(MintPress)—As law enforcement and military officials plan for NATO protests, Red Cross officials are claiming the City of Chicago and Secret Service warned the organization that shelters in southeastern Wisconsin may be needed in the case of a Chicago evacuation, adding to a list of precautionary measures previously not experienced in American protests.
Red Cross sent emails to volunteers in southeastern Wisconsin, which stated the organization was receiving directives from the Secret Service and City of Chicago to prepare shelters because the summit “may create unrest or another national security incident,” according to a report by Chicago CBS 2. According to the news organization, neither the Secret Service or Chicago are taking responsibility for evacuation plans.
Coinciding with the emails, residents on South State Street, where protesters are expected to march, received letters from management urging dwellers to consider evacuation during the summit. The letter, written by Library Tower Property Manager Michele Maeder, said the business is “being told the final information will probably not be released by the Secret Service until days before the Summit.”
Protest plans
In a post on the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association website, Chicago Police Sgt. William Schield warns fellow law enforcement officers that NATO Summit protests are going to be unprecedented, saying the upcoming event will incite rallies that will far outdo those seen during the 2003 Iraq War protests.
“The challenges we are going to face during the G8/NATO Summit are going to be unlike any that we have ever encountered,” he says.
The City of Chicago is planning for 10,000 protesters, although some websites estimate as many as 500,000 descending on Chicago for the two-day event. Federal agencies have already begun preparations, with plans to cover Chicago in battle gear this week as part of “operation red zone,” in which heavily armed military personnel will guard federal buildings along the protest path.
The presence of federal agents will not be the first sign of NATO preparations for the city. On April 16, Chicago residents were shocked when military choppers flew low over the city. Federal officials said the stunt was part of a training exercise, but did not specifically link it to the NATO protests.
The majority of protests are set to take place May 20 and 21, when world leaders will gather at Chicago’s McCormick Place. While original plans called for protest throughout the entire event — May 19-21 — President Barack Obama’s decision to move the G-8 Summit on May 19 to Camp David caused a reevaluation of plans.
Specific details regarding protest perimeters have not yet been released, but protest organizers, who met with Secret Service, speculate their boundaries will keep them blocks away from McCormick Place, according to the Huffington Post.
Crowd control tactics
In the lead-up to the event, planned tactics for handling protests have caused concern among protesters and residents. According to Democracy Now, police will be using the controversial Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD), otherwise known as sound cannons, which are able to produce non-lethal pain inducing noise.
The military device has become a popular tool among enforcement officials at Occupy protests — law enforcement says the equipment is needed to communicate with mass groups, as it allows sound to travel a great distance within a specific path. However, LRADs cause extreme pain for anyone within a 100 meter distance from the actual device when triggered, according to the LRAD Corporation, which created the tool.
The acoustic devices were first used on civilians in Pittsburgh during the G-20 Summit in 2011, causing one female civilian permanent hearing loss. A lawsuit on behalf of Karen Piper was filed in federal court last year by the ACLU, alleging her first amendment right to peacefully assemble was violated . Piper, a professor, was attending the protests for research purposes, according to an ACLU press release. The lawsuit is still pending.
“The intensity of being hit at close range by a high-pitched sound blast designed to deter pirate boats and terrorists at least a quarter mile away is indescribable,” Piper said in the press release. “The sound vibrates through you and causes pain throughout your body, not only in the ears. I Thought I might die. It is shocking that the LRAD device is being promoted for use on American citizens and the general public.”
According to the Homeland Security News Wire, the City of Pittsburgh claims it used LRAD in a safe manner, as advised by the corporation’s safety guidelines. The report cites the U.S. Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s finding that the pain threshold for humans is 140 decibels and that LRAD levels are kept just below that point. Raymond DeMichiei, deputy director of Pittsburgh’s OFfice of Emergency Management and Homeland Security told Homeland Security News Wire that the use of LRADs are more ethical than other methods of crowd control.
“What would you rather have us do, the old 1964 routine with fire hoses and billy clubs? I think it’s a lot more humane to make people uncomfortable because their ears hurt, and they leave,” he said.
LRAD’s sales grew 57 percent in 2011, creating a record sales revenue of $26 million for the company.
Does military presence lead to peaceful protests?
Along with new crowd control tactics, more than 500 Illinois State Troopers and up to 600 National Guard soldiers are expected to join local and federal law enforcement officials during the NATO protests, creating a heavy police presence.
Those who plan to attend the marches to peacefully protest the event question the necessity of such measures, but those on the enforcement side say tactics are necessary to keep the peace. In Schield’s online post to fellow Chicago officers, he concludes his message by saying, “Pray for peace. Prepare for war.”
That mentality can have varying impacts on different groups of protesters, according to Dr. Michael Klein, a professor of justice and peace studies at St. Thomas University in Minneapolis, Minn.
Klein said warnings of new crowd control tactics, such as LRADs, have a tendency to create a “generalized anxiety” among protesters, eliciting a general chilling effect and allowing imaginations to wander. This, he said, could deter the curious protester, while the tension may cause violence for those more inclined to create a disruption.
While new methods of crowd control are being introduced for the Chicago NATO Summit, heavy surveillance and law enforcement presence is nothing new for Summit protests, which typically see violence, accusations of police brutality and arrests.