DPS chief defends report on 'suspicious jars' find

DPS officers stabilize a man after he was injured in the ruckus after the Senate passes abortion legislation on July 12, 2013. DPS officers stabilize a man after he was injured in the ruckus after the Senate passes abortion legislation on July 12, 2013. Photo: TOM REEL Photo: TOM REEL Image 1 of / 113 Caption Close DPS chief defends report on 'suspicious jars' find 1 / 113 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — State police insist that they confiscated and discarded excrement and urine from legislative spectators Friday despite questions from lawmakers and activists who say they aren't convinced.

Steve McCraw, director of the Department of Public Safety, stood by his agency's report Wednesday that officers found and discarded 18 jars of “suspected feces,” which has been questioned because no reports or evidence were filed. The items were found on activists attempting to enter the Senate gallery Friday, McCraw said, with intentions to throw the items onto the floor where lawmakers debated an abortion restrictions bill. He also explained the confiscation of feminine hygiene products, which drew criticism from lawmakers and caused an uproar on social media.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has questioned the statement since DPS initially released it Friday. Howard sent a letter to McCraw on Monday, asking, among other things, why there was no evidence to back up reports that such items were found or seized.

McCraw wrote that “the department never took possession of these items and had no justification to do so. The possession of these and other items is not a crime, and therefore, there was no basis to arrest and detain visitors who possessed such items; however, they were denied access unless they discarded the items.”

No officer questioned by the San Antonio Express-News on Friday could confirm that they had confiscated feces or urine or that they had knowledge of such items being in the Capitol. Howard worries that the allegations were made to “create a negative perception” about certain activists at the Capitol and to “distract” from the debate at hand.

McCraw explained why police confiscated feminine hygiene products, including tampons and sanitary napkins, from spectators entering the gallery, which was stopped upon request from state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin. McCraw also added to the list of items that were found by officers not noted in an initial DPS press release and discussed the circumstances surrounding the searches.

“The arbitrary prohibition of feminine hygiene products, for example, on its face would seem absurd,” McCraw wrote. “However, the department received reports that some visitors planned to throw feminine hygiene products onto the Senate floor. One woman attempted to enter the Senate gallery with approximately 100 feminine hygiene products, and she was denied access, as were two men who possessed approximately 50 feminine hygiene products each.”

Names of visitors with “suspicious jars or other items” were not documented, McCraw said, because they did not commit a crime by possessing them and “it would be unreasonable to document names of visitors based on what they might or might not do.”

Howard responded with “disappointment in the lack of clarity that (McCraw) provides.” She said his response did not directly address all her questions and was “evasive.”

“At the end of the day, we are still left with unsubstantiated claims, allegations of suspicious jars, but no actual evidence,” she said in a statement. “The lack of onsite documentation or eyewitnesses — either from officers or members of the public — seems to undercut the assertions laid out in DPS' original press release and now their response letter. To be frank, it doesn't pass the smell test.”

McCraw added to the list of items that were confiscated and discarded by police including “paint, confetti, glitter, bottles of bubbles, bags of balloons (not inflated), handheld air horns, a bag full of tomatoes” and two bricks, which were being used to prop doors open and were not going to be used as projectiles, he said.

Shelby Alexander, an abortion-rights activist who watched the Senate gallery searches for hours Friday, said she saw a lot food and drinks confiscated, but no excrement. She questioned the validity of the report as well. Journalists stationed near the searches also did not report any such items.

The Express-News has requested records from DPS regarding the July 12 searches and items discarded.

Two activists attempted to chain themselves to the Senate gallery railing Friday; one of them succeeded. DPS has not explained how activists smuggled chains and padlocks through multiple physical searches and a metal detector. The activist who was successful in chaining herself declined to be interviewed.

The Express-News reviewed an activist video from that day and determined that the activists snuck in the chains and padlocks in a throw pillow. It is unclear how they got the chains through the metal detectors.

kparker@express-news.net