Online sites and radio interviews have featured former Seattle Chief of Police Norm Stamper’s reflections on the 1999 WTO demonstrations dubbed the Battle in Seattle.  Regarding his 1999 role in that “battle” Stamper states bluntly “My support for a militaristic solution caused all hell to break loose.” This, he observes, led to “…some cops clearly overreacting, escalating and prolonging the conflict.”

Along with his fairly thorough rejection of militaristic police tactics, Chief Stamper draws a second lesson from his leadership experience over ten years ago.

It is ironic that those police officers who are busting up the Occupy protesters are themselves victims of the same social ills the demonstrators are combating: corporate greed; the slackening of essential regulatory systems; and the abject failure of all three branches of government to safeguard civil liberties and to protect, if not provide, basic human needs like health, housing, education and more.

With cities and states struggling to balance the budget [starving the beast] while continuing to deliver public safety, many cops are finding themselves out of work. And, as many Occupy protesters have pointed out, even as police officers help to safeguard the power and profits of the 1 percent, police officers are part of the 99 percent.

It’s a lesson almost unheard, and a widespread awakening seems an unlikely prospect (mind those police pension cuts), but one retired Philadelphia Police captain (in his dress blues) marched in OWS events in New York City and was arrested last week.



It was reported he held a sign that read: “NYPD Don’t Be Wall Street Mercenaries.”