Police response to Entrada raises questions about city’s handling of protest
Santa Fe New Mexican – Police looked down from nearby rooftops and law enforcement from around the state stood by as backup while officers herded a crowd of several dozen demonstrators Friday into a “free speech zone” on one edge of Santa Fe’s landmark Plaza.
As the annual Fiesta de Santa Fe event known as the Entrada ended, amid protests by activists who charge it’s a racist depiction of Santa Fe’s colonial history, police arrested several people on nonviolent charges, part of a heavy response that raised questions about how the city is handling an escalating controversy and prompted hints of legal action in response.
The Santa Fe Police Department’s designated spokesman said around 5 p.m. Friday that officers had arrested about a dozen people, though he did not know exactly how many, who or on what charges. Jail records showed at least eight people booked on charges of trespassing as well as one person also accused of disorderly conduct. All remained in custody as of Friday night, and a lawyer said they might not get to see a judge and be released until Sunday morning.
“From what I’m hearing, it sounds like these folks were simply out exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of expression,” said Dan Cron, a local attorney who has helped organize a team of lawyers to represent arrested protesters for free.
Cron said he had not heard any reports of violence by protesters.
Last year’s Entrada also drew protesters, a few of whom carried megaphones or wore masks, though police did not arrest anyone.
Cron was not the only one who raised concerns about how police handled this year’s protest, which turned into an impromptu march through downtown streets.
The day before the Entrada, city officials said organizers of the Fiesta event had asked police to ban from the Plaza megaphones, laser pointers, masks, gang colors, weapons, toy guns and water guns. And throughout the event, police admonished protesters against wearing bandannas over their faces.
Cron said he heard reports that officers arrested a man who witnesses saw walking away from the protests. Police accused him of trespassing for wearing a bandanna over his forehead, though he was not concealing the rest of his face.
In a letter faxed to Police Chief Patrick Gallagher on Friday, the ACLU of New Mexico said the city’s “sweeping restrictions raise serious constitutional concerns under the First Amendment.”
The letter, signed by staff attorney Kristin Greer Love, warned that the city would be “exposed to civil liability” if it enforces unconstitutional restrictions on free expression or violates the First Amendment rights of Fiesta attendees.
Santa Fe Police Department spokesman Greg Gurulé said police were enforcing the will of the Fiesta Council, the nonprofit organization that the city annually grants a permit to put on the festivities on the Plaza park and adjoining streets. “It’s their event, it’s their Plaza,” he said. “So they can make the rules.”
Gurule said officers decided to move demonstrators off the Plaza because “allowing the protest would be against what the Fiesta Council is trying to do.”
“Others come to this event to enjoy Fiestas …” Gurulé said. “We’re clearing them out of the way so those people can actually get onto the street and so they can go and enjoy the event.”
After the re-enactment, police cordoned off more than two dozen protesters at East Palace Avenue and Washington Avenue, where about the same number police stood behind metal barriers, preventing demonstrators from entering the Plaza. By late afternoon, a woman was leading chants over a bullhorn, one of the items that the city said were prohibited on the Plaza during the event.
“No pride in genocide!” came one chant.
Protesters turned up Washington Avenue and marched around toward Marcy Street and Lincoln Avenue, near City Hall.
There, police again blocked the protest and officers snatched one of the demonstration’s organizers, Jennifer Marley.
A few in the crowd attempted to hold on to her or yank her back into their throng as officers handcuffed Marley.
“The resistance that came with the Pueblo Revolt will not die, and it will continue to grow,” she said as officers led her away in handcuffs.
According to jail records, she is accused of trespassing.
The demonstration continued past City Hall before turning around and proceeding back to the “free speech zone.”
The protesters left that intersection around 4:30 p.m., and police removed the barriers.
Gurulé said 80 Santa Fe police officers were on duty for the event. Through mutual aid agreements, other law-enforcement agencies — such as the Albuquerque Police Department and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office — provided officers and sheriff’s deputies. The officers and deputies from outside agencies were there for back-up but not on the streets, he said.
“It went smoothly,” he maintained. “Both sides got to express their opinions.”
Source: US Government Class
