CHIEF NORM STAMPER
Seattle Police
We wanted to have only Seattle police officers on the front lines of our downtown streets. We wanted and needed King County and other agencies there as backup.
ED JOINER
Seattle Police Assistant Chief, WTO Operation Commander
The sheriff’s department had an assistant chief that was part of the committee that worked on the entire security plan. There were no objections by any agency to the plan, the staffing levels, or the strategies involved. Everything we did, we did in concert with the FBI, the Secret Service, the sheriff’s department, the state patrol. Everyone bought off on the security plan.
KATHY SCHWARTZ
Convention and Visitors Bureau
People ask why Seattle wasn’t better “prepared” for the riots. During the site inspection, one WTO official asked how Seattle intended to handle demonstrators. What demonstrators? Surely, our WTO friends told us, we were aware that there had been demonstrators in Geneva? That they’d overturned and burned a car? Well, no, we hadn’t heard. No one said so at the time, but I think we all felt car burning was a European or a ghetto thing, not a Seattle thing. People here are too polite for that. Police representatives responded that Seattle had a good record dealing with demonstrations, beginning with the Vietnam War. We knew how to handle them. I don’t think it occurred to any of us that they meant demonstrators from out of town—that people would come here to wreak havoc.
CHIEF NORM STAMPER
Seattle Police
The FBI gave us an assessment of a “low to moderate” threat. That for us was the bottom line. They maintain they were talking about the threat of terrorism, not violent demonstrations. My guys believe they meant protests.
JIM PUGEL
Seattle Police
The FBI, the Secret Service—they were all focused on stereotypical Hollywood terrorism, on black helicopters swooping in from Russia, not on a good old-fashioned protest that had the benefit of modern communications and information technology.
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Published: November 2009
Lots of insight in this entertaining story. Good job Eric and team!
You captured the inside story better than most other story I’ve seen. Pretty good ten years after the fact!
Maybe readers will be moved to learn more about how corporate dominated globalism is negatively affecting all of our lives. The corporate dominated WTO is still promoting its agenda of profits over people. These policies are largely responsible for the current global economic crisis that is still unfolding.
Fortunately, a growing world-wide grassroots movement is still at work promoting sustainable economics, democracy, and justice. That movement expressed itself in Seattle ten years ago, however imperfectly. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all in debt to a relatively small group of people who worked together to change the trajectory of history.
Great work, thanks.
600 people were arrested and jailed during WTO; how many were convicted?
zbz
“we are all in debt to a relatively small group of people”
yes, yes you are — to the same globalist financiers who funded the protestors through foundations only so they could be hung out to dry afterwards as the globalization juggernaut became further insulated. See Soros, George: Open Society.
Good reporting!
I was in the streets that entire week, and the only violence I personally witnessed was from the police. I encourage everyone who cares about what really happened in Seattle that week to read David and Rebecca Solnit’s book which is just days from being released: “The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle”. David was one of many early visionaries in making this event such a huge success.
I’m also thrilled that the ex-police-chief ended up working for the reform of marijuana laws. The existing laws are a disgrace in this so-called democratic society.
Thanks again, Eric Scigliano!
I was in the streets that entire week, and the only violence I personally witnessed was from the police. I encourage everyone who cares about what really happened in Seattle that week to read David and Rebecca Solnit’s book which is just days from being released: “The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle”. David was one of many early visionaries in making this event such a huge success.
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Got some great information here. I think that if more people thought about it that way, theyd have a better time understanding the issue. Your view is definitely something Id like to see more of. Thanks for this blog. Its fantastic and so is what youve got to say.You make a great point.
More than 20 years and we are in the same point, maybe worst in term of unequality of tradings between reach & poors. The crisis haven’t changed the rules…
I’ve seen. Pretty good ten years after the fact!