Associated Press / Peggy Andersen, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) -- Police commanders trusted in Seattle's tradition of peaceful protest when planning for the World Trade Organization meeting last fall -- and learned a hard lesson when tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets.
That was one conclusion of a Seattle Police Department report issued Tuesday as city officials analyzed the days of chaos.
The department conceded it wasn't prepared for trouble, though it had ample warning that demonstrators hoped to shut down the gathering.
"In retrospect, SPD commanders put their faith in historical precedent -- the Seattle tradition of peaceful protest -- in assessing the needs for policing the WTO event," Assistant Chief Clark Kimerer wrote in the report.
The report was given to Chief Herbert V. Johnson, whose predecessor -- Norm Stamper -- resigned over the handling of the protests.
Police were overwhelmed Nov. 30 when marches by several groups converged on the downtown core, clogging streets and hampering the WTO gatherings. Crowds also provided cover for people who smashed windows and looted stores, resulting in an estimated $3 million in property damage. More than 500 people were arrested.
Two hundred National Guard troops and 600 state troopers were enlisted to restore order.
Tuesday's report recommends better planning next time, noting the city had only about nine months to plan for the event, rather than the 14 to 24 months considered standard by the State Department.
Part of the problem was that officials based plans on the 1993 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, held here without incident, Assistant Chief Ed Joiner said. The WTO meeting will be used as the model for future planning, he said.
Joiner said he had been confident the 400 officers he assigned to WTO -- the largest force ever fielded here -- would be sufficient.
But the department was "taught a hard lesson by a well-trained and equipped adversary," the report says. It cites demonstrators' use of the Internet, walkie-talkies and cell phones and the "critical mass achieved with the rapid marshaling of forces from all directions nearly simultaneously."
However, the marches, the number of people involved and their intention of shutting down the meeting all had been well advertised.
"We're unfunded people largely, who do this without pay," said Dennis Moynihan of Direct Action Network, which helped promote the demonstrations and was one of several groups that met with police to tell them what to expect. "I do have a cell phone and a decent pair of sneakers. That's about it."
The report also says police did not prepare for a worst case scenario because of "the lack of outside funding sources" to reimburse local police agencies.
Direct city costs for the WTO operations are estimated at about $9.3 million -- $6.9 million of it incurred by the Seattle Police Department.
The report notes that there were no deaths or serious injuries, and that "much if not all" of the $17 million in estimated holiday-shopping business losses was recovered by late December.
An analysis by crowd- and riot-control experts is to be completed in about three weeks, followed by City Council review.:
