Many of the 154 protesters arrested during last week’s Democratic National Convention appeared in court yesterday to enter pleas of guilty or not guilty. Those who pleaded not guilty were set for trial in October.

The Denver Police Department is proud of their officers’ conduct during the convention. Nonetheless, The Denver Post reports:

Denver police said Thursday they have opened three internal investigations stemming from officer conduct at the DNC. All three involved arrests caught on videotape and were perceived as excessively violent.

I’m wondering how many people were arrested who weren’t protesting. For example, late Thursday night during Senator Barack Obama’s speech, a large motorcade of police motorcycles, cars, and SUVs came barreling down Lawrence Street past the 16th Street Mall with sirens blaring. Of course, everyone ran up, trying to see what was going on. It was the Obamas being driven back to the Westin.

A crowd raced to the Westin trying to get a glimpse of them. The police made a line at the entrance to the Westin and said nobody could walk on the sidewalk past the hotel until it gave the “OK.” As the officer was giving the “OK,” one man started moving before he was finished. Here’s the result (My son and I happened to be standing right behind him.)

Are there any numbers for how many of these types of arrests there were, which clearly had nothing to do  with protests, just people getting a little overly enthusiastic?

Posted 9/3/2008 at 1:33 pm by Jeralyn Merritt
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