February 23, 2012

City officials respond to Occupy Austin at Public Safety Commission meeting

Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald attended the Public Safety Commission’s December 5th meeting to address ongoing questions over city officials’ handling of the Occupy Austin movement.

While McDonald cleared-up confusion regarding criminal trespass violations police issued to members of Occupy Austin when they failed to obey newly enacted city ordinances,  the question of when the protesters will permanently abandon the occupation in front of City Hall that began October 6, 2011, remains unanswered.

Austin largely remains in opposition to other cities in it’s handling of the widespread “Occupy Wall Street” protests. In New York, Philadelphia and Los Angels, protesters were pushed out of city spaces and parks, however those gathered in Austin under the banner of the “99 percent” remain.

With the amount spent on police staffing of the protest climbing towards $500,000 - half of that figure accrued in overtime - the city still says it has no plans to remove protesters but will continue to monitor and assess the need to station police at City Hall.

McDonald said although the plaza and mezzanine in front of City Hall are designated as “free speech areas” available to all residents to peacefully demonstrate, the continued presence of Occupy Austin prevents others from accessing the space.

The city has nonetheless taken a cooperative position towards the protest, allowing them to stay; yet McDonald said certain measures must be carried out to ensure the safety and health of protesters and the public.

And while Austin has managed to avoid the violent clashes that have marked demonstrations in other cities, the movement here has seen its fair share of arrests.

Since Occupy Austin began two more than months ago, nearly a hundred arrests have been made for everything from public intoxication to indecent exposure. Many of the arrests stemmed from protesters choosing not to leave when the city asked them to temporarily vacate the City Hall plaza so that maintenance workers could perform a routine cleaning. City officials issued criminal trespass notices to those arrested, preventing them from returning to City Hall for a year.

McDonald addressed the city’s decision to enforce the violations at the meeting, telling commissioners and an audience partly made-up of Occupy protesters, that the city provided adequate notice of the cleaning and said that those who chose to stay were given every opportunity to leave before being arrested.

The city has since put in place a process for those arrested to appeal the ban.

Two protesters have filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying that banning them impedes their First Amendment rights to free speech.

McDonald said he and Austin Police Chief Art Acevdo have met with group leaders to discuss necessary routine procedures like the power washing of the plaza but said the dissemination of information to the whole group is challenged by the leaderless nature of the protest organization.

“A continued challenge we’ve had is identifying a leader,” McDonald said. “Of course, we recognize this is a grassroots movement… nevertheless you have some informal leaders who surface.”

“Every time we’ve had a key strategic meeting, the faces have changed,” he added.

Yet another concern for the city: the distribution of food from ramshackle kitchens and other vendors. Most recently, officials had to intervene when one member of the movement with a Staph infection was found to be serving food to others.

Also, the never-ending threats of drugs, violence and lewd conduct has created a need for 24-7 police presence, according to APD Assistant Chief David Carter.

As of the payroll cycle on November 19, Carter said police have clocked more than 13,000 man hours patrolling City Hall since the Occupy Austin movement began with $250,000 spent on police overtime and $163,000 on regular staffing.

A possible need for continued police support is the increasing number of homeless inhabiting the plaza.

“Were concerned about some of the activity out there because it doesn’t seem to represent the spirit of the protest,” McDonald said.

Carter said the way police staff the plaza isn’t likely to change but said efforts have been made to ensure police duties in other parts of the city and response time to emergency calls are not compromised.  

 

December 6, 2011

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City officials respond to Occupy Austin at Public Safety Commission meeting

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