The Battle of Philadelphia

The "Battle of Philadelphia" got off to a much tamer start than the confrontations between demonstrators and police in Seattle last November and in Washington in April, but it was clear from the beginning that things would get nasty. And by August 1, midway through a week of planned protests, they did.

Police had been generally easy-going during earlier demonstrations over the weekend. But on July 31, when the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) led a non-permitted march of several thousand people down the length of South Broad Street to the First Union Center, the site of the GOP convention, the mood was clearly different. And by the next day's demonstrations, things had become downright confrontational. As opponents of the death penalty and supporters of Pennsylvania Death Row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal took to the streets that day trying to block the flow of traffic between the downtown hotel area and the South Philadelphia site of the convention, the police were out in force, and they weren't smiling.

Thousands of demonstrators, some coordinated through a loose network of observers equipped with cell phones, adopted hit-and-run tactics throughout the afternoon and evening, blocking intersections with their bodies. The heavily armed police, their numbers bolstered by reinforcements from the state police, highway patrol and national parks police force, responded with shows of force. They pushed demonstrators off the street, pressing forward behind teams of bike cops.

Relations between police and the minority community are strained in this racially segregated city, especially over the case of Abu-Jamal. On Death Row since 1982 when he was convicted of murdering Daniel Faulkner, a white police officer, this African-American journalist and former Black Panther awaits the decision of a federal judge on whether to hold a hearing to consider his habeas corpus appeal for a new trial. The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police has been actively lobbying for years for Abu-Jamal's death, and for many Philadelphia officers the issue is personal. On the other side, a broad coalition of activists, black and white, has been working for years to keep Abu-Jamal's case in the international spotlight.

Given this background, the sense of confrontation at the August 1 demonstration was palpable, as when two bicycle cops angrily shoved their way through a crowd burning an American flag on the street and doused the flames with their bottles of spring water. For the most part, the police exercised restraint during arrests, as dozens of street-blocking demonstrators locked arms and went limp, waiting to be arrested and dragged to waiting sheriff's busses. Nearly 300 people were arrested.

But sometimes that restraint collapsed, as when two cops grabbed one young demonstrator who was arguing with a police officer on horseback during a sweep of one intersection. The demonstrator, who was standing on the curb where he was not obstructing traffic or violating an order to disperse, was yanked into the street and thrown face down onto the pavement, where five police officers jumped on him, wrenching his arms behind his back while his head was pressed into the macadam by one officer's knee. His face bloodied, he was led off to a wagon, while other protesters witnessing the incident shouted, "He didn't do anything!"

Meanwhile, the police suffered casualties of their own, with several needing medical treatment for injuries, and some 30 police cruisers exhibiting spray paint damage, smashed windshields and slashed tires.

Earlier on August 1, the police had gone to a warehouse rented by activists in West Philadelphia for use as a workshop to construct protest banners and puppets. After surrounding the building, the police demanded entry, claiming they had received reports of weapons inside. There was a temporary stand-off as the 70 or so activists inside refused to unlock the doors, and the nearly 100 police outside waited for the department to obtain a search warrant from a local judge.