Not enough police at rally, chief says

By DEEDEE CORRELL - THE GAZETTE

An internal review of the way the Colorado Springs Police Department handled an anti-war rally has produced a list of what went wrong and other ways to handle crowds in the future, Police Chief Luis Velez said Monday.

"We are going to develop new tactics to deal with these people from Boulder (and) Denver. We've got some good ideas already," Velez said as he met with the City Council to discuss the Feb. 15 incident in which police used tear gas on a group demonstrating against the potential war against Iraq.

Velez said 70 officers were not enough to deal with a crowd whose behavior he said deteriorated into blocking traffic, pounding on cars and in one case, shoving a police officer.

Police knew in advance the rally might turn ugly.

In an audiotape of a Feb. 13 meeting of the Justice Advisory Council of the Pikes Peak Region, Velez is heard warning other members to avoid the Palmer Park area because they knew a group with a reputation for overturning cars and setting fires planned to come.

"From roughly 10 in the morning to roughly 2 in the afternoon Saturday, Maizeland and Academy, probably would be a good time not to be there, for those of you that don't want to be spectators and may not want to breathe in some air that might have something other than normal oxygen in it," he said. "Just so everybody knows, Palmer Park may be a different looking place come Sunday."

He meant only that police were prepared for the possibility they might use tear gas, not that they had already made the decision, Velez said.

Monday, the chief showed the council footage from a police video in which officers scuffled with several demonstrators -- an incident Velez said began when a protester shoved an officer to the ground.

Velez said the incident illustrates why it's more appropriate to use tear gas on an unruly crowd than to try to separate out the offenders. If an officer moves into a crowd to arrest someone, other protesters tend to try to protect their friend and may harm the officer, he said.

Velez said police decided to declare the gathering an unlawful assembly when protesters began harassing motorists, striking their cars and blocking traffic. He told council members police warned people to leave, both over bull horns and in individual warnings, at least 50 times before they used the gas.

At a Feb. 18 news conference, Velez said police launched the gas to clear Academy Boulevard of about 150 protesters who refused to leave.

Others have disputed that statement, saying police had already cleared the street and that most protesters had returned to the sidewalks and were heading home when police used the gas.

Velez said Monday that although protesters aren't visible in video footage of the area where the gas was released, they remained scattered throughout the area, standing at various corners and refusing to leave.

Among the lessons learned from the event is the need for police to increase their "overt videotaping" so protesters bent on breaking the law realize they aren't anonymous, Velez said.

Another is the need for police to become more active in the process of issuing permits for rallies. It wasn't wise for the city to grant a permit for a rally so close to a busy street, Velez said.

Another issue is fact there were firefighters in the area dressed in uniforms that some mistook for SWAT uniforms, and "all that did was heighten a level of anxiety in the crowd," Velez said.

Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace said she is satisfied with the police response.

"I am not a proponent of tear gas, but I am a proponent of maintaining the peace," Makepeace said. "I am at peace with what happened."

But Councilman Richard Skorman said the situation created a "fear factor" for law-abiding citizens who may avoid peace rallies in the future.

Skorman also floated the idea of appointing an independent citizen panel to review the situation, but other council members said they don't think that is necessary.

"We all should be satisfied with what happened," Vice Mayor Lionel Rivera said.