Police use spray to force back protesters in Civic Center
Denver police surround protesters on 15th Street near Civic Center Park. Jason Halley/ Special to The Denver Post (THE DENVER POST | Jason Halley)
Riot police using pepper spray forced a couple of hundred protesters out of Civic Center and then blocked them before they could reach the 16th Street Mall.
Police surrounded the protesters along 15th Street between Court Street and Cleveland Place and then moved up reinforcements, including at least two armored vehicles. They have made numerous arrests and were still processing detainees at 10 p.m. using tables set up along Cleveland and loading them onto sheriff's buses.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., police began to let some of those trapped leave in the direction of Civic Center.
They walked out between lines of police, chanting as they left and raising their arms in triumph.
"I'm a little in shock," said Joey-Kenzie, 21, of Denver, after spending about 90 minutes in the crowd of people pinned in by officers in SWAT gear.
Kenzie said she wanted to leave but police had surrounded the group and there was no way out.
"At one point we didn't know what we were going to do, we were going to get arrested or maced," said the recent Community College of Denver graduate.
Kenzie said police never asked for her identification.
"I haven't been able to vote for a president yet, but this was an epiphany," she said. "My freedom of speech was suppressed."
Protesters and police had originally lined up across from one another in front of City and County Building about 7 p.m., the police wearing their full riot gear and holding batons, chanting "move back, move back."
Police used pepper spray before the mass of marchers moved back across the park and were cut off by police behind the Sheraton Hotel.
One protester said police had used the spray "like a supersoaker" in front of the City and County Building. Pepper spray was used again on 15th Street.
A police spokesman said that they had massed their forces in the park based on intelligence about the protesters' actions.
One demonstrator, who would not give his name, said the confrontation began when "a bunch of us were supposed to have a direct action march."
Paralyzed anti-war activist Ron Kovic, who was not part of the march, had talked to protesters on the mall outside of the police parimeter."I came out here for my concern for you," Kovic told them. "We're not going to let them stop you. We're not going to let them intimidate you. But we are emphasizing peace and nonviolence. We don't want trouble in Denver tonight."
Curiousity seekers stood outside the police cordon, outnumbering the marchers.
Protestors told reporters they were a mix of Tent State participants and those identifying themselves as anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-war individuals.
The group split, with officers surrounding and detaining the group on 15th Street, while others were pushed back by police toward Civic Center. Once the police organized their lines, the distance widened.
Police officials asked RTD to shut the 16th Street Mall bus shuttle service shortly after 7 p.m., said RTD spokesman Scott Reed. The mall service resumed around 9:30 p.m.
Sam Harper, 36, of Eufaula, Okla., said he was here to protest the war, but he wasn't prepared to be injured.
"When I saw the tear gas, I split. I don't need to get beat down," Harper said.
The detained grouped chanted in unison: "Who screams? We scream."
Some in the crowd outside the police lines, which included onlookers and media, chanted: "Cops here. Bombs there. U.S. out of everywhere."
"Speech is free. Let them be."
"Show me what the First Amendment looks like."
"Let them go."
"Watch out! They're gearing up," some in the crowd shouted, as officers donned gas masks and other protective equipment.
A girl warned anyone with contact lenses to get out of the area.
"The spray will fuse your contact lenses to your eyeballs," she said.
A protester named Timmy said he had slipped out of his all-black outfit and then slipped outside the police cordon.
"We want freedom from oppression," he said. "We want direct democracy where communities are allowed to make decisions based on our own abilities. It takes bottom-up organizing to make change; it doesn't take a leader. We want cooperations, not capitalism."
Meanwhile, in Skyline Park near 18th and Arapahoe, about a dozen people sat surrounded by police, apparently in custody.
Denver Post Staff Writers Kieran Nicholson, Jeff Lieb, John Ingold, Electa Draper, Karen Auge and Jeremy P. Meyer contributed to this report.
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