San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Assistant Chief Boyd Long of the San Diego Police Department answered a few last-minute questions for us as the Occupy San Diego protesters prepare to march.
(Writer's note: Doesn't he kinda look like Gary Oldman's character, James Gordon, in Batman?)
CityBeat: What can we expect from the SDPD?
Boyd Long: What you always expect from us and that's good, professional service. Our goal is to provide anyone that wants to go out and exercise their First Amendment right, freedom of speech, that they have the venue to do that as long as they don't infringe on the rights of other people, as long as they don't cause destruction, harm to someone. We're going to be out there to make sure that they have the ability to get their message across. We're going to make it safe for them and safe for everybody else.
Are you guys going to be deploying with any specific gear for this?
We always do, we always have resources that are set aside. At this point, based on intelligence, just like we do with any demonstration or protest, we make a proactive reach-out ahead of time to meet with them and we did that. We asked them what they want and they want to march from the Children's Park over to City Hall and then potentially back to Children's Park. We told them we would help them facilitate that, to do it in a safe way and then from that point, we'll provide protection for them and everybody else out there. There will be a police presence out there, only because they're going to be marching in the streets, to make sure it's safe. Then we always have access to additional police officers if needed. The last thing we want is to have a conflict. Most important for us is for everyone to have a safe event.
Do you know how many officers you're going to be sending down?
At this point, we're going to have some officers on foot, some officers on bicycles, and some officers on police motorcycles. Everything depends on the size of the crowd. We're geared up to deal with as many people as they bring or as few people as they bring. If we needed resources at any place in the city, we'll pull resources from throughout. We hate to give numbers up, but probably we'll have about 20 officers immediately, but we'll basically couch that with how many folks we get there to do this demonstration.
Do you guys have any plans for the long haul? They say indefinitely. Is it the same if they're there for the weekend or does the strategy change if they're there next week?
A lot of our strategy revolves around how many people attend, whether they're willing to work with us, they're compliant with what is acceptable for the community. We're there to serve and protect and that's what we're going to do regardless of the situation. I know that sounds cliche but I gotta tell you... I bet I've been involved in a hundred different protests where I've been active as a police officer all the way up to managing the protest. It's business as usual for police officers.
Are you looking outside the department for any support?
At this point no.
You said as long as they're compliant with what's "acceptable" to the community. What's unacceptable to the community?
Unacceptable is laws being broken, whether it's damage to property or there's somebody getting hurt or assaulted. That would be completely unacceptable conduct and we will act swiftly and we'll take action.
Have you contacted the county jail in case there's a need to bring a significant sized population over there?
We have not yet. We always have that opportunity to do that, a mass booking. To be honest with you, even though we're prepared for that, I don't expect it. I expect based on our initial meetings with this group, we're going to have a peaceful protest and we're gearing up for that. We'll be prepared for anything, though.
Some people are operating under the belief they can't put tents downtown because that would bring the wrath on them in terms of illegal-lodging laws. Do you guys have a set rule if they put tents up?
We do not have a set rule on tents. We do have an illegal-lodging ordinance. It's usable, but under these circumstances, these are folks that are out protesting and exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and we're going to treat them like they're exercising their First Amendment right and we're going to make sure they have a safe protest.
(Writer's note: Doesn't he kinda look like Gary Oldman's character, James Gordon, in Batman?)
CityBeat: What can we expect from the SDPD?
Boyd Long: What you always expect from us and that's good, professional service. Our goal is to provide anyone that wants to go out and exercise their First Amendment right, freedom of speech, that they have the venue to do that as long as they don't infringe on the rights of other people, as long as they don't cause destruction, harm to someone. We're going to be out there to make sure that they have the ability to get their message across. We're going to make it safe for them and safe for everybody else.
Are you guys going to be deploying with any specific gear for this?
We always do, we always have resources that are set aside. At this point, based on intelligence, just like we do with any demonstration or protest, we make a proactive reach-out ahead of time to meet with them and we did that. We asked them what they want and they want to march from the Children's Park over to City Hall and then potentially back to Children's Park. We told them we would help them facilitate that, to do it in a safe way and then from that point, we'll provide protection for them and everybody else out there. There will be a police presence out there, only because they're going to be marching in the streets, to make sure it's safe. Then we always have access to additional police officers if needed. The last thing we want is to have a conflict. Most important for us is for everyone to have a safe event.
Do you know how many officers you're going to be sending down?
At this point, we're going to have some officers on foot, some officers on bicycles, and some officers on police motorcycles. Everything depends on the size of the crowd. We're geared up to deal with as many people as they bring or as few people as they bring. If we needed resources at any place in the city, we'll pull resources from throughout. We hate to give numbers up, but probably we'll have about 20 officers immediately, but we'll basically couch that with how many folks we get there to do this demonstration.
Do you guys have any plans for the long haul? They say indefinitely. Is it the same if they're there for the weekend or does the strategy change if they're there next week?
A lot of our strategy revolves around how many people attend, whether they're willing to work with us, they're compliant with what is acceptable for the community. We're there to serve and protect and that's what we're going to do regardless of the situation. I know that sounds cliche but I gotta tell you... I bet I've been involved in a hundred different protests where I've been active as a police officer all the way up to managing the protest. It's business as usual for police officers.
Are you looking outside the department for any support?
At this point no.
You said as long as they're compliant with what's "acceptable" to the community. What's unacceptable to the community?
Unacceptable is laws being broken, whether it's damage to property or there's somebody getting hurt or assaulted. That would be completely unacceptable conduct and we will act swiftly and we'll take action.
Have you contacted the county jail in case there's a need to bring a significant sized population over there?
We have not yet. We always have that opportunity to do that, a mass booking. To be honest with you, even though we're prepared for that, I don't expect it. I expect based on our initial meetings with this group, we're going to have a peaceful protest and we're gearing up for that. We'll be prepared for anything, though.
Some people are operating under the belief they can't put tents downtown because that would bring the wrath on them in terms of illegal-lodging laws. Do you guys have a set rule if they put tents up?
We do not have a set rule on tents. We do have an illegal-lodging ordinance. It's usable, but under these circumstances, these are folks that are out protesting and exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and we're going to treat them like they're exercising their First Amendment right and we're going to make sure they have a safe protest.
