Tacoma Police arrest nonviolent protesters against Strykers
BackThree people were arrested for peacefully protesting at the Port of Tacoma at about 12:30 AM Monday morning, March 5, 2007. They were protesting the shipment of Stryker Brigade armored vehicles from Fort Lewis to the illegal war and occupation in Iraq. Caitlin Esworthy was arrested within second after the Tacoma Police Disorder Response Team confronted the protest. Another person, Navy veteran Wally Cuddeford, was then brutally dragged on his stomach (and tasered three times) just after his arrest was captured in this video. Another protester (Jeff Berryhill) was later shot by a rubber bullet as he nonviolently held a sign at the edge of the street (a better view is in the Video Response). Police also aimed shotguns and tasers directly at protesters. The Tacoma police appeared to become less violent after the TV media finally arrived. All charges against the three arrestees were dropped the next day. These protests were part of a continuation of actions begun last year against the use of the Port of Olympia to ship offensive weapons to Iraq. The military at Fort Lewis decided this year to avoid the use of the Port of Olympia (when Thurston County asked it to pay any security and litigation costs), but rather to ship arms at the Port of Tacoma in Pierce County. For background information see http://www.omjp.org (then click Port 2006 and 2007.) Both last year's protests and this year's are not directed at the troops, but rather to support them by ending the war as soon as possible and getting them home this year. In the background you can hear members of Iraq Veterans Against the War exhorting their fellow soldiers to question the war (several soldiers flashed peace signs). Other Tacoma and Olympia groups leading the rally were Port Militarization Resistance and Students for a Democratic Society. For background on earlier Tacoma-area events, see http://www.omjp.org , http://www.thankyoult.org and http://www.wartribunal.org On GI rights, see http://www.IVAW.org , http://couragetoresist.org and http://girights.objector.org {UPDATE: On July 17, 2007, charges were dropped 13 of the 23 people arrested at the Port of Tacoma.}
Category: News
Uploaded: March 5th, 2007 @ 5:13 am
Author: zoltangrossman
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Tags: brutality fort iraq lewis police port protest stryker tacoma war weapons
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