Tulsa Police Defend Tactics in Occupy Protests

Police officials say pepper spray is often used to gain compliance from subjects who are resisting arrest, and the tactic was used when protesters refused to vacate a downtown Tulsa park after being told they were violating a city ordinance.

However, the protest organizers said the force was excessive and that the police response early Wednesday has damaged the relationship Occupy Tulsa organizers had with police officials.

Ten people were arrested about 2 a.m. Wednesday for violating the park curfew at the H.A. Chapman Centennial Green at Sixth Street and Boston Avenue. Officers sprayed at least five of them with oleoresin capsicum spray -- pepper spray -- to gain their compliance after telling them they were being arrested, police said.

"The use of force is sometimes necessary in an arrest," Police Chief Chuck Jordan said. "They locked arms; they sat down in a circle -- a very common tactic we see all over the world in these kinds of protests."

On the department's scale of force, pepper spray is below some "compliance holds" that could cause injuries during an arrest, Jordan said. The pepper spray often results in compliance and is a safer alternative, he said.

Officers are able to target the spray just to the people they determine are not complying with officers' orders.

"These were not tear gas canisters that we lobbed into a group of people," Jordan said. "Only the people who were actively resisting and would not comply were exposed to OC. We did not just spray a crowd."

Kendra Zoellner, an Occupy Tulsa representative, said organizers had been speaking with Jordan and other police officials since people began camping in the park Friday.

Police told them they support their rights to protest and peaceably assemble but that they had to be off the grass in the park between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

"I'm not surprised it got to the point of arrest," Zoellner said. "I am surprised they pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters."

The Police Department has responded to many protests over the years, from Ku Klux Klan rallies to demonstrations by members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. But Jordan said he doesn't think any have escalated to the point of Wednesday's response since the 1970s.

"Corporate welfare," particularly for financial institutions, and the growing concentration of wealth appear to be the Occupy group's leading concerns.

The protests in Tulsa stemmed from an ongoing similar movement in New York.

Protesters began demonstrating in a park near Wall Street in Manhattan on Sept. 17. Since then, the movement has spread across the country and world, with varying responses from police.

One widely reported incident was in Oakland, Calif., where an Iraq War veteran suffered significant injuries from a tear gas canister Oct. 25. More than 100 were arrested when protesters marched through that city.

Mass arrests also have been made in Chicago, New York, Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas.

Jordan said he will review procedures used Wednesday and asked anyone with complaints or evidence of unreasonable force to report it.

Jordan said he still hopes the relationship between police and protesters can remain positive.

"We thought we were having a very good relationship, and I think we still do with a majority of the protesters," he said.

"I hope everyone in Tulsa realizes that the majority of the protesters at this time are acting in a legal and responsible and orderly manner and exercising their right to protest issues they think are important to them."

Zoellner said Occupy Tulsa organizers plan to remain at the Chapman Green for the foreseeable future. Another demonstration is planned for Saturday at 71st Street and Memorial Drive.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service