Dec
23 2006
Excellent protest by our neighbors, wish we could have been there!
LOCKHEED-MARTIN
War
Profiteer Exposed for Selling Clusterbombs, Cops Beat Citizens
"Friends
At a protest today against Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, MD for their
development of cluster bombs the Montgomery County Policy were told by
Lockheed that we could not stand on the grass in front of their
corporate headquarters. The police got a little pushy with Pat Elder
who was speaking at the time -- you can watch it here:
" THE
VIDEO
Kevin Zeese
The take-home fact about clusterbombs: they are small. They
lie around for years. They look like toys. Kids pick them up to play
with them.
Clusterbombs, manufactured by
Lockheed-Martin, and
dropped in the last
72 hours of the barbaric invasion of Lebanon,
kill 3 civilians each day, one of which is a child
6801 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 Location/Map
of Bethesda Facility
(301) 897-6000
Cluster Bomb Manufacturer
In Your Neighborhood
Cluster bombs are small explosive bomblets carried in a large cannister
that opens in mid-air, scattering them over a wide area. The bomblets
may be delivered by aircraft, rocket, or by artillery projectiles.
Don't forget about Raytheon over in PG county,
CACI in Arlington, SAIC in Fairfax County, many many others.
There are more war profiteers per square centimeter in this
area than in any place on earth. Drive them out.
Pat Elder
Bethesda, MD J. Thomas Manger,
Chief of Police
Montgomery County Department of Police
MCPDChief@montgomerycountymd.gov
Montgomery County Executive
Ike Leggett
ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov
December 23, 2006
Dear Chief Manger & County Executive Leggett,
I regret my actions and the actions of the Montgomery County Police
officer who pushed me to the ground during yesterday's otherwise
peaceful demonstration at Lockheed Martin's corporate headquarters in
Bethesda, MD.
I have a pretty nasty bruise on my upper thigh and a
skinned knee and I'm pretty sore, but I should be O.K.
See this report of the incident by independent journalist William
Hughes. Hughes is the author of “Saying ‘No’ to the
War Party” (Amazon.com). He can be reached at
liamhughes@comcast.net.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article. php3?id_article=14218
I don't plan to pursue legal action, unless I'm still hurting in a few
weeks.
Instead, I call on the Montgomery County Department of Police to
institute training procedures so that Montgomery's Police might exhibit
the same level of professional behavior displayed by Park Police and
other uniformed officers during frequent demonstrations in Washington.
Montgomery has a lot to learn about how to deal with peaceful
demonstrators.
Although the incident took place entirely on county property, when I
saw the officer becoming hostile and angrily raising his voice, I
should have immediately backed off. Instead, I stood solidly on my
constitutionally protected ground. In basketball terminology, the cop
drew the personal foul, I hit the court.
We're peace activists; we're moved by conscience. We weren't there to
hurt anyone or damage anything. We weren't violent. If the police had
left us alone, we would have simply said our piece and gone home. We
were there because Lockheed Martin's corporate headquarters are in our
neighborhood and Lockheed makes billions of dollars selling the world's
most lethal weapons, including cluster munitions that have killed tens
of thousands of innocent civilians.
This is upsetting to us. I'm not
suggesting we retreat from our right to free speech. Quite to the
contrary; this is time to push the envelope. Although I should have
exercised immediate restraint in the face of the police officer's
hostile actions, that's tough to do in the heat of the moment and
herein lays the message for both sides. People are emotional creatures
and they do stupid things sometimes. I stood my ground and I was thrown
to the concrete. Stupid me. Sensing his rage, I should have backed off.
I forgive that cop. My stand provoked his response.
I hope he has a
wonderful holiday season and I hope we can all learn from this
unfortunate event.
Public Property
I researched the public right of way before the demonstration and we
were standing on public ground during the entire incident. It was never
our intention to enter the premises. During a meeting with the
commanding officer and the investigating officer before the march, I
explained the extent of the county's right of way and the area for
public utility easements along the strip of grass between the sidewalk
and Lockheed's iron gates.
During the episode, a jogger and her dog ran
by on the same strip of grass, unmolested by the police.
Intimidation
The Montgomery Police should have known our peaceful intentions because
an investigative detective with the Montgomery County Police Department
called me five times and he called Larry Callahan, the event's
principal organizer, three times during the week leading up to the
demonstration. That's eight calls! If we didn't have thick skin, these
calls might have had a chilling effect on our right to protest. "When
are you meeting? How many will be there? Who will be there? I saw your
article in such and such a publication - that reaches the wrong crowd!"
Will there be civil disobedience? Will there be trouble? Have you
talked to the library? Where are you going to park? Are you sure you
can park there? Where are you going to cross the street? What are you
going to have with you? I hope you don't mind me calling here,
people often don't like it when police detectives call!"
All I could tell him is that our average age is over 50; we're mostly
from the neighborhoods surrounding Lockheed, and we just hoped to get
our message out to fellow neighbors that Lockheed is a ruthless war
profiteer and we demand they stop manufacturing and selling cluster
munitions.
The last time I checked, free speech is still constitutionally
guaranteed, even in Montgomery County, MD. There will certainly be more
demonstrations to come. Montgomery Police and the Peace and Justice
community should come together to avert future incidents with
potentially disastrous consequences. A day-long conference would go a
long way in restoring faith in our police. I look forward to your reply
and I hope to see the institution of programs to train your officers to
react appropriately in these situations. Pat Elder
Bethesda, MD
post script: This message is being sent to J. Thomas Manger, Chief of
Police, Montgomery County Department of Police; Ike Leggett, Montgomery
County Executive; approximately 2,800 recipients of the following
listserves: Montgomery Coalition for Alternatives to War, Montgomery
Green Party, Montgomery Counter-Recruitment, Montgomery Peace Action,
United for Peace & Justice, the DC Antiwar Network, and Organizing
NCNR. Please forward to appropriate lists.
Peace Action Montgomery
