Pittsburgh Braces for More G-20 Clashes

(CBS/AP)  The City of Pittsburgh has spent more than $18 million on security for the Group of 20 summit, and it's already flexed its muscles.

Riot police turned back hundreds of protesters trying to march downtown on the first day of the G-20 meeting, arresting nearly 70 people as authorities braced for smaller, scattered protests at dozens of businesses and organizations Friday.

CBS News correspondent Susan Koeppen said the city had prepared for the worst. Some stores have been boarded up for days now, and protesters have been hit with a massive police presence.

Police, in an overwhelming show of force, declared Thursday's march in the Lawrenceville neighborhood illegal almost as soon as it began, firing rubber bullets and canisters of pepper spray and smoke, after small bands of anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling huge metal trash bins, throwing rocks and breaking windows.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl commended police for their "swift decisions to send a message to the anarchists that we will not tolerate unlawful behavior," adding there was minimal property damage as a result.

According to Pittsburgh police, 24 people were arrested during the day and another 42 people were arrested overnight as protesters and students thronged in the city's Oakland section, home to the University of Pittsburgh. Police said six people were treated for injuries and other medical problems, including heat exhaustion and reaction to pepper spray; two people were taken to hospitals, but details weren't available.

Protesters complained about the city's response, saying their rights were trampled and that violence would not have broken out if police had allowed the marchers their say.

Jesse Ericson of the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project, an umbrella organization of protest groups, condemned the city for a "bumbling and violent police action."

The G-20 Resistance Project has encouraged "affinity groups" to protest Friday morning at companies that it says represent greed, exploitation, warfare and other social ills, with potential targets including banks, Starbucks, McDonald's, grocery stores and a Marine Corps recruiting center.

Ravenstahl said police will be ready.

"We'll continue to make sure our neighborhoods are safe," he said.

Pittsburgh G-20 Summit (Official Site)
The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership (Guide to Events)
Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project (Protest Site)

Thursday afternoon's march turned chaotic at just about the time President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrived for a meeting with leaders of the world's major economies.

The clashes began after hundreds of protesters, many decrying capitalism, tried to march from an outlying neighborhood toward the convention center where the summit is being held.

The protesters clogged streets, banged on drums and chanted "Ain't no power like the power of the people, 'cause the power of the people don't stop."

The marchers included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes, ski masks and bandanas and carrying black flags. Others wore helmets and safety goggles.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

(Left: A woman makes a V-sign as protestors march through the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2009.)

The marchers did not have a permit and, after a few blocks, police declared it an unlawful assembly. They played a recorded announcement over a loudspeaker ordering people to leave, as well as ear-piercing sirens, then police in riot gear moved in to break it up.

Some rolled large metal trash bins toward police, and a man in a black hooded sweat shirt threw rocks at a police car from Charlotte, N.C., breaking the front windshield. Protesters broke windows in a few businesses, including a bank branch, a Boston Market restaurant and a BMW dealership.

Officers fired rubber bullets, pepper spray and smoke at the protesters and set off a flash-bang grenade. Some of those exposed to the pepper spray coughed and complained that their eyes were watering and stinging.

"The demonstrators were being aggressive toward the officers who felt it was necessary to utilize that kind of force," Harper said late Thursday.

At one point, officers surged onto the sidewalks and grabbed several protesters who had been shouting at them.

"That was ridiculous," said T.J. Amick, 22, of Pittsburgh. "People were being grabbed if they just got too close to the cops. It didn't matter what they were doing, what they were saying. They were just asking what was going on, and they were being taken off the streets to God knows where."

Pepper spray forced marchers (and the media) to flee. But the protesters didn't give up, as they split into smaller groups.

Koeppen and her crew cut through an alleyway and caught up with demonstrators who continued their march by a different route.

"There is no freedom of speech in this country," demonstrator Jeff Rousset told Koeppen. "There is no right to assemble. These are all rights that have been violated today."

The protesters' cat-and-mouse with police lasted less than 2 hours before officers in riot gear brought this march to an end.

(KDKA)

"We hope we sent a clear message, that we aren't going to tolerate any unlawful activity," said Pittsburgh Chief of Police Nathan Harper.

Last night in the Oakland section (left), police fired smoke canisters, pepper spray and rubber bullets on a crowd after calling for people to disperse, calling it an illegal assembly. About 1,000 police were on hand.

CBS Station KDKA reports that, according to police, the clashes started when a couple of students tried to get close enough to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden to catch a glimpse of President Barack Obama at a delegates dinner.

Police then attempted to disperse the crowd of about 1,000 who had gathered.

At that time, protestors began throwing rocks at the police, who responded with pepper spray and rubber bullets.

Self-proclaimed anarchists then began smashing store windows along Forbes Avenue.

The National Lawyers Guild, a liberal legal-aid group, said one of its observers, a second-year law student, was among those arrested during the march. Its representatives were stationed among the protesters, wearing fluorescent green hats. That man was released and was cited for failure to disperse.

(AP Photo/Don Wright)

Most of the 24 people arrested during the daylight protests were charged with failure to disperse or obstructing traffic. But four face more serious charges of aggravated assault, and two of those are also charged with inciting a riot, according to a Pittsburgh police news release.

(Left: Protesters Wednesday hung a sign from the West End Bridge over the Ohio River before the start of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.)

Such street demonstrations have become the norm at world economic gatherings, including a G-20 meeting in London in April.

The protesters here appeared to number fewer than 1,000, a fraction of the 50,000 that took to the streets of Seattle a decade ago at a World Trade Organization event.

The G-20 ends late Friday after a day of meetings at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

[wtcmedic-911]

look at all the middle and upper class problem children in the photos. looks like east village in pa!

[cattiej]

Its about time people starting protest again like they did during the Vietnam war. Many of these countries hate America and Americans. Why are some of these jokers allowed on American soil. They just love it when we allow them in to America and they can tell us how stupid we are...Well, we, the American people are stupid to let George Bush get into a war where there were NO Weapons of Mass Destruction..the only weapons of mass destruction were our elected politicans who still are as corrupt and greedy as usual. I say we elect a completely new Congress and throw these bums out who are in now. The are all in the pocket of the lobbyist..Ban the lobbyist, Arrest them for treason against the United States. The lobbyist are all pimps and the government officals who are suppose to be elected by the people are the prostitutes. Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan now.

[timdgrim]

Is not 'dissent', democracy in it's purest form? However, Republican dissent is suppressing democracy, except for people of like mind.

[truthforhumanity]

The First Amendment prohibits government from abridging "the right of the people peaceably to assemble." This basic freedom ensures that the spirit of the First Amendment survives and thrives even when the majority of citizens would rather suppress expression it finds offensive.

Over the course of our history, freedom of assembly has protected individuals espousing myriad viewpoints. Striking workers, civil rights advocates, anti-war demonstrators and Ku Klux Klan marchers have all taken to the streets and sidewalks in protest or in support of their causes. Sometimes these efforts have galvanized public support or changed public perceptions. Imagine a civil rights movement without the March on Washington or the women's suffrage movement without ranks of long-skirted, placard-carrying suffragists filling city streets.

The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the importance of this freedom in the 1937 case De Jonge v. State of Oregon, writing that "the right to peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental." According to the Court the right to assemble is "one that cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions."

Youtube videos of the G-20 protests show people peacefully demonstrating.
The police used soundcanons (LRADs) on the protesters and surrounding neighborhoods to disperse the crowds.

This is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. But I guess Pennsylvania law overrides the Constitution. What's you opinion?

[brianbwb-2009]

My opinion is that the subject of the protesters being treated as they were is of little or no importance compared to the issues which they were protesting, and once again the media, and those contributing comments fail to discuss the real story, which should be about the issues the protests were trying to raise.

[stuart-johns]

by stn_sage September 25, 2009 8:44 PM EDT
This is quite unnecessary! And, reflects negatively on the U.S. government, President Obama, the City of Pittsburgh, and ESPECIALLY the Pittsburgh Police Department!
-----------------------------------

What does the U.S. Government and President Obama have to do with the City of Pittsburg and its Police Dept? You said yourself, "The problem is: the police of Pittsburgh have adopted the policing policy and practice that 'the best defense, is a strong offense'!"


by stn_sage September 25, 2009 8:44 PM EDT

I wouldn't blame the protesters if they armed themselves and met force with force! They have the God-given right to defend themselves whether the attacker is a mugger or a policeman using unnecessary, deadly force!
---------------------------------------

Who has used deadly force? Why do you lie to make a point?

[truthforhumanity]

Welcome to the Police State! No more First Amendment. The police used LRAD sound weapons and microwave weapons on the crowds. Check for videos of it on youtube.com. The police are well known for planting plainclothes provocateurs in these crowds and breaking the law (i.e.-smashing windows, etc). This country is headed down the road of the Nazis...the public should be outraged by this overreaction by the police. Get used to the jackboot image.

[credibility2]

Crack those heads. Bust their ear drums. Who cares anyway. They're nothing but a bunch of spoiled over indulged kids that are also malcontents, despots, anarchists and adoring worshipers of the president. The president must be very pleased with his causing these demonstrations by what he preaches and advocates.

[Solarrays247]

houstonmac September 25, 2009 6:05 PM EDT
i don't know, where are these protestors the rest of the year? smashing business windows and such. what about the protestor dude in the photo above wearing the guy fawkes mask from the hollywood flick v for vendetta? now that doesn't make sense, wearing big business while protesting the boss. i mean come on. we live in this country where people are for the most part civil and NOT carrying kalashnikovs on the street. the business locations they smashed we're at one time small business, just like the majority of protestors, they'll cash in one day too.

if you really wanted to make an impression on the world leaders, the protestors should have cleaned up city lots and such. there's enough of those in PGH already. breaking things and large groups of protestors just make you get beat up by the cops and then they're crying that they got hassled. duh!

come on, if anarchy actually happened, it would be over 30 minutes later after the people with guns show up. there is no hippy dancing in the street anarchy, just not possible.

live outside the grid as much as you can and let the bozo's do what they're going to do.
******************************************************************
6591Hou September 25, 2009 7:31 PM EDT
There are controls in place for public demonstrations in order to ensure the public safety as well the freedom of speech, when the demonstrators chose to push beyond the controls the police acted... and then the rocks and debris thrown at the police.

The idea that rocks are somehow more benign when they're thrown at public servants or police by 'protestors' is almost as ridiculous as the theory that doing so is legitimized since these were 'protesting'...
*******************************************************************

I agree with both of you! There is a right way to go about protesting! Pittsburgh, like many cities, towns, and boroughs throughout Pennsylvania require a simple permit in order to conduct a civil protest!

The protesters showing up in Pittsburgh that did not follow protocol....deserve whatever they get! In addition, I've been advised by a current University Of Pittsburgh grad student that university students were warned for their safety to stay away from G20 Summit location, and off the streets!

I live in Pennsylvania, and I am aware of the struggles that Pittsburgh has overcome since the collapse of the steel industry in this country.

Why should the citizens of Pittsburgh stand by and allow their beautiful little city to be overcome by destruction similar to what happened at the last G-Summit?

[6591Hou]

Contrary to the opinions of some -

If someone earns a dollar it is not inherently true that the dollar was unfairly taken from someone else.

If someone works and earns ten dollars it is not inherently just to take five dollars from them and give them to someone who does not have five dollars.

Those who work should not be penalized on behalf of those who do not.

Those who cannot work deserve more consideration than those who will not work.

[brianbwb-2009]

How do you define "earning" a dollar?

Do you consider for example, the notion that Madoff "earned" his dollars?

Did AIG "earn" their money? B of A? Merrill Lynch? Banking CEOs? How about Enron? WorldCom, Qwest? the Big Three automakers' management? Health care insurance HMOs?

Or that the sham tactics used by the banks, as recounted in another story on this site, constitutes "earning" their dollars?

Is it now the position of the right wing that it doesn't matter how one came about wealth, as once it is established, it was automatically assumed to have been "earned".

By your logic, even a heroin dealer "earns" the money, because the risks of dealing in that area are certainly hazardous.

Your assumption about those who cannot, and will not work, is obfuscation, how do you tell the difference between someone who cannot work because of disability, from someone who cannot work because there are no jobs in their area, and whom cannot afford to move to, or would not be accepted in another?

Why also do you assume that the number of people who , as you put it, will not work, justifies ignoring the concerns of the vastly larger population who would work, if the employment opportunities existed that paid enough to pay even for the day they spend working?

You say they deserve consideration, but when any such consideration is proposed, the right wing opposes it, based on similar inaccurate assumptions and obfuscations as you have posted.

You display a "let them eat cake" attitude, so typical of today's far right, forgetting what happened to the French aristocracy because of a similar attitude.

I am sure the French aristocracy also mistakenly thought that what happened couldn't happen.

[brianbwb-2009]

How do you define "earning" a dollar?

Do you consider for example, the notion that Madoff "earned" his dollars?

Did AIG "earn" their money? B of A? Merrill Lynch? Banking CEOs? How about Enron? WorldCom, Qwest? the Big Three automakers' management? Health care insurance HMOs?

Or that the sham tactics used by the banks, as recounted in another story on this site, constitutes "earning" their dollars?

Is it now the position of the right wing that it doesn't matter how one came about wealth, as once it is established, it was automatically assumed to have been "earned".

By your logic, even a heroin dealer "earns" the money, because the risks of dealing in that area are certainly hazardous.

Your assumption about those who cannot, and will not work, is obfuscation, how do you tell the difference between someone who cannot work because of disability, from someone who cannot work because there are no jobs in their area, and whom cannot afford to move to, or would not be accepted in another?

Why also do you assume that the number of people who , as you put it, will not work, justifies ignoring the concerns of the vastly larger population who would work, if the employment opportunities existed that paid enough to pay even for the day they spend working?

You say they deserve consideration, but when any such consideration is proposed, the right wing opposes it, based on similar inaccurate assumptions and obfuscations as you have posted.

You display a "let them eat cake" attitude, so typical of today's far right, forgetting what happened to the French aristocracy because of a similar attitude.

I am sure the French aristocracy also mistakenly thought that what happened couldn't happen.

[6591Hou]

There are controls in place for public demonstrations in order to ensure the public safety as well the freedom of speech, when the demonstrators chose to push beyond the controls the police acted... and then the rocks and debris thrown at the police.

The idea that rocks are somehow more benign when they're thrown at public servants or police by 'protestors' is almost as ridiculous as the theory that doing so is legitimized since these were 'protesting'...