Anarchist Protestors Invade San Marino Neighborhood

Members and supporters of a radical labor union stampeded a San Marino at 6:00 p.m. because he is an officer with a major banking institution.

Piggybacking on the anarchist Occupy LA and Occupy Wall Street model, approximately 100 protesters were bused to a residence on Woodstock Rd., trampled the landscape and repeatedly pounded on the front door. Nobody was home, as the residents had been tipped off by the financial institution's security department. One source told The Tribune that several of the protesters have been identified as members of Organize for America – President Barack Obama's campaign organization – and the discredited ACORN.
[I like nothing. nothing at all]

San Marino police arrived approximately fifteen minutes after the protesters were delivered by two buses to the residence on Woodstock Rd. and immediately called for back-up. San Marino Police and Fire Chief John Schaefer said officers were summoned from South Pasadena, who arrived to help control the mob, many of whom were conducting interviews with local news organizations.

Schaefer said that a call was received at the SMPD at 6:04 p.m. indicating protesters were in the front yard of the home. An officer arrived at 6:11. According to Schaefer, the officer identified a leader of the protest and told the leader, a male, to remove the buses from the area. When the leader told the protesters that the buses had to be removed from the street, they boarded the buses and left the area. The office cleared the area at 6:54 p.m. after the disturbance had died down. Other actions taken by the officer during the forty-four minutes he was at the site are less clear.

Tim Sloan, the owner of the residence told The Tribune today that there was little damage to the yard and that "some windows were pounded on and some lights were broken," but there was no further damage to the structure.

"We are OK," Sloan said. "We had enough warning and the family wasn't there. Nobody was hurt and we have to be more prepared for things like this. It seems as though the rhetoric right now is against people who are successful. Especially with banks. It's like we are evil and we have done all these bad things."

"They were disgruntled Ohio State fans," University of Michigan grad Sloan quipped.

Schaefer said he is "extremely disappointed that the protesters breached the property and conducted their protest in the front yard of the homeowner. This is unacceptable and despite the peaceful outcome and the restraint exercised by our police officers, I would have preferred a more proactive approach and in the future our officers will act to better protect property and if necessary arrest protesters who violate the law. The bad part is, the public's confidence is shaken and people might be saying "are protesters going to be at my front door? Where are the cops? Why is someone not on the scene?"

Schaefer also said that although his department had received a cal from bank security personnel that protesters seemed to be congregating at the corner of Fair Oaks and Huntington Drive and "could be coming to San Marino," police officials were hampered by a large power outage, a report of smoke emanating from a storm drain on Oak Grove Ave., and a domestic battery incident that had investigators searching for a possible perpetrator.

Many of the local protests have been bankrolled by the Service Employees International Union, who boast on the home page of their website; "SEIU has issued a union-wide endorsement of support for Occupy Wall Street and its message about shrinking income inequality, investing in public education, and making the rich pay their fair share in taxes. We're excited to be able to contribute our union's energy, resources and organizing strength to the resilient demonstrations that began in downtown Manhattan more than two weeks ago."

Schaefer said the protesters might come back to San Marino.

"We are looking at this and there are pieces we would like to handle differently," he said. "There are pieces that are beyond our control, but they are NOT going to able to break the law and be on people's property."

http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20111007170511429