Protests continue at a town 'Occupy' press conference

Protesters sat in and made frequent comments at a press conference held by the town and led by Chapel Hill Police Department Chief Chris Blue and Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt Monday afternoon.

The conference was held to address the Chapel Hill police tactical team’s Sunday break-up of the “Occupy everything” protest that had overtaken the vacant Yates Motor Company building at 419 West Franklin Street. The group is a spin-off of national “Occupy” movements.

On Sunday, Police arrested seven people who were inside the building and charged them for misdemeanor breaking and entering. They also handcuffed and pointed guns, including assault rifles, at people on the sidewalk outside.

Ellen Crawford, 23, of Richmond, Va.; Kassandra Ofray, 21, of Pittsboro; Jack Jarrell, 24, and David Maliken, 24, of Carrboro; and Eva Jones, 22, Daniel Regenscheit, 27, and Monica Ganguly, 29, of Chapel Hill were all arrested, according a press release released Monday.

Blue said police tried to contact protesters after learning that about 70 had occupied the building Saturday night, but those within the building threatened officers and chanted “ACB,” which law enforcement later learned stands for “all cops are bastards.”

Blue said some protesters wore masks or hoods during the confrontation. Later, police learned that known anarchists were among the group.

Blue said police learned that the protesters had moved generators, food, water jugs and other materials into the building and planned on staying indefinitely. Protesters also at times sent a guard to the roof of the building.

He said after police decided the group was a significant threat and planned to break them up, they did not attempt to communicate with occupiers again for fear of drawing a larger crowd to the scene.

“Our fears were heightened by the fact that the protesters placed banners on the window,” he said. “We do believe our deliberate response was appropriate.”

Blue said significant planning went into the police action — he and other police department officials deliberated for 18 hours before moving.

Since the police break-up, town officials have placed a “condemned” sign on the Yates motor building.

“The building is not fit for human habitation,” Kleinschmidt said.

Officials said the owner of the building, Joe Riddle, who lives out of town, has been in contact with the town and was informed of Sunday’s events Monday morning.

Protesters at the event — including some of those arrested — regularly interrupted the mayor and police chief’s statements with comments and questions, prompting town spokeswoman Catherine Lazorko to warn that the conference might be cut short.

But protesters said their presence was necessary.

“I think it citizens don’t stand up now, we’re going to be in a bad place,” said Fredy Perlman, who was across the street during the police action.

Ryan Jarrell, one of the protestors arrested, said he had few comments to make about his experience.

“I was shocked by the police action simply because no one else had talked to us before then,” Jarell said.

And attendees at the conference questioned whether police treatment of protestors was appropriate. One point of concern was that two journalists — Katelyn Ferral of the News and Observer and Josh Davis, a freelancer and graduate student at UNC — were handcuffed at the scene.

Ferral said her camera was temporarily taken away, but not for a significant amount of time.

Kleinschmidt stressed that occupiers in the building were a distinct group from Occupy Chapel Hill, which has been camped out in Peace and Justice Plaza since Oct. 15. He said the town hopes to continue its positive relationship with the Peace and Justice Plaza group.