April 12, 2003

     Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said antiwar and antiglobalization protests scheduled for this weekend may disrupt traffic, but he expects them to be smaller than similar demonstrations in the past.

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     The police chief said his entire force will work 12-hour shifts this weekend, seven outside jurisdictions will lend officers to the District, and 22 surveillance cameras will monitor marches and rallies.
     In advance of the demonstrations, streets were closed last night to vehicles and pedestrians without business credentials inside a wide perimeter surrounding the White House and the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at H Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Police expect the closures to remain in effect until Monday morning, unless the streets can safely be reopened before that.
     But for all his preparation, Chief Ramsey said he's not sure whether to expect 200, 2,000 or 20,000 demonstrators.
     "Our intelligence right now indicates it's going to be far smaller than the last time," Chief Ramsey said, referring to antiglobalization rallies in September that drew tens of thousands.
      "Why we don't really have a good sense is that we just can't seem get a handle on how many antiwar protesters are actually coming in this time around, especially in light of the recent turn of events in Iraq."
     Protesters from the group Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, or ANSWER, plan a meandering march at noon today starting at Freedom Plaza and ending at Farragut Square to protest the war in Iraq.
     At the same time, the Citizens United Foundation and the Young America's Foundation are holding a rally on the west side of the U.S. Capitol to support President Bush and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
     Organizers of both events say they expect to attract thousands.
     The demonstrations will continue tomorrow , when protesters will march from 16th and Euclid streets NW to H Street NW for a rally coinciding with the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
      Chief Ramsey said he doesn't expect mass arrests partly because police granted permits for this weekend's activities.
     On the first day of the demonstrations in September, police herded hundreds of marchers without permits into Pershing Park, before putting them in flexcuffs and removing them from the park on Metrobuses.
     Protesters then had planned their activities over the Internet. Chief Ramsey said he has not seen any indication that protesters have planned marches without permits or that they will attempt to "shut down the city" as one group vowed to do last fall.
     "We've not heard that this time," Chief Ramsey said. "There has not been that kind of discussion among the groups."
     Chief Ramsey said he couldn't put a dollar figure on preparations for the protests, but described them as "very, very costly." He said his department has spent $13 million on overtime since officers were put on 12-hour shifts when the homeland security threat level was raised to Code Orange, or high risk of terrorist attack, on March 17.
     The money will come out of a $15 million federal appropriation originally intended to reimburse local police for the cost of handling protests and providing federal security.

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Updated at 4:00 p.m.