Environmental activists get a shock in Vt.
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Activists opposed to development planted flowers and herbs in a gentle protest that stretched through the night. In the morning, when they refused to leave a vacant lot where a truck stop has been proposed, things got ugly. The protesters were Tasered by police.
"It was torture," said Janisse Ray, one of the protesters, who witnessed Jonathan "Slug" Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray being shocked.
Police acknowledged that they used the devices Tuesday, but said they had to use them to get the protesters to move.
"There was no other choice," said Captain Steven Rowell, a police spokesman.
Rowell said it was the first time officers in the town, which is known for its outspoken activists, have used Tasers against protesters. The action was in line with the department's policy on the use of force, he said.
Police Chief John Martin has said he will investigate, but has stood behind his officers.
About 20 activists brought trowels and seedlings Monday to a strip of Route 5 lined with big-box stores, to protest what they feel is a creeping commercial assault on the town.
A few, including Crowell and Kilmurray, both 32, stayed all night. When police arrived in the morning, they arrested the couple, but found that they had chained themselves to a steel barrel.
The barrel was rigged so that the pair could release themselves, but police needed tools they did not have to remove them.
"Like a jackhammer," Rowell said. "It's a typical strategy used by Greenpeace and other professional activists."
Officers shocked the two with Tasers until they agreed to release themselves.
Brattleboro police have been criticized by some in the community for their use of force. In 2001, two officers killed a man, Robert Woodward, during Sunday services at a church. He was armed with a 4-inch blade he refused to drop. Police shot him seven times.
Crowell and Kilmurray, both from New Jersey, describe themselves as professional activists and educators, though neither is employed. They said they plan to transform the experience into a piece of political street theater.
