RNC '08 Report: RNC Commission Archive: Mass Arrests and the Heffelfinger-Luger Report

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

There were three mass arrests in the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention.

The first mass arrest took place on Day 1, September 1st at the intersection of Shepard and Ontario on the riverbank in St. Paul, netting a small amount of protesters, a literal handful of whom could be said to be antagonistic towards the police, and a larger amount of concert goers heading for the “Take Back Labor Day” concert on Harriet Island featuring Mos Def, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Atmosphere and a number of other international artists. Over 200 people were surrounded and arrested in a park.

The second mass arrest took place on Day 3, September 3rd, in the wake of a Rage Against The Machine concert in the Target Center in Minneapolis. After some entirely peaceful back and forth downtown, police herded concert goers, curious bystanders and journalists into a trap. 102 people were surrounded and arrested.

The third and final mass arrest took place on Day 4, the last night of the RNC, September 4th. Police instructed the remnants of an earlier demonstration to move south to the Marion Street Bridge, where over 300 people were surrounded and arrested, including interested bystanders and journalists.

At minimum, at least 600 of those arrested during the RNC—more than 75% of the total of over 800 people arrested, were arrested in a mass arrest situation.

The phrase “mass arrest” appears in the main body of the Heffelfinger-Luger report 11 times. At the official presentation of the report at the St. Paul City Council on January 14th, the phrase was used hesitantly, almost reverentially as if to state the obvious would somehow have been the wrong thing to do.

Fifty-five minutes into the 70-minute presentation,Tom Heffelfinger broached the issue with the sentence,

One of the issues we heard, of great concern to the community, was the allegation of mass arrests.

The language of the report itself was similarly unclear.

In the RNC Review Commission’s Conclusions, on page 74 of the report, we find the statement:

The event on the Marion Street Bridge on the evening of September 4 had the feel and appearance of a mass arrest.... In general, the conduct of law enforcement during the RNC was restrained and professional under the circumstances. There were, however, several specific incidents or situations of potential inappropriate conduct, including the improper uses of pepper spray and potential mass arrests, that warrant further review.

“Potential” mass arrest? The RNC Review Commission report deals with one of the clearest problems with police actions—three mass arrests—in a completely unsatisfying way. Mass arrests are illegitimate and unconstitutional because people should only be arrested if they have committed a crime. Mass arrests target the innocent as well as the guilty. They are a form of lazy, intimidating, and civil rights-abusing police work. They expose and exploit the innocent rather than protect and serve them.

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

The Shepard Road/Ontario mass arrest from Day 1 of the RNC was not an alleged mass arrest and it had the appearance and feel of a mass arrest because it undeniably was a mass arrest. Has 8 years of the U.S. administration’s lies and zero accountability for falsely waging war on Iraq reduced us to such pathetic linguistic gymnastics?

The semantics of the RNC Review Commission’s report at times are painfully revealing. It is truly pathetic that a $130,000 commission would end with such an Orwellian narrative. Regarding the Marion Street Bridge mass arrest, the report had this to say:

The Commission believes the law enforcement after-action review should address the fact that the police neither “waited out” the crowd, nor did they promptly arrest the crowd that failed to disperse in response to the orders. This led to what has been described to the Commission as a true “mass arrest” on the Marion Bridge.

Forget for a moment the spineless avoidance of the Commission having to say it themselves through the cunning use of padding clauses such as “what has been described to the Commission” (ie. we did not say it). If this was the only true mass arrest, what exactly happened when over 200 people were arrested on Shepard Road on Day 1 and in Minneapolis following the Rage Against the Machine concert? Were those not true mass arrests?

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

Listening to multiple testimonies from local residents about the incidents, it is absolutely clear that the innocent were surrounded and arrested in both incidents.

Jared Paul was arrested for a felony riot charge while heading along Shepard Road to the Harriet Island concert on Day 1, to see his friends from the hip hop group Atmosphere performing. In his words:

Tom Morello was on-stage wrapping up the Night Watchman set, followed by a representative from Iraq Veterans Against the War, and then Atmosphere began. I heard Slug’s voice through the sound system and a huge smile washed over my face. We took off south bound along the path of the river park, eager to find our way to the concert and catch as much of the set as possible.

None of us knew the area but there was a large bridge in the distance and we could see people walking across. On the way toward it we came across pockets of disgruntled fans saying that the bridge was being blocked by cops and no one could get across. We kept walking in hopes of getting a concrete answer or finding another way around, but the pattern continued and more and more rejected would be show-goers (as well as protesters), were coming toward us. Suddenly, my eyes fixed on what they were all walking away from: an enormous line of storm trooper looking riot police and what looked like National Guardsmen, in full army gear, had blocked the entire width of the road and were advancing steadily toward us like one long plow blade. There were hundreds of them, some with gas masks, some on bikes, and many holding new age weapons I had never seen before.

Helicopter blades could now be heard slicing through the air high above us and I got a very tingly, surreal end of the world feeling. Like life had suddenly become a scene from 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead, complete with scary police state soldiers, droves of panicking civilians, and live Atmosphere songs for the soundtrack. People started moving away very quickly. The militarized lines of officers came to a halt and then fanned out, blocking anyone from leaving by any of the roads at the southerly end of the block.

[....]

Heading quickly in the opposite direction we began to hear frightened voices shouting the same thing in front of us, “We’re trapped, we’re trapped… They’re not letting anybody out!” People looked visibly shaken. I’d seen a similar scenario at the RNC in 2004 when the NYPD got the order from up on High to just scoop up whole crowds of people and fence them in with thick orange construction site webbing, like one big butterfly net, before spiriting them off to pre-arranged warehouse facilities; protesters, shoppers, journalists, senior citizens, legal observers, and anyone in the path of their directive. I didn’t think St. Paul would be employing those same abuses on the first day of this Convention, and certainly not so far away from any march or actual event.

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

Similarly, on Day 3 of the RNC after the Rage Against the Machine concert in Minneapolis, local photojournalist Tony Webster reported that:

An officer gave the order for everyone to back away, and I immediately complied. Protesters didn't. I switched lenses to go a further distance back to stay away from the action. Officers guided the group down a specific path and before I knew it, all of us were surrounded at S 7th Street and 2nd Ave S. Officers started shooting impact rounds into the crowd that was cornered by police from all directions. We were cornered even further up against the building and the police moved us against a different building, announced that we were all under arrest, and ordered us to sit on the ground and place our hands above our heads. By that time, I had various cards from media and journalist organizations in my hand. Police started using plastic riot cuffs to arrest the protesters. I saw Chief Tim Dolan standing about 15 feet from me. I calmly said "Chief Dolan!" He approached, and I stated that I was a photojournalist. My hands were on my head and my camera was around my neck. The second I announced that I was an independent journalist (as in, I sell my photographs and I don't work for a single media organization), he waved his hand and dismissed me completely, walking away. Another officer that was with him gave me the middle finger. I recognized him from other events in Minneapolis, and it was quite shocking to be disrespected and not listened to -- and by the Chief of Police, of all people. I'm obviously not some protester from out of town if I can recognize the Chief and call him by name. Actually, I was taking photos of his swearing in in January 2007 at City Hall.

An officer walked over and asked the group if we had ever been to jail before, laughing and taunting us. One officer made a crude sexual joke in quite poor taste at someone who appeared to be under 18.

I made phone calls to friends and family while I was there, and talked so an officer could hear me. I told a friend I was talking to that I had nothing to do with anything that was going on and emphasized that I was nervous. Officers heard me. They would not allow me to get water out of my bag. When an officer approached me, I attempted to present two cards that identify me as a photojournalist and I was told that I was under arrest and I needed to keep my hands out of my pockets. I was told I would be transported out of the jurisdiction to Saint Paul, and I would wait until I'm charged. I was told that if I was well-behaved, I might be out within 36 hours with bail and a court appearance where I could tell the judge that I'm a journalist. The officer took the cards, and attempted to take my camera memory cards. He handcuffed me with plastic riot cuffs and made me sit down again with force. He pushed me and my camera hit the ground, breaking my lens and nearly breaking off my external flash. I have yet to determine if there's any other damage. Another officer came over asking, "who's that kid that doesn't want to be arrested?" I replied, "that'd be me!"

I was grabbed along with four other people who looked like they were scared to death. Several of the police officers dressed in riot gear grabbed our arms and paraded us past the media, who jumped on the opportunity to photograph us in handcuffs. They said that we were "lucky" and they cut the plastic cuffs off our wrists and we were all told (ordered?) not to return to Minneapolis ever again, despite my residence being just eight blocks away in Loring Park.

[....]

Chief Dolan admits that the crowd was "generally well-behaved," and stated that they "...were not damaging property" and "...were not assaulting anybody." He feels ample warnings were given to the crowd. I've watched video reports that show the warnings being given, but they were only audible from a close distance to the police, and I tried to keep my distance for most of the evening. I only learned through word of mouth that it was declared an "unlawful assembly," but the crowd split up and went down the street. I heard no other announcements until "everyone at this intersection, you are under arrest."

And on Day 4, City Pages journalist Matt Snyder described the events leading up to the mass arrest on the Marion Street Bridge where he was arrested:

Loud explosions sounded and canisters flew in the air as we cut across University National Bank on the corner of University and Marion. We headed south on Marion--back the way we came--as impossibly loud flash bombs began going off around us with increasing frequency. Now people were running. Frantically scattering. A large number assembled on the bridge across I-94.

Standing across the street from the bridge, we could see they were bottlenecked in. Riot police had them ensnared.

Our only way out appeared to be a vast Sears parking lot behind us. We set off in that direction, unaware that our noose, too, had already been slipped. Droves of reinforcements materialized seemingly out of nowhere.

"Get back!" they shouted. "Get back!"

As if warding off vampires with garlic, I held my blue RNC press credentials in a vain attempt to summon their guidance. "Just tell me where to go," I said. "Just tell me where to go."

"That way!" roared an officer. He shoved my left shoulder and pointed across the street, away from the parking lot, back toward the bridge. The situation there looked every bit as chaotic, only more congested. I trotted in that direction, looking every direction at once, trying to avoid--

THUD! A skull-piercing noise exploded inside my cranium. It took a few seconds to realize that a flash bomb had just gone off less than 10 feet in front of me. Ears ringing, I turned around and stared directly into an inhuman gas mask. A muffled voice barked inside it.

"Move! Move! Move!"

But where? Officers were closing in from every direction. Now on the corner of St. Anthony and Marion, two dozen protesters, journalists, and bystanders suddenly realized they'd been had. The expertise with which the police had unfurled the trap was impressive in a way that makes your stomach churn.

Everyone's hands shot up.

"Everybody down!" bellowed numerous voices around us. "Get down! Put your hands behind your head!"

An elfin, curly-haired photographer tried to explain something to an officer, something about his equipment. The officer indifferently took out a Mace canister and unloaded it in his face. The photographer emitted primordial screams and dropped to his knees, rubbing his eyes and crying for help.

"I said put your hands behind your head!"

But he couldn't take his hands away from his face, which was now awash in tears and mucus.

"Put your hands behind your head, or you're getting Maced again!" This time, the photographer managed to pry his hands off his face and follow orders.

We sat in that position for a half-hour as police secured the area. A rigid silence had now replaced the shouting and screaming and exploding. Behind me, a sobbing middle-aged woman kept repeating that she lived in a nearby apartment, she didn't do anything, she was just outside watching. An officer told her to calm down and that "freaking out just makes it worse."

A female officer, noticing the press credentials around my neck, took them off and brought them to show a few of her colleagues. They stood in the middle of the blocked-off intersection and examined them. She returned and put them back around my neck.

"Those things are all bullshit, anyway," scoffed a young officer who was standing nearby.

"I just checked 'em," she replied. "They're valid."

"Well, I heard that press are going to jail tonight anyway, so it doesn't matter." He turned his head and spat.

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

What is perhaps the most amusing about the RNC Review Commission’s unwillingness to call a spade a “spade” and instead opt for “flat shovel”, are the descriptions of the police themselves at the mass arrest events.

The RNC ’08 Report was fortunate enough to be sent, from a legal source, all of the Shepard Road arrest sheets filled out by the police. Where Tom Heffelfinger and Andy Luger may have danced around the phrase “mass arrest”, the law enforcement officials who were actually arresting people at the three events did not seem to have the same reticence.

Shepard/Ontario mass arrest on Day 1 of the RNC. Photo: Avye Alexandres

Perhaps that is because they were the ones who would have to turn up in court to testify. The Commission, on the other hand, was comprised entirely of former law enforcement (including police chiefs) and city hall officials (including former St. Paul mayors) working their way up the political ladder or who were compromised by their employment.

For anyone who believed St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s public claims following the RNC that the would be an “independent review”, perhaps the most sickening bullet point in the bios of the 7-member Commission was that of Robert Hernz, a former police chief of Golden Valley with 30 years in the force, who is currently employed as General Manager of Law Enforcement Technology Group, a software development firm based in Woodbury, MN, that sells its product to the St. Paul Police Department.

When you are taking cash from the people that you are purporting to investigate, perhaps you aren’t the best person for the job. On the other side of the coin, here are a selection of Shepard/Ontario arrest reports from the honest cops who had to do the dirty work:

Watch a 5-minute video about the Shepard Road mass arrest