Posted Friday, October 31, 1997

As I mentioned on the news page today, I was extremely saddened to read in this morning's Los Angeles Times an account of what I would characterize as jackboot police tactics in my former (briefly) hometown of Eureka, California. (See also the account at CNN.)

Where did the Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sherrif's Department get the idea that it is acceptable to virtually torture non-combative, non-violent protestors who refuse to disperse?

Using pepper spray to neutralize violent behavior, perhaps in a riot situation, may be called for. To forcibly hold the heads of passive protestors and swab pepper spray directly into their eyes is cruel, unethical, barbaric, and an outrage, in my opinion. Okay, I was not there; I did not see everything that happened. This is the defensive tack taken by these two law enforcement agencies. However, from the descriptions of witnesses, this "sit-in" does not appear to qualify for the kind of response it received.

Of note, supporting the idea that perhaps Humboldt County law enforcement finds pepper spray too convenient, a second taped protest involved a sit-in by four women in the Eureka office of Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Windsor). Two women had the liquid swabbed in their eyes, while a third was sprayed in the eyes at close range.

Are we becoming a Third-World nation here?

Having lived in Eureka for several months, I am aware that having an anti-logging stance (or being pro-environment) is tantamount to sporting a Nazi uniform in a Jewish neighborhood. At the same time, Eureka wishes to jump-start its flagging economy (and that of Humboldt County in general) by attracting technically-savvy computer-literate telecommuters, "new blood", who wish to flee urban sprawl and live among the trees.

Sadly, recent events will do little to attract those types of individuals and will merely reinforce the stereotype of the region as a backwater of low-brow rednecks.