Police Cover-Up
WTO protests prompted the city council to pass an ordinance last fall requiring officers to wear name tags on the outermost layer of their uniform. But several demonstrators from Seattle's "Reclaim the Streets" protest on August 25 say they couldn't identify the officers who were clad in black riot gear.
A bystander who was arrested for obstructing an officer says police officers purposefully covered their name tags by pulling their lapels over them. And one officer didn't even bother to wear one.
"There was one officer who was wearing no name tag. I asked him several times for his name," says a protester who identifies herself as Serpentine. The officer remained stone-faced, Serpentine says.
Last fall's name-tag ordinance also mandates that police officers clearly state their name when requested to do so.
Deanna Nollette of the Seattle Police Department said all the officers are supposed to wear their name tags in the upper chest area of the riot gear, and their names are printed on their helmets.
On a related issue, the People's Justice Coalition will be at city hall Thursday, August 30, to demand that SPD officers are identified in the racial profiling data-collection survey. Call Dustin Washington at 632-0500 for details. AMY BARANSKI
Divide and Conquer
Despite Seattle's rep for stymieing the cops, 100 police officers outfoxed 150 protesters last Saturday, August 25, at the "Reclaim the Streets" demonstration downtown. The Seattle Police Department successfully dispersed the group by executing a divide and conquer strategy, catching the protesters off-guard.
Demonstrator Dan Warter, 28, said there were times when he didn't know whether he was even part of the protest crowd.
The intended street party, which promised a festival reclaiming Seattle's streets, ended with approximately 20 arrests, including charges of damaging property and assaulting an officer. AMY BARANSKI
Head Hunter
Protesters weren't the only ones cops reprimanded last Saturday at the "Reclaim the Streets" rally. Apparently police had it in for the puppets too.
Frank Zucker, a 48-year-old puppeteer, said he carried a giant puppet body with ski poles for arms and an ornate glowing sun for a head. But Zucker's puppet was snapped in two when a cop mounted on a white horse whacked its head off.
The sun head crashed to the street and rolled away. Zucker still hasn't found it. NANCY DREW
