An enormous show of police force enveloped hundreds of demonstrators as they marched Thursday evening to protest free-trade talks taking place here, with more than 1,000 officers dressed in riot gear forming nearly unbroken lines over the march’s two-mile route through the Loop.
An estimated 1,000 vocal but well-behaved demonstrators were dwarfed by the ranks of police called out to keep the peace.
The mounted patrol, with their horses fitted with visors, joined officers in riot gear to shadow the marchers’ progress, flanking them on either side. Hundreds of other police were stationed at each intersection, where cross streets were blocked by buses from the Cook County Jail.
Apart from one disorderly-conduct arrest and a spooked police horse that nearly trampled a handful of protesters and bystanders, there were no incidents along the way. But some demonstrators said they felt intimidated by the huge number of police clad in black armor and blue helmets.
Mayor Richard Daley bristled Thursday when he was asked if the city had over-prepared for the possibility of violent disruptions that had plagued other cities during similar trade protests.
“You want some killed, injured, someone beaten up, some police officer seriously injured?” Daley asked. “If that happened it would be headlines: `Mayor Daley, remember the snow, why weren’t you prepared for a demonstration?’
“They had Seattle, they had Washington, D.C., they had Europe. I’m sorry. This is Chicago. We do prepare.”
Just as Daley referred to the criticism then-Mayor Michael Bilandic took in 1979 for the city’s infamous lack of preparedness for a massive snowstorm, police officials have been shrugging off criticism of overkill all week.
City officials said it was too early to put a pricetag on the preparations and refused to say how many officers were mobilized for the march.
“The cost of protecting freedom of speech … the cost of protecting the safety of our community, is priceless,” First Deputy Supt. John Thomas said after the protest.
Reactions by taxpayers were mixed. As the protesters passed Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue, Mike Wilson, 40, said he didn’t understand the buildup.
“I think it’s a waste of money,” he said. “They [protesters] don’t look to be that bad.”
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But Peter Stamatis, 34, an attorney, thought the police assured a peaceful night. “These guys prepared a real show of force. If everybody gets home and goes to bed safe that’s a good thing,” he said.
The demonstration began at Boeing Corp.’s headquarters at Canal and Washington Streets. The aerospace giant and defense contractor is co-sponsor of the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue being held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, a summit that drew the anti-globalization protesters.
Show of force
The number of police on the scene in the early darkness that fell over rush hour Thursday created a spectacle that stole the show. In addition to the riot police, there were dozens of officers on bicycles while police boats patrolled the river. At key points along the route, officers were standing two and three deep.
There were hundreds of officers stationed at the march’s destination, a plaza between Tribune Tower and the north bank of the Chicago River. When police radios chirped with the news that the demonstrators had rounded the corner of Washington and Michigan, the sound of hundreds of riot helmet visors clicking into place resounded across the plaza.
Amid the small army of police, the protesters struggled to convey their belief that working people all over the world and the environment are being exploited while corporate executives shape governmental policies to their own advantages through secretive meetings such as the gathering of American and European CEOs at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel.
“The Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue is a corporate lobbying group that is successfully influencing and manipulating the political environment,” Angela Garcia of Illinois Peace Action said in a speech in front of Boeing headquarters.
Matt Tripodi, 33, an independent business consultant, said the protest was his first. He has become disillusioned with the U.S. government, he said, because it too often ignores the needs of citizens but is able to find tax breaks and economic incentives for corporations to grow.
“It’s not that I am opposed to capitalism, but capitalism, as it is, needs to be restrained,” Tripodi said.
The groups gathered for the protest were myriad, with differing messages that all fall under the umbrella of opposition to globalized markets.
Many of the groups also make a point of speaking out in opposition to the possible war with Iraq. Because of the range of issues being protested at once, demonstrators at free-trade meetings are often accused of being scattershot and unrealistic.
Small groups of bystanders took in the march that stepped off shortly after 5 p.m. A few taunted the demonstrators, and some small groups and individuals cheered them on.
Shanna Rossetti, 27, a staffing firm manager, called the protest “weird.”
Mixed messages
With marchers carrying signs that ranged from diatribes against the business conference to cartoons depicting President Bush and Saddam Hussein, she had a hard time grasping their message. “I have no idea what they are protesting against,” she said. “It’s shallow on my part that I don’t know, but I think they need to make clear their point.”
Some protesters had specific agendas. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents grocery-store and retail workers, turned out to protest Wal-Mart leaders’ participation in the talks.
“Wal-Mart is the primary force driving down wages and benefits in the retail industry,” said UFCW organizer Jim Bakken.
Claude Dufour, associate professor at DePaul University who teaches a class in political protest, brought 15 students to the march.
“A lot of them are from the suburbs, and this is their first protest. I wanted them to get a chance to see firsthand how this technically works–the reaction from the media, the police, and how effective getting a message comes across.”
At the end of the march there were more speeches before the crowd dispersed peacefully. Michigan Avenue reopened at 7:30 p.m.
At the conference site, police spent much of the afternoon preparing for a confrontation that never occurred. One police officer referred to the fortress-like hotel as “the Alamo.”
The attendees left in buses shortly before 7 p.m. under a police escort.
Toby Malichi, founder and president of the Indianapolis-based Malichi International, a business development company, praised Chicago police for ensuring the conference proceeded smoothly.
“Because of the peace of mind and security, it helps our delegation focus on the issues at hand,” Malichi said. “We aren’t even aware that there are protests going on outside.”
Police began preparing for the demonstrations three months ago. In addition to new riot gear, police also tested new television equipment that allows officers to transmit live pictures back to headquarters.
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