Longshoremen charged with attacking police during strike — Longview, WA

Twelve arrests were made Wednesday morning when protesters attempted to stop a train arriving at the grain terminal at the Port of Longview.

During the incident, two protesters attacked the arresting officers, said Grover Laseke, spokesman for the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office. One protester seized an officer in a headlock and pulled him to the ground. The other swung a protest sign at an officer. Both attackers were pepper-sprayed and placed under arrest on felony charges, he said.

All 12 suspects face misdemeanor charges of second-degree criminal trespass and obstructing a train.

No law enforcement officers suffered injuries, but one protester apparently went to the hospital with a shoulder injury. Officers continued to monitor the situation for several hours after the protesters left.

Laseke said every law enforcement office in Cowlitz County responded to the incident, including officers from Clark, Lewis, Thurston and King counties and U.S. marshals. He would not say how many officers were on the scene.

Several other protesters have been arrested in the past week in connection with a Sept. 8 incident at the Longview port, which saw hundreds of workers storm the facility, detain guards, dump grain and damage facilities.

The longshoremen are protesting the decision by EGT LLC to engage workers through a different union, the Portland-based Operating Engineers Local 701.

A district judge declared two union locals in contempt of court Sept. 15 for violating his orders to restrict their activities at the grain terminal.

U.S. District Judge Robert Leighton found two Local 4 and Local 21 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in civil contempt, saying there was no defense for the aggressive tactics.

http://www.capitalpress.com/washington/SB-Longview-labor-folo-092111

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