12 anti-war protesters arrested at Tacoma-area demonstration

Clashes between Tacoma-area police and anti-war protesters trying to gum up a military transport operation have resulted in at least 12 arrests in the past week.

The protesters, who began demonstrations at the Port of Tacoma and Fort Lewis on Thursday night, are part of a movement targeting civilian ports used to support the Iraq war. The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Strykers — armored combat vehicles recently returned from Iraq — were being moved from a transport ship to Fort Lewis.

The same group of protesters, the Port Militarization Resistance, was responsible for demonstrations at the Tacoma port in March 2007 that ended with three arrests and police launching tear gas. The group also protested at Olympia's port in May 2006, in which paramedics treated protesters after police fired pepper spray, and again in November 2007, when police used pepper spray and arrested more than 40.

This week's protests were much tamer, police said.

"It wasn't like last year," Tacoma police spokesman Tom Williams said. "There was nowhere near the volume of protesters out there. It was relatively calm this year."

Protesters estimate about 50 people demonstrated each night between Thursday and Monday, compared with 200 people in March 2007 when the Strykers were transported to Iraq.

Patrick Edelbacher, who is part of the Port Militarization Resistance, said the protesters briefly delayed some military transport vehicles by linking arms to block roadways. The equipment — more than 260 Stryker vehicles, more than 400 other vehicles such as Humvees and trucks, and almost 700 containers — was transported according to schedule, said Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek.

Edelbacher said the recent demonstrations were a victory for the anti-war movement because of how costly it is for the government to manage protests.

"We want cities to say, 'We don't want to be involved with this anymore because it's economically ineffective and disastrous when it comes to police activity and conflicts with protesters,' " Edelbacher said.

Local law-enforcement agencies and the Port of Tacoma spent $500,000 to $800,000 on extra support during last year's protests, said Port spokeswoman Tara Mattina.

"It's definitely a security expense for the surrounding cities, the military and for the port," she said.

This year's protest was more orderly, Mattina said, partly because communication among police, the military and port security has been improved.

"There were some lessons that we learned from the last time about how best to handle this kind of situation," she said.

Lakewood police arrested nine people, three each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, on suspicion of disorderly conduct and failure to disperse, said spokeswoman Heidi Hoffman. The protesters were blocking the roadway, Hoffman said.

Tacoma police arrested three protesters, one of whom was struck with a Taser, hospitalized and later booked on suspicion of third-degree assault, Williams said.

That man, 20-year-old Forest Student, was part of a group of protesters surrounding a police vehicle and making threats, Williams said. An officer struck Student in the chest with a Taser after he and other protesters ignored repeated warnings to back off, Williams said.

Edelbacher said demonstrators approached the vehicle and asked the officer to leave but that he wasn't acting in a threatening manner.

All arrested protesters have been released from the Pierce County Jail. It wasn't clear Tuesday if charges would be filed.

Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com