Ferguson decision draws protesters in Albuquerque

Nearly 200 protesters took to the streets Tuesday night, in response to the failure of a Ferguson, Missouri, jury to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown.

The protesters, led by (un)Occupy ABQ, marched up and down the middle of Central Avenue between San Mateo Boulevard and Yale Avenue, blocking traffic, waving signs and chanting.

While the protest was focused on the case in Ferguson, where a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen, many who came to march Tuesday night also protested the Albuquerque Police Department’s excessive use of force.

Elisabeth Perkal, a graduate student in American Studies and organizer for (un)Occupy ABQ, said it was clear to her from how many people showed up that Albuquerque citizens are angry and want a change.

“We came together as a group when we realized that justice was not going to come at the hands of the so-called criminal justice system,” Perkal said. “We need to refuse to let things be business as usual, and that means taking to the streets, because when we do that, people listen and we get results.”

Organizers planned the protest on Monday using social media to spread the word, and (un)Occupy made it clear that they wanted the protest to remain as peaceful as possible, she said.

“We can’t dictate what other people do, but as a group we tried to communicate that our hope was to take the streets, stay safe, and we were hoping that we would not have any interactions with police,” Perkal said.

New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas said there were 50 state police officers, most in full riot gear, who were called in to support APD’s efforts in controlling the crowd.

Police monitored social media because a protest was expected, he said. Kassetas suspects some of the protest leaders reached out to APD to let them know of their plans, he said.

Kassetas said he understood why the protestors were angry and he appreciated that events did not escalate into violence.

“We had people spit on our boots; we had people shove on our officers. But we exercised restraint,” Kassetas said. “There were some really good leaders in the group trying to corral those people, telling them to move on. And they did, so that was good.”

APD tried its best to divert traffic as the crowd moved up and down the street.

Once the protestors reached Harvard Boulevard they took a moment of silence, sitting in the middle of Central for four and a half minutes to represent the four and half hours that Michael Brown’s body laid in the street after he was killed.

During the silence an altercation broke out when some of the protesters began burning the American flag, held upside down.

Michael Moreno-Ulibarri, a protester mediator, said he was marching on behalf of the people of Albuquerque but wanted to make sure that it did not turn violent.

He reached out to the police officers who were present, but said they were not willing to talk to him.

“It is always us screaming out to the world and no response from the government or the cops, other than to ‘disperse yourselves,’” Moreno-Ulibarri said.

Aretha Donnelly said she and her husband came all the way from Durango, Colorado, to participate in the protest and express solidarity with the people of Ferguson.

“I sought this out to express my righteous rage over the injustices being perpetrated in Ferguson, around the country and all over this planet,” Donnelly said. “We also know that Albuquerque particularly suffers from police brutality, so we wanted to show solidarity with this community as well. APD’s reputation precedes them, and it is not flattering.”

Protester Jordan Hindsbrown said the events in Ferguson are especially relevant in Albuquerque in light of APD’s record of excessive force.

“In Albuquerque there have been instances of police brutality within APD. So we are really angry about that too,” Hindsbrown said. “It’s an encompassing theme, it’s happening everywhere. It’s a matter of the police not doing their job — they are not here to protect us because they are terrorizing us.”

According to CNN, more than 130 protests were planned across the country for Tuesday in 30 states.

Protest leaders in Albuquerque called on the crowd to reconvene on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Yale Park in order to establish their goals for future protests.

Jonathan Baca, Lauren Marvin and Moriah Carty are editors for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.