lots in places like
Tinseltown and Target to be busy.
The
state convention will pick delegates and a platform. Protesters will be
there to practice for the national event.
By
Tim Hoover
The
Denver Post
Article
Last Updated: 05/16/2008 02:12:31 AM MDT
The
Colorado Democratic Party's state convention kicks off today in Colorado
Springs, where even the protesters will gather with an eye toward the
national convention in August.
Party
officials are expecting approximately 9,600 delegates and alternates at
the World Arena. That's a record turnout for a state convention, they
say, fueled by an exciting presidential primary and the anticipation of
the national convention in Denver a few months later.
"We're
coming up to the cusp of changing the direction of the country, and people
want to play a role," said party spokesman Matt Sugar. "The enthusiasm
is unprecedented in Colorado."
Republicans
will hold their state convention May 31 in Broomfield.
The
purpose of the Democratic state convention, which runs through Saturday,
is to pick the final delegates to the national convention, firm up the
party's platform, nominate congressional candidates and put Mark Udall
on the ballot as the party's lone U.S. Senate candidate.
But
it's also a big pep rally.
Party
chairwoman Pat Waak said the event will give delegates the chance to get
to know candidates. She said there also will be political VIPs, but it
won't be either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton .
And,
she predicted, "there will be a lot of Pikes Peak jokes."
That's
a crack aimed at Udall's Republican opponent, Bob Schaffer, who released
a TV ad that showed a picture of Mount McKinley in Alaska instead of Pikes
Peak.
The
protestcolorado.org
website has been giving protesters advice on where
to demonstrate.
"Activist
organizations throughout Colorado should consider paying the Colorado
Springs convention a visit to hone their message before the national convention
in August," the website advises.
Lt.
Skip Arms of the Colorado Springs Police Department said there are "free-speech
zones" set up around the arena.
"We
want to maintain as low a profile as we can," he said. "For us, a successful
convention will be when the Police Department is not part of the story."
Eric
Verlo, a local activist involved with the protestcolorado .org website, said the state convention
would give Coloradans a chance to protest several ballot initiatives as
well as the war in Iraq. He said, though, that many of the protesters
are Democrats and so are likely to be less confrontational.
"We're
just trying to do this in kind of a friendly way," he said.
