Q&A with Norm Stamper

At the time of World Trade Organization protests 10 years ago, the Seattle Police Department, led by Chief Norm Stamper, came under fire for being underprepared and using excessive force.

The day after the summit ended, Stamper told Mayor Paul Schell he was stepping down, saying he'd been planning to retire soon anyway.

These days, Stamper lives in a cabin in the San Juan Islands. He has published a book, "Breaking Rank," that describes his perspective on WTO, and has recently finished writing a novel.

We asked him to reflect on what happened at WTO and how it affected his life.

Q: How could the Seattle Police Department have better prepared for WTO?

A: We invested 10,000 hours in training, and had a group of experts working, full-time, for the better part of a year. I received regular briefings, heard from the heads of other agencies that we'd done an "excellent" job planning and preparing — which supported my own view. But we should have invested even more hands-on time in planning and training with all other agencies, doing a better job of integrating all personnel in an even greater number of tabletop exercises and simulations.

In hindsight, I should have clarified and strengthened my own role. Generally speaking, the last person you want calling tactical shots is the chief of police. But I understand that especially when things start going badly, it's precisely the chief who needs to step up. I didn't do that.

Q: Some say you'd become disengaged or distant at the time of the summit. Is that true?

A: No. I delegated responsibility and authority to officers with far greater experience and expertise in handling protests and demonstrations in Seattle. That said, I'm more than willing to ride the heat for not being more decisive, more "hands on," especially when things went south.

Q: What are the images and moments that you remember most about WTO?

A. Throngs of people on the streets, as far as the eye could see on Tuesday morning. A Dumpster, its contents afire, rolled down the street toward a group of officers. Bonfires in the middle of intersections. Projectiles winging through the air, bouncing off officers' helmets. A mounted officer struggling to get away from protesters trying to pry him from his horse. Nonviolent demonstrators, labor particularly, trying to maintain control, angry at me and my officers, feeling betrayed. My own officers unhappy with me. Rain.

Q: What tactical mistakes did the SPD make in dealing with the protesters? Did they (or officers from other agencies) overstep the line at times?

A: On the second morning we used chemical agents to clear an intersection of nonviolent demonstrators who'd refused a lawful order to move. I fully supported the decision at the time, believing it was imperative that the intersection be cleared for tactical reasons. Not until five years later did I come to the conclusion that it was a mistake to use gas under those circumstances. I should have overruled the call.

The two most notorious cases of officers overstepping their authority involved an unarmed demonstrator who was kicked and shot with a rubber pellet as he retreated, and two women who were sprayed with a chemical agent as they sat in their car. Each officer was from another agency. Their respective bosses stepped up immediately and took action.

Q: What parts of WTO made you proud?

A: Officers who showed restraint and courage when provoked, who withstood long hours on the lines, unable to get a bite to eat or take a pee. Business owners and residents who provided snacks and coffee to our officers. Those demonstrators who not only remained nonviolent themselves but who worked throughout the week to reduce violence and destruction.

Q: What were the biggest lessons from WTO?

A: Deal early and aggressively with those bent on violence and property destruction, on shutting down the conference altogether. Early arrests of self-ascribed anarchists would have helped, a lot.

Create a greater buffer between conferees and protesters, balancing all the competing interests: public and officer safety, the First Amendment rights of people to assemble and express themselves, the right of conferees to confer.

Don't use gas on nonviolent demonstrators.

Of course, these three lessons depend on sufficient numbers of officers to accomplish them.

Others disagree, but I maintain there are some cities whose size and/or geography make them unsuitable for huge, controversial international events, events that serve as a magnet for violent protest. Either hold such functions in much bigger cities or the federal government's got to step up and provide, early on, far more resources to police it.

Pittsburgh with a smaller population and fewer police officers was given a grant of $10 million and authorized to hire 4,000 cops from throughout the region. That kind of support would have helped immensely in Seattle.

Q: How has WTO affected your life in the years since your resignation?

A: Well, every time there's a "milestone" anniversary — first year, five years, 10 years — I expect to get flooded with calls from reporters asking me to revisit that week in '99. I'm tired of it, but I realize that with each look back I usually learn a little more. Mostly about my own failings.

For many, the "Battle" is my legacy. I'm philosophical about it though there are times when it would be nice to hear a little more about my work on domestic violence, community policing, organizational accountability, officer safety, and so on.

Some believe I was scapegoated. I don't buy that at all. If anyone was scapegoated it was Paul Schell. It wasn't his job to police the event, it was mine. I screwed up, and let down a whole lot of people, including the mayor.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com