Here’s how one veteran police officer—a longtime watch commander—is preparing for potential NATO and G8 protesters:
The activist group Adbusters has called for 50,000 people to hit the Chicago streets, while the online hacker group Anonymous recently said it hopes to demonstrate in Chicago for the entire month of May.
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City officials have mostly been mum about their preparations, except to stress in background briefings that they’ll be ready. “Every scenario is being examined and every contingency will be put in place,” one public safety official told reporters last month, on the condition that her name not be used. The official noted that police regularly handle large crowds for the Taste of Chicago and the Air and Water Show, and dismissed the possibility that things could get out of hand, as when Seattle hosted meetings of the World Trade Organization in 1999.
»We don’t know how much the G8/NATO protests will cost, but we do know Chicago is still paying legal fees for the 2003 Iraq War protest.
»Read Judge Posner’s recent decision explaining why those 2003 Iraq protest arrests were unreasonable. (PDF)
»The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security promises to respond to our request for information . . . right after their 421 other pending requests. (jpeg)
