St. Pepper Spray Day
Last call. The usual flood of hungry drunk bar patrons spilled out onto the Arcata streets. Of course, on this particular night, it was St. Paddy’s Day, so people were more drunk and rowdy than usual, fueled by car bombs, whiskey, and Guinness beer. Arcata Police officers were out in force that night, because, you know, what’s a true Irish celebration without a good fight or two. And that fight came alright.
It was around 1:40 a.m. Don’s Donuts was the usual bustle of activity. Growling bellies and alcoholic breath. I was at a friends house celebrating the evening when I too felt that call for food. I ordered my grub and waited outside. Smoked a cigarette and watched the loud incoherent blend of words from the crowds on the street. It was then when I was interrupted by the disturbance inside Don’s.
Two woman started fighting one another right in front of the donut case. A third was helping one of their friends. It was fierce, as people inside tried to break up the fight, but the passion of the fighters overcame the feeble attempts to break it up. The donut case felt the greatest blow, and after one of the girls was slammed up against it, it cracked the glass. One of the employees ran outside and summoned the cops, who came in full-force, about eight strong. By the time the cops arrived, the instigator was pulled away and taken outside.
Then the cops did something that changed the night. Two of them charged up to the doorway of Don’s and, even after the fight was over, took action. I heard “pepper spray” come from one of the officers and seconds later the establishment was awash in eye-burning terror. The spray did not discriminate. It quickly engulfed the tiny shop even though it was directed at the group of people congregated by the broken donut case, burning the eyes of workers and innocent patrons alike. People flooded out of the place, tear-filled eyes and crying in pain.
There was no discussion. No analysis of the situation. The cops charged in and fired. An angry crowd soon amassed outside, heckling the police and nearly rioting after realizing what happened. It was a tense moment. Luckily, no one was stupid enough to get themselves arrested. In fact, I don’t think the cops even arrested the women who started this fiasco. But to the credit of APD, the officers just stood there and took the verbal abuse for a good half-hour.
But the incident pissed me off. It was indiscriminate and unwarranted. There was no reason for the police to charge in and immediately decide to pepper spray everyone at Don’s. They didn’t have all the facts, only a call for help. This needs to be investigated to determine whether the police acted improperly.
To make matters worse, this was on the same night the Arcata City Council passed that horrible panhandling ordinance, and I couldn’t help but think if this was the shape of things to come. Tools in the tool belt, eh? We’ll see how the police handle themselves once the ordinance goes into effect, because they sure handled themselves pretty poorly in this instance.
I’d support an inquest. Take it to the council. It’s a known fact that cops tend to get trigger happy with their “less lethal” weapons… Besides, mace CAN be lethal in some cases, particularly when used on people with severe asthma.
Either way, to ensure that local law enforcement takes the complaint seriously, I’d suggest coming at them hard. Dave Brooksher(Quote) (Reply)