February 5, 2010

Emily Caruso reports on how police in San Francisco raided a fundraising party for student activists fighting fee hikes and layoffs in the University of California system.

POLICE ATTACKED a political fundraising event on January 30, bringing chaos to a peaceful evening in San Francisco.

Due to the number of student occupations erupting in California, many students have risked arrest and are in need of defense fees. In an effort to fundraise for multiple defense campaigns across the Bay Area, student activists from University of California-Santa Cruz, University of California-Berkeley and San Francisco State University organized a benefit party in San Francisco.

The peaceful benefit took place in a rented two-tier gallery space. In the bottom level, a sound system was set up, and the area was converted into a dance hall. Above, people were enjoying the social atmosphere and mingling with other students from around the Bay.

Students from San Francisco State University volunteered to promote and run the event, but unfortunately, security wasn't tight enough, for police abruptly ended the party.

Around 1 a.m., police arrived at the door of the space and ordered an immediate evacuation. Within five minutes of their arrival, they busted through the main doors, which had previously been closed and locked. When the owner of the gallery space asked to see a warrant, he was put into a pain-hold, thrown on the ground and arrested. A younger female officer, who was dressed as a civilian with just a badge hanging around her neck, was pushing and shoving people out of the gallery and into the street.

Students support a building occupation at San Francisco State University in December (Luz Clemente | Indybay.org)

"I was, as I believe everyone else was, completely unprepared for the amount of unnecessary force used," said San Francisco State University Freshman Carolina Hicks. "It was police storming in on a dance party put together by students for the benefit of other students."

Officer Samson Chan of the San Francisco Police Department justified the intervention by claiming, "Initially, we had numerous complaints about a large fight outside of the venue." However, partygoers recall the night continuing peacefully until police arrived.

While the space was being vacated, people began yelling at the police for their use of violence. When people screamed, "Fuck the police!" officers responded with brutality, and arrested people for "inciting violence."

Chan claimed that "police officers were highly outnumbered. It got to a point where officers called for emergency assistance." "Emergency assistance" consisted of more than 10 police cars speeding to the gallery, with sirens blaring, from all directions simultaneously. This sparked fear among those in attendance, so most people ran from the scene as fast as they could--with some officers chasing the students on foot.

"I think that because the party was advertised so openly on the streets as well as on campus, my suspicion is that [the police] were well-informed of the political nature of the party and its purpose," Hicks said. "Why else would they have reacted so strongly to some group of college kids?

"I felt that something really positive and peaceful turned very ugly, very fast...Within a matter of minutes, the attitude turned from a great party, where people were socializing and making positive connections, to a very genuine fear of 'Where should I hide from the police chasing after me?' and 'Why am I even having to run?' The police did nothing but provoke."