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On March 13, amid a crowd of protesters opposed to the Northampton Business Improvement District (BID), the demonstration took a not-so-peaceful turn as police arrested two individuals on charges of disorderly conduct and assault and battery of an officer.

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Commenting on the arrests, community organizer and member of Poverty Is Not a Crime Ira McKinley claims the police used ‘bully tactics’ against the protesters. In an earlier interview about the BID he explained, ‘You know you’re doing the right thing when you get the opposition.’

In a statement issued to The Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton Police Detective Corey Robinson said, ‘Initially, they were arrested because they refused to get out of the street, but then one of the protesters bumped into one of our officers and now faces the additional charge.

‘The police were looking for an excuse to shut us down because they were nervous about the subject matter we were protesting. People were very playful, dressed colorfully, playing music, dancing around and singing,’ said Beatriz Bianco, a Hampshire College student and activist who protested at the event,

The protesters were passing out free food and informational cards, but did not have a permit for the event.

‘We complied with all their instructions. We weren’t blocking the sidewalks, and we didn’t prop our signs up against the stairs [of City Hall] after they told us not to,’ added Bianco.

According to Bianco, the approximately 40 protesters made their way down Main Street singing, dancing and playing drums. Some of the protesters were in the street; Bianco, who uses a wheelchair, was being pushed by a friend, and another friend was walking in front of her.

Bianco added that the police were ‘pushing us with their bodies [onto the sidewalk]‘ while they were walking.

She said that after the police urged them to get back on the sidewalk, Bianco was, ‘literally a foot away,’ from the first person to be arrested.

‘I really have no explanation to justify what the cops did. [The arrested man] did nothing to provoke the arrest and he did nothing to resist it. Three cops slammed him to the ground and he did nothing but try to lift his head up but they kept slamming it back down,’ said Bianco.

After a short conference on the corner of the street, during which someone called the American Civil Liberties Union, the protesters decided to continue their march.

By that time, most of the protesters were on the street except for Bianco and the friend who was pushing her wheelchair, according to Bianco.

‘My friend and I were still on the street because the raised sidewalk is only accessible from one point, so we continued to march in the street. We were as close [to the curb] as we could be,’ said Bianco.

Then, according to Bianco, two officers got out of their car and told them to move onto the sidewalk.

Bianco said that she attempted to explain the situation to the officers, but the officers ignored her and focused on arresting the friend pushing her wheelchair.

‘They ripped my friend’s hand off my wheelchair and swung him around to cuff him. I started to roll backwards and I thought it was entirely preposterous they endangered me to arrest him. While they were arresting them, I was addressing them but they ignored me. They didn’t even look at me; they separated two human bodies, but they saw it as if they had separated him from a shopping cart or something,’ said Bianco.

According to Bianco, someone jumped down from the sidewalk to help her, while she continued to address the officer.

After the two arrests were made, Bianco and the rest of the protesters continued with their protest.

‘ Bianco read a performance piece, and the protesters marched back to City Hall in the streets in a ‘show of solidarity with the people that had been arrested.’

When the group arrived back at City Hall there were officers waiting.

The group sat on the steps at this point, and according to Bianco, ‘The police just sat there watching us. They had vans. They were ready to make mass arrests.
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Bianco recalls, ‘We still had all of our fire, beauty and shine and juice, but we were horrified. All the things [aspects of the BID include a privatized police force] we were protesting, it was exactly as bad as we feared.’

Protesters of the BID fear that it will result in gentrification of the downtown area, aiming for a more affluent tourism demographic. The BID includes language reminiscent of a previously tabled pan-handling ordinance and many residents fear it will push out the homeless, sacrifice public spaces for private interests, raise downtown rent and increase taxes. The elevated rent may force out some of Northampton‘s quirky shops, as some shopkeepers may not be able to afford increased rent.

‘ Supporters of the BID state in their literature that these claims are false, and the BID will ‘make the City a cleaner, brighter, more vibrant place.‘ The end result will improve the experience of all people who come to our Downtown.’ The main force behind the BID, the BID Steering Committee, has published statements that express, ‘The BID is an example of people working together.’

The protest was scheduled by the organizers on March 13in anticipation of the March 19 City Council vote. The BID was approved on March 19 with only one dissenting vote.

Kat Manser can be reached at kmanser@student.umass.edu.