taken from the Minnesota Monitor
by: Andy Birkey
Wed Oct 24, 2007 at 5:28:26 PM
St. Paul police representatives Thursday told a gathering at St. Thomas University that the Republican National Convention will not be like those of the past decade. Free speech will be prominently honored, while risk to people and property is minimized. Many of the tactics used in past conventions that led to police mistrust, such as police infiltration of protest groups and “free speech zones,” will be abandoned in favor of a community policing model. At the O’Shaughnessy Education Center, a panel of St. Paul police officers and peace workers spoke to a sparse crowd. Probably the most important audience, anti-RNC organizers, did not respond to invitations to be part of the panel. Michael Andregg, St. Thomas professor of justice and peace and panel moderator, said the invitations were made before considering others.

“Please note that there are no anti-RNC organizers on this panel,” Andregg said. “I asked three [organizers] before I asked other people to come. At that time, they just really didn’t want to talk to the police, and that’s their thought. But I just want to let you know that I reached out to them first.” In fact, anti-RNC organizers, the RNC Welcoming Committee, provided a flier with the program that read in part “Don’t believe police propaganda: authority belongs with the people, not the police.” Coincidentally, members of law enforcement on the panel echoed that sentiment. Community policing, they said, is vital to creating an RNC experience that maximizes free speech and minimizes harm to people and property. Trust between police and protesters will be vital to its success. Matt Bostrom, assistant chief of Homeland Security and Support Services for the St. Paul Police Department, said having a successful RNC is something Minnesota can do: “Although it means a lot of work for us in the metro area, this is an international event that few of us . . . well, I know I’ll never see an opportunity like this in my lifetime, and few communities do,” he said. “We want it to go well for everyone, for the city of St. Paul and for the citizens that have asked us to serve them as police officers.”

Bostrom said, “We believe we have an opportunity to show the nation how a medium-sized city can handle an international event.”

Gerald Schlabach, director of St. Thomas’ Peace and Justice studies program, summarized some of the reasons people might protest: The contested 2000 presidential election; the failure of the promise of compassionate conservatism; a belief that Bush has failed in his promise to be a uniter, that the United States squandered the worldwide good will after 9/11 and that torture has been written into law. “People are angry. We are angry. Anger can be so easy to communicate that it can be hard to communicate well,” he said. “Above all, it can be hard to communicate constructive alternatives to what angers us if we allow anger to dominate.” He said dialogues such as this are vital to having the message heard.

A large part of the meeting Tuesday night was an unstructured dialogue with those who showed up. Microphones were set up so that anyone could ask the panel anything. Some people wanted to know why the St. Paul police wouldn’t arrest Republican elected officials for war crimes. Others found conspiracy theories in the RNC planning process. And others said that if the war isn’t ended, activists will shut down both cities.

But some attendees asked focused and relevant questions. One person asked, what happens when the Secret Service comes in?

Bostrom said the event is designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE), and every RNC and DNC since 2000 has been designated as such (as has every Super Bowl since 9/11, the Olympic Games and the Academy Awards). The Secret Service and other federal agencies partner with local authorities in a NSSE. While police are in charge of areas surrounding the venue, Secret Service helps plan logistics and protect elected officials and dignitaries.

Grace Kelly, a local blogger, said, “Some Republican bloggers, they would dearly, dearly like to write the story of the peace protester that really went awry. What can we do when something goes wrong, something we don’t approve of, and we want to help you guys?

“Community policing. That is what we want this to be,” said Bostrom. “A sign of a healthy community is the ability to have some mutual trust, and that is you trust the police officers,” he said. “You’re peaceful, and there is someone trying to attach themselves in ways that are not peaceful; that person is just here to disrupt your free speech rights. With any of those that are going to be demonstrating and there’s someone who is behaving outside the boundaries of what your group finds acceptable, we want that you are going to trust us enough to take care of it.”

“We will strategize and come up with a way for groups to report members engaging in illegal activity,” Bostrom concluded.

Schlabach backed Bostrom up. “What are we doing as peace groups to develop nonviolent policing?” he asked. “There is a long tradition of having monitors and so on. If there are groups that feel uncomfortable with close cooperation with the law, it puts the onus on peace groups to do a better job at nonviolence and keeping order in the sense of what we want to communicate.”

Another audience member wanted to know whether St. Paul police will be embedding themselves and pretending to be agitators in certain groups?

Bostrom said, “We do not deal with first amendment issues that way. We have not in the past. We will not for the RNC.”

Will there be contracted security for the RNC? “We are not hiring any contract employees,” Bostrom said. “And you will see St. Paul police officers wearing police uniforms, not tactical gear.”

Will there be free speech zones? “The city of St. Paul is a free speech zone. We are sworn to uphold the constitutions of Minnesota and the United States. And I say that proudly, that is what gets us up in the morning, the opportunity to serve something larger than ourselves.

With regard to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004, “I was discouraged. I was puzzled,” Bostrom said of the “free speech zones” set up by Boston authorities. “I don’t understand this idea of putting people in a pen and that’s the only place you can speak your mind. I was surprised. It just seems wrong to me, and we have no intention of doing anything like that.”

Charley Underwood, a St. Paul peace activist, shared his thoughts about what a successful RNC would look like. “l have a vision for Sept. 1, 2008, and that vision is that 100,000 people go on a march towards the Xcel Center. That it is such a massive and incredible and diverse demonstration that the Republicans look up and realize “oh my goodness. We were wrong all along. Clearly this country has a much better idea about how to run the world than we do. We yield.” That’s what I’d love. That’s the democratic way.”

Schlabach asked his fellow panelist, Bostrom, a pointed question: “If two months before the convention, the agreements with the federal government and the Secret Service fall through, would you be willing to resign publicly in conscience that this is a mistake? ”

Bostrom responded simply, “If that were to happen, I would resign.”