anarchists
Many questions remain unanswered in regard to the
Chapel Hill Police Department's deployment Sunday of a heavily-armed Special Emergency Response Team to clear a private building in Chapel Hill that had been occupied by a group of protesters.
Seven people were arrested and charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering.
I submitted a petition Monday afternoon to to the Chapel Hill Town Council calling for the appointment of an independent commission to review the events leading up to yesterday's deployment of the SERT unit. Residents of Chapel Hill are divided, one camp outraged by what they deem to be an unmeasured response by a SWAT team and the other yielding to the professional judgment of the CHPD. Neither side has the facts to which the public is entitled in order understand the events that led to yesterday's display of lethal force by the Chapel Hill Police Department.
I spent most of Sunday afternoon out at the Haw River just outside the mill village of Swepsonville about five miles upstream of Saxapahaw. I managed to enjoy most of my time out there even though I was there was because I have been having trouble there with trespassers. The land I own out there is the hydro-electric power plant that formerly powered the cotton mill in Swepsonville.
My hydro-electric plant has been out of operation for about 40 years and the windows in the building are almost completely broken out. Inside the building are huge, deep holes in the floor where the generators once sat atop the turbines. I have been gradually working on making the interior of the building safer by covering over the huge holes in the floor, but the building is definitely not a safe place for unwary visitors.
In a series of unfortunate events, a group of folks (who do not represent Occupy Chapel Hill) decided to break into and occupy the abandoned neglected University Chrysler building on West Franklin Street (between 411 West and Lantern). This is one of many properties owned by Joe Riddle that have been left vacant for years on end. While I think their encampment was probably an improvement to the space, I have to admit that if it was my house and someone decided to move in, I'd probably call the cops, too.
So that's what Riddle did, putting the town in the position of having to get the protesters out. I've been hearing a lot of reports about what happened, only some of which can be confirmed right now. But it seems as if the police were unnecessarily heavy-handed. Given that Police Chief Chris Blue has been very open and communicative with Occupy Chapel Hill-Carrboro group at Peace and Justice Plaza, this is somewhat surprising. But it also bears reminding that this group IS NOT the same as Occupy CHC and I doubt they were as interested in maintaining a good relationship with the town.
So remember last year when I said that the people threatening violence against Greenbridge were doing more harm than good? They made a bomb threat against the building while it was under construction. Did it make Greenbridge better or cheaper or more accessible? Did it help the developers better serve the community? Did it help the community combat the rising cost of living in Chapel Hill? No, but it probably served to make a small group of activists feel better about themselves.
Yesterday, a group of anarchists entered the lobby of Greenbridge intent on destruction. The group of over 30 demonstrators were armed with an anvil, and proceeded to do major damage to the floor, a glass table, and several pieces of artwork. Eight people were arrested Several people were detained, and three were held on felony inciting a riot charges until they were released from the Orange County Jail on a total of $8,000 bond.*
"Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action
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You’ll never look at public space the same way again."
Date:
Monday, December 13, 2010 - 11:33am
Location:
Internationalist Books 405 W Franklin St Chapel Hill, NC 27516 internationalistbooks.org
Pages
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