Last night in Scheneley Plaza and the Cathedral of Learning lawn I saw the worst my country had to offer.
On Thursday and Friday night, the University of Pittsburgh was in a state of virtual martial law, a condition justified by the G20 summit being held in the city this week. The flagrant brutality and misconduct of the police on Thursday night has been very well documented by our fellow Kossaks here, here, and here. After participating in a great discussion at MinistryOfTruth's diary two nights ago, I was asked to write about my experience with the police during this year's summit.
I have so far been unable to do so. But one of my best friends, a University of Pittsburgh Student, was there with me, and his account of the events, along with videos from Friday night, are below the fold.
Video From Thursday Night
Video From Friday Night
Matt's account of Friday Night, September 25th, 2009
Last night in Scheneley Plaza and the Cathedral of Learning lawn I saw the worst my country had to offer. I left my apartment in south Oakland with two of my best friends, Justin and Sam. We headed to a rally that was being held to show disapproval of police actions the night before, tear gassing, beating and trapping students around dormitories on campus. We arrived at Scheneley Plaza at approximately 10PM on Friday September 25, 2009. The crowds were everywhere, in the plaza, in the Cathedral lawn, across the street sitting by the statue of the University’s mascot. They were guilty of loitering, sitting around and playing duck, duck, goose on the grass.
We stood in the plaza until I was overwhelmed with a feeling absolute dread. I told Justin and Sam “We need to leave, we can’t stay here.” They both heeded my advice and we moved to Cathedral of Learning’s lawn across the street. We were surrounded not by protestors but by fellow students and curious young people. We watched with fright as overwhelming security forces formed a perimeter around the plaza trapping all of those who hadn’t already left. The officers turned on a sonic sound cannon on the crowd that released a high pitched tone that disrupts the inner ear making all those victim of it disoriented and unbalanced. Those who resisted in the slightest (the slightest meaning asking any officer what he or she was supposed to do) were arrested for failure to disperse or resisting arrest. As the perimeter of forces collapsed on the Plaza, it then turned outward onto Forbes Ave.
The security forces, comprised of local police, state troopers, National Guard, and SWAT team members from across the country. They were all wearing riot gear and armed with night sticks, tear gas, attack dogs and a sonic sound cannon mounted on the back of a humvee armored vehicle (known as the LRAD 500). The security forces managed to force all the students and protestors from the plaza on to Forbes Avenue. They began walling off Forbes to the left of Bigelow Blvd and walling off Forbes from the plaza side, from the corner of Forbes and Bigelow to the Carnegie Museum. Two helicopters flew above using a spotlight to illuminate the plaza and lawn. A loud speaker was turned on ordering everyone to disperse immediately by the order of the chief of police. Those of us on the Cathedral lawn believed we were safe, we were wrong.
As we stood on a sloped hill on the Forbes side of the Cathedral lawn we noticed the police were not on Fifth Avenue. All of the sudden the police moved the security forces from Forbes Avenue to the lawn, once again arresting anyone who resisted in the slightest. That feeling of dread returned, I yelled to my friends, "We have to go NOW!” We all ran as fast as we could for the corner of Bellefield and Fifth Ave. Just as suddenly SWAT vans roll up on all sides spilling out armored police armed with shotguns, rubber bullet guns and tear gas canister launchers. As we crossed Bellefield armored personal began to appear everywhere and a large group came around the corner. Sam and Justin ask a SWAT member armed with a shotgun “Officer where do we go?” He replies “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!! MOVE!” pointing to the left while pointing the weapon at Sam and Justin’s chest. They turn to run to see a mass of officers, again they ask “Where are we supposed to go?!?”, he shrieks “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE, DON’T TALK TO ME, MOVE!”, pointing the automatic shotgun again. We run for a small alley in between two large buildings as a protestor wearing a gas mask runs past yelling “Don’t go that way! Cops!” He then turns to an armed officer and says “Where do I go?”, the officer replies “I’ll show you where the FUCK TO GO!” The officer grabs the protestor, throws him on the trunk of a car and arrests him. Sam, Justin and I turn and run as fast as we can with about fifteen other students down the alleyway. There is one armored officer by himself, we all instinctively put our hands up as we ran past as he yells “All right guys put your fucking hands up, I don’t want to see your hands in the pockets!”… Surprisingly this was the most reasonable of all the officers encountered that night. We continued to run, what seemed like for our lives the entire way across town to Justin’s apartment in Polish Hill, Oakland was not safe.
I have never been more frightened in my life. Last summer myself and a group of friends were assaulted by a street gang. I was more scared that night, I was terrified last night. And afterward I could rationalize what occurred last summer, a group of teenagers armed with baseball bats were trying to affirm their masculinity by attacking a group kids who walked into the wrong neighborhood. During the assault I knew it would end and I knew there was someone we could to, the police. But this was the police, who are we to go to?
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
All the world leaders had left. The police had their last press conference at 9:20 that evening. The events began to unfold roughly an hour after that. This was a premediated trap. This was a dispicable display of force, brutality, and terror. Who are the terrorists, many ask. Well, the answer is anyone. In this case it was the conglamorate of police, national guard, and SWAT armed to the teeth. They attacked and arrested students on the University of Pittsburgh’s property by order of the chief of police. The blaring announcement stated that this was an “ILLEGAL ASSEMBLY.” Illegal? For what reason? There was no violence, vandalism or destruction by the students and protestors. This plan was conceived in order to trap, intimidate and incacerate as many people as they could. Law enforcement wanted to suppress this display of disgust with its actions. This morning I have seen nothing on the news. There is no one speaking for us. I have never been so disgusted in my entire life.
A truly chilling account. And in case anyone doubts this story, here is the Pittsburgh Post Gazette's story. And here is the version of events from KDKA.
As I said before, these our still our streets. This is still our city. And this is still our country.