Early in the morning of Nov. 2, 10 members of Occupy Tulsa were arrested at Tulsa’s H.A. Chapman Centennial Green for violating curfew. According to the Tulsa Police Department, 25 officers were dispatched to evict the protesters and were forced to use pepper spray to subdue a number of protesters who actively resisted arrest.
The reality was far different. Video of the incident shows that a force of at least 60 uniformed men was used to arrest the 10 protesters. Police wielded pepper-spray pellet rifles. Numerous police cruisers and vans were used to shut down two intersections adjoining the park.
The following day, Police Chief Chuck Jordan told the Tulsa World that “only the people who were actively resisting and would not comply” were pepper-sprayed, a claim that is contradicted by all available evidence. The 10 individuals arrested — at least nine of whom were pepper-sprayed — were sitting passively in a circle with their arms linked when police arrived. Video of the incident shows that those arrested continued to sit calmly on the ground as they were encircled by a phalanx of police officers.
“[An officer] maced me at point-blank range for about five seconds,” said therapist Eli Silva, who was among those arrested. “It was excruciating. It was one of the worst experiences of my life — but it was also one of the greatest. It made me realize that what we’re doing is more crucial now than ever.”
According to Occupy Tulsa organizers, the group had previously enjoyed a friendly relationship with police and had received permission to occupy Centennial Green overnight until the issue of whether or not permit fees would be waived could be determined by the Tulsa City Council. According to organizers, the permits necessary to legally occupy the park during the 11 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew would total about $3,000 per month.
“When we arrived [at Centennial Green] on Friday night, the first thing we did was notify our police liaisons and ask if it would be all right if we stayed,” Army veteran and Industrial Workers of the World member Samuel Molik said. “The response that we got from Capt. [Ryan] Perkins and Capt. Steve Odom was, ‘No, it’s all right. Leave your tents on the grass for now.’ ... In a very sudden manner, our relationship with the Tulsa Police Department changed. ... We were informed that from now on the curfew would be enforced, and that not only did we have to move our tents to the sidewalk at curfew, but that we would have to deconstruct them and would not be allowed to sleep.”
That evening, Molik was among those who decided to remain in the park after curfew in an act of civil disobedience. “We thought we would probably either be cited or, at the very most, arrested,” Molik said. “What ended up happening was the Tulsa Police Department showed up in force, with at least 60 uniformed officers. ... They took individuals out of our circle by forcibly removing anything that was covering their face, pepper spraying them and dragging them away. It was completely unnecessary. ... We were literally just sitting on the ground.”
It is clear that what happened on the morning of Nov. 2 was not the modest operation the Tulsa Police Department later claimed, but a display of force intended to intimidate members of Occupy Tulsa. Of course, it only succeeded in galvanizing protesters.
“In the holding cell, we were all together,” Silva said, who spent about six hours in police custody. “We started singing and laughing and telling jokes and feeling like heroes ... There was a crowd that stayed out [at Centennial Green] all night, waiting for us to get out of jail. ... When we got out, there was breakfast ready and waiting for us.”
On the following night, 13 protesters occupied the park in solidarity with those arrested that morning, knowing that they might receive the same treatment. Most of them came to Tulsa from other communities in the state.
Once more, an enormous number of police descended upon the park, though — presumably smarting from the public relations repercussions of having unprovokedly maced nine people — they did not pepper-spray anyone. Sgt. Virgil Litterell directed the arrests.
The following day, the Tulsa Police Department, speaking via the Tulsa World, claimed that only 43 officers participated in the arrests, which is a blatant lie. I witnessed at least 70 officers present, not including those involved in shutting down nearby roads.
It is telling that the Tulsa Police Department feels the need to make false claims in order to justify its actions to the public, and it is unfortunate that the Tulsa World has chosen to uncritically repeat those false claims.
The fact is that people choosing to peacefully demonstrate in a park maintained with their tax dollars have been told they must either cough up $3,000 per month or be put in jail. The fact is that the authorities of Tulsa — a city with ongoing budget issues — have dispatched enormous numbers of police to apprehend a handful of peaceful people. The fact is that numerous men who joined the police force with the hope of protecting the public have found themselves ordered to arrest protesters whose only crime is offending the capitalist elite.
When the history of these events is written, the protesters who now find themselves in court for curfew violations will be vindicated as heroes.
Zac Smith is a journalism junior.
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kdbp1213 6 months, 2 weeks ago
sticking it to the man, zac. way to go!!!
really? you had time to count 70 different officers (considering they wear a matching uniforms) amid all of the choas? that's impressive..............
baconbits 6 months, 2 weeks ago
All police lie, everywhere. Especially in Oklahoma.