Reviews Launched After Anti-Trump Protest Turns Chaotic: Blocked Ambulance, Arrests, Dog Bites

NEW HAVEN, CT — New Haven and Connecticut State Police are conducting reviews after an anti-Trump immigration policy protest turned chaotic, including three State Police officers being attacked by a State Police K-9, according to new details that have emerged since this weekend.

Emergency crews in an ambulance were forced to perform an emergency procedure instead of waiting for the patient to arrive at the hospital Saturday afternoon due to Route 34 being blocked by up to 200 protesters, State Police said.

State Police blamed protesters for the ambulance delay, but Patricia Kane, a lawyer for one of the arrested protesters, said the group had told police they were willing to allow emergency vehicles to pass but were never notified about the ambulance, according to the New Haven Register.

State Police charged Norman Clement, 66, with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, interfering with police and reckless use of the highway by a pedestrian. State Police accused Clement of being the protest organizer.

Related: Trump Protesters Block Ambulance From Getting Very Ill Patient To Hospital: State Police

One of the State Police troopers that responded to the scene routinely works with a patrol canine, said Dora Schriro, commissioner of the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The canine bit two troopers and bit a third trooper’s clothing during an arrest.

One trooper was treated and released, and the other declined treatment.

“We take all uses of force very seriously, and this incident will undergo several layers of review,” Schriro said. “The K-9 bites are documented and will be investigated, including a full after action report. CSP will also review all of the circumstances surrounding the bites and take additional steps as warranted.”

Police Didn’t Know About the Protest

New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell told the New Haven Independent that police weren’t aware that the rally was going to take place and that the department will investigate why local officers didn’t take command of the scene once the protest moved onto local streets. The department will also institute additional crowd-control training for officers.

Campbell didn’t criticize State Police tactics of using K-9s for crowd control or the use of pepper spray but did say New Haven Police are trained differently for crowd control. In an Associated Press interview, he said State Police did have the right to arrest all protesters blocking the highway and commended them for taking a different approach.

One of the protest organizers, John Lugo, said that the coalition responsible for the Saturday protest decides on a case-by-case basis whether to inform police about planned protests, according to the Independent.

“The New Haven Police Department has a long and distinguished history of protecting everyone in our city and that includes protesters and demonstrators,” said Officer David Hartman, New Haven Police spokesman, noting that the department became a standout on how it successfully dealt with the local "Occupy” movement years ago.

New Haven Police have been made aware of planned protests in the past, either through a formal permit process or informally. Even without permits, the department has generally focused on the safety of protesters and motorists first instead of trying to shut down unpermitted protests.

The Saturday protest started in the afternoon and eventually made its way to the Route 34 connector, one of the city’s main traffic arteries to the downtown area.

“A group of approximately 100 people formed a human barrier on the inbound Route 34 connector – a route crucial to ambulances, patients and medical providers to both campuses of Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale New Haven Pediatric Hospital and the Smilow Cancer Center,” Hartman said.

State Police responded and called New Haven Police for assistance, Hartman said. Six officers and a supervisor were dispatched to the side of the highway.

Eventually State Police got the protesters to leave Route 34 and instead march on Church Street toward the downtown area.

“New Haven Police did their best to keep them safe from traffic and from blocking motorists on the entire street,” Hartman said. “One man stood in front of a police car and was arrested when he refused to move.”

That arrest was the only one made by New Haven Police.

No members of the New Haven Police Department used pepper spray or other chemical agents on Saturday’s protesters, Hartman said.

Protesters Turn on Police

Some members of the New Haven Police were surprised that frustrations turned on officers.

“It was disheartening to hear the demonstrators focused their frustration on police,” said Lt. Herbert Sharp, the patrol division commander. “We’re here to keep them safe. Some, who weren’t thanking us, focus their anger toward us. I don’t get it.”

Hartman also noted that a day later, the IRIS Run for Refugees took place in East Rock and went off without a hitch and that many runners and several thousand marchers later took part in a march down Orange Street to the New Haven Green.

“Included in the list of those thanked as a ‘partner’ in human rights issues for immigrants and refugees, was the New Haven Police Department,” he said. “The rally was well organized. Its participants were respectful. Not one problem.”

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