Police presence during RNC 8 solidarity ride questioned

About 40 bicyclists took to Minneapolis roads Saturday for the flagship demonstration of the RNC 8 National Day of Solidarity .

And while organizers call the event an overall success, some say an excessive police presence — shown in a Twin Cities Indymedia video as four officers on bicycles, marked and unmarked squad cars, and two police vans — detracted from the objective of supporting the eight activists accused of plotting to violently disrupt the Republican National Convention.

At least one wants answers about police involvement.

“It was completely lawful and peaceful, and then there was this phalanx of police all the time behind us,” said Mordecai Specktor , father of RNC 8 member and University of Minnesota cultural studies junior Max Specktor .

Mordecai Specktor called his councilmember, Gary Schiff , who expects answers from police this week.

“It seems unnecessary,” Schiff said, noting that his specific concerns are whether the Minneapolis Police Department coordinates with others — some St. Paul police officers were on site — and whether overtime pay was used to patrol the demonstration.

Schiff stopped short of demanding an apology for now, until he hears back about police protocol.

Deputy police chief of patrol for the MPD Rob Allen said no one has asked for an apology and that he sent an e-mail to councilmembers addressing police actions Saturday.

“They’ve asked for explanations, and I’ve explained,” he said, adding that he’s only heard police acted professionally.

He also said that because initial plans for the ride included visiting St. Paul sites, MPD worked alongside that city’s police department. Bicyclists didn’t cross the river.

The ride went past raid sites where police arrested the eight. Organizers billed it as a law-abiding demonstration.

Max Specktor said despite police presence, the “empowering” ride carried an important message.

“These are places with a lot of baggage and we were able to reclaim them with a lot of community support,” he said.

First alerted to the ride a few weeks ago, Allen said his office had no idea how many demonstrators to expect, and had to ensure enough police to handle a large group.

Bill Drebenstedt, arrested when he separated from the ride, is charged with disorderly conduct after he said he raised his fist and extended his middle finger.

Police initially put Drebenstedt into one of the marked “Booking Vans” that Allen said was filled with bike-repair equipment. Drebenstedt said he saw “absolutely no equipment in those vans.”

And while Allen said his primary goal was to make it a safe event, Saturday’s policing might have been too much.

“In retrospect, yeah probably, but we had no idea how many people were going to be there,” Allen said, adding that police were unsure whether more would join the demonstration later.

Allen said officers tried to talk to riders at the starting point, Powderhorn Park , to determine that, but no one would talk.

“If we were able to establish this, we probably would’ve sent the vast majority of officers home at that point,” he said.

But Brian Hokanson, a member of a group that helped organize the ride, said he saw no police-demonstrator interaction.

“I was among the first people at Powderhorn Park and that is patently false,” he said. “We never had any police officers attempt to talk to us.”

As for the police’s objective of keeping people safe, Allen said traffic control was a key aspect.

However, riders have indicated that bicycle officers largely stayed behind them, as did police vehicles, rather than moving ahead of them to guide traffic. They also said participants obeyed traffic laws.

Max Specktor said he expects police presence at RNC 8 events, and believes it’s meant to suppress dissent.

He said a police apology for Saturday’s presence wouldn’t solve the bigger issue of an overzealous police force.

“It’s indicative of the case against us,” Max Specktor said. “It’s not about doing any crime, about actually breaking any laws, it’s about what we stand for.”