My 16yo daughter & I spent 2.5 hrs @ C’bus Statehouse protest Saturday 5/30. Today I read: ‘C’bus police says they are working to be sure violence doesn’t overshadow protester voice.’ They need to work harder. A timeline/observations from our experience. THREAD 1/12

2/12 Walking w/E 2 the statehouse abt 11 am. Families w/kids, all in masks w/signs, pass us. Then, from behind, a swarm of cops on bike after bike, armored head2toe in black, puffy protective gear. They pass us, & r circling the Statehouse.

3/12 @ corner State/Hi. We pass FirstAid &water stations; we’re told: “stay on sidewalks” “be calm.” Speakers r @ McKinley statue (tho hard to hear content). Group chants r in pockets along the street: “BLM” “SayhisName: GeorgeFloyd” “no justice no peace.” Crowd has good energy.

4/12 We R told 2 circle the Statehouse, &walk slowly north on High, meeting E’s friend. Suddenly, everyone reverses. A cloud of peppr spray/tear gas. Unclear why-no sound or sign of violence. People run; we hear: “walk! don’t run!” We all walk, coughing, confused, rubbing eyes.

5/12 E stops, grabs her face: “my eyes!” I’m coughing. Someone hands me water bottles, people make space &I flush her eyes. [self-conscious of this #parentingmilestone] E looks up as more police cars appear, yells at the street “WTF!”

6/12 there’s now a line of cop cars in middle of High. Cops open their trunks, put on gas masks and riot gear. Many try to engage: “Sir, why are you doing this? We are unarmed. You don’t need to do this.” silence. “please talk 2us” Nothing.

7/12 SWAT BearCat says: ‘clear the streets! state of emergency.’ It’s 12. We all say, “Where’s the emergency? We R unarmed.” Now @ Broad/High, we r told: take a knee, & we kneel. A man behind me plays jazz trombone. No sound or sign of violence.

8/12 We hear, “We can’t be *in* the street but we can *cross* the street. So let’s! Put yr white bodies near black bodies. No black bodies alone.” It’s 12.45. Crossing BroadSt, back/forth, hands in air. We all say “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”

9/12 facing us on Broad, xHighSt, is the State: SWAT BearCat, mounted cops, phalanx of riot-geared cops. State says: “an emergency exists @ Broad/High; you must leave. Chemical agents may be deployed.” But there’s no sound or sign of violence.

10/12 We hear “line the street! White bodies in front of black bodies.” We sit, kneel, stand, facing the State, which says: “Clear the area or we will use means of crowd control.” A horn. They move toward us. No one panics. It’s 1.15.

11/12 I pull my daughter& we walk w/her friend, who grabs his eyes. New tear gas? Old particles hanging in the air? It’s unclear. A medic appears from nowhere, flushes friend’s eyes. We walk him to his car, then go to ours. It’s 1.40

12/12 1stQs: Why not give protesters the street? Why use chemicals in a pandemic? CPD, why not talk 2 us?
Thank you @SURJ for yr excellent leadership of this peaceful protest.
@GovMikeDeWine, @MayorGinther & CPD: Do better.
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