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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Police invade tree-sit |
Current rating: 0 |
by Paula Freund
(No verified email address) |
08 Jul 2001
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Eight arrested as bulldozers clear all but one tree of protesters
By Paula Freund, (Bloomington, IN) Herald-Times Staff Writer
July 7, 2001 |
The tranquil morning sounds of Brown\'s Woods were interrupted Friday at dawn by the roar of a bulldozer and cries of protest.
Eight people, including three tree-sitters, were arrested Friday on trespassing and resisting law enforcement charges at the 50-acre site zoned for the Canterbury House Apartments development.
They were all booked into Monroe County Jail and released on their own recognizance.
A lone tree-sitter, known only as \"Moss,\" remained 80 feet above the ground Friday afternoon. He had climbed about 20 feet above his platform, which Monroe County sheriff\'s deputies demolished shortly before 11 a.m.
\"I hope they don\'t try to kill me while I\'m up here,\" he called to reporters standing below the tree. \"They\'ve definitely jeopardized the safety of the tree,\" he said, referring to the ground surrounding the tree that had been disturbed by the bulldozer, grazing the tree\'s roots.
Moss, who said he is 30 years old, had food and a hammock but needed water. He said he could come down if he wanted to.
The tree he was in was the same red oak that has been occupied since March by opponents of the development.
Police moved into the woods with heavy equipment at 5 a.m. and began bulldozing paths around the trees where protesters were located.
The bulldozer tore through dozens of trees and webs of yarn woven with roses and wildflowers.
Shortly after 6 a.m., protester Liam T. Mulholland, known as \"Q,\" moved from his perch 50 feet off the ground to another tree via attached ropes. While the 19-year-old sat on a swing hung from the ropes, supporters behind the police blockade cried out in fear.
\"They\'re knocking down trees right where the kids are and putting them in dangerous positions,\" said Sandra Ducey, a spokeswoman for the tree-sitters.
About 30 protesters expressed outrage, saying the falling trees narrowly missed 2,000-pound-test wires that were suspending the tree-sitters in the treetops. Mulholland himself shouted out warnings to police while the bulldozer operator skillfully maneuvered around the trees.
\"You tell them that this tree is connected to this rope here, and if they move that tree, I fall,\" he said.
Sheriff Steve Sharp said every precaution was taken to ensure the safety of the tree-sitters.
\"Whatever it takes,\" he said about 6 a.m. \"Hopefully, they\'ll volunteer to come across. We want to do this slow and easy, so no one gets injured — so everybody has their say and can get on with their lives.\"
Repeated requests by Sharp that Mulholland come down from the tree were rebuffed.
Finally, sheriff\'s deputies took down the Indianapolis resident at about 8:30 a.m., after destroying the stand in which he had been perched. They also took down trees surrounding the platform. He was then arrested and booked into Monroe County Jail at 9:09 a.m.
Sharp said the other two tree-sitters, Ruth L. Hanford, 22, known as \"Spork,\" and Steven G. Chadwick, 20, otherwise known as \"G-Dog,\" both Bloomington residents, voluntarily climbed from their perches to a hydraulic platform raised from a truck brought in for that purpose.
They were subsequently arrested and taken to jail.
Police used chain saws to rip apart the platforms piece by piece. They dropped buckets, gallon jugs of water, clothing and pieces of tarp, which were left scattered in the woods.
Before tearing down the trees containing two other platforms, sheriff\'s deputies were elevated on the lift to make sure they were unoccupied, Sharp said.
\"We made sure no one was in any danger at any time,\" he said.
After efforts to remove \"Moss\" ceased, two women who had spent two hours sneaking into the woods handcuffed themselves to a tree beside the one occupied by \"Moss.\"
\"As long as he\'s up there, you can\'t cut down the remaining trees,\" said Hannah Jones, 22.
She and Megan Hise, 20, both of Bloomington, were arrested after officers worked for a half hour to free them.
By 1 p.m., officers and protesters began clearing out. Sharp said the property is now in the hands of a private security company.
Officers reported an eighth arrest was made later in the afternoon at the woods. Jennifer M. Weiss, 36, of Nashville, was booked into Monroe County Jail at 3:55 p.m. on preliminary charges of trespass and resisting law enforcement.
Earlier in the morning, activist Marc Haggerty, of Bloomington, was arrested after refusing to give his video camera to officers and not moving out of the woods. Sheriff\'s deputies wrestled the 52-year-old to the ground and led him away in handcuffs.
Haggerty later said he had the right to be in the woods while filming a documentary that is already two months in the making.
\"I didn\'t come down there to protest,\" he said. \"I didn\'t have any intention to be arrested.\"
Demonstrator Lucille J. Bertuccio, 65, of Bloomington, was arrested after crossing the police line and trying to dodge officers, said Indiana State Police public information officer Jackie Taylor.
Environmentalists had been protesting at the site on the city\'s west side since March 22, when activist Tracy \"Dolphin\" McNeely started a tree-sit on a platform 50 feet above ground in a red oak tree. Since she came down in mid-June, others had been keeping a vigil in the five trees.
\"Moss,\" who says he lives and works in Bloomington, said he will stay in the tree until the development plans for the 208-unit complex are dropped.
Protesters were not sure what steps, if any, they could take now. But spokeswoman Ducey felt much had been achieved despite Friday\'s events.
\"It\'s a symbolic victory,\" she said. \"They created a voice for the people.\"
Reporter Paula Freund can be reached at (812) 331-4370 or by e-mail at pfreund (at) heraldt.com.
Note: The News-Gazette reported Sunday that Moss surrendered later Saturday, due to his becoming dehydrated when rain failed to fall Saturday afternoon to replenish his supply. |
See also:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=www.hoosiertimes.com/stories/2001/07/07/news.010707_HT_A1_PJR10644.sto?PREVURI=%2Fstories%2F2001%2F07%2F06%2F
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