Deputies: 'Felt Threatened' by Occupy Protestors

A Riverside County sheriff's deputy testified today that he felt threatened by "Occupy Coachella Valley'' participants in Palm Desert when he arrested a protester on suspicion of being in Civic Center Park after curfew.

Deputy David Aldrich's testimony came at a hearing on a motion to suppress prosecution evidence, which defense attorney Mark Foster said he filed
to challenge deputies' probable cause to arrest his client, Palm Springs
resident Ryan Donald Cartwright.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge David B. Downing denied the motion
and set a June 26 pretrial hearing, when a trial date will likely be set.

Cartwright is one of five people facing misdemeanor charges in connection with the Occupy protests at the park last October as part of the nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement. Jack Lee Noftsger III, Mary Elizabeth Walker, Dustin David Powell and Stephen Mark Finger, all of Palm Desert, and Cartwright have pleaded not guilty to an unlawful assembly charge. Cartwright has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of resisting arrest.

All of the defendants are free on their own recognizance. Cartwright and
Finger were in court today, and defense attorney Roger Tansey appeared on
behalf of Noftsger, Walker and Powell.

Aldrich testified that about 15 deputies came to the park around 12:15
a.m. on Nov. 1, a few days after protesters had been warned that they would be arrested if they were in the park after 10 p.m. curfew. Members of the group
had been demonstrating in the park since Oct. 24.

"Mr. Finger and others participated in testing the boundaries to see what we'd do -- they threw rocks, drew in the sand,'' Aldrich said.  Foster asked Aldrich if he reacted when people crossed the park's borders from the sidewalk.

"I just walked over and told them to stop testing us -- have your
protest but not to test us,'' Aldrich said.

Finger intentionally put his foot into the park more than once, and Aldrich arrested him. Cartwright tried to stop him, and other deputies arrested
Cartwright, Aldrich said.

"As Mr. Finger was getting into custody, and Mr. Cartwright, I got to
the point when I felt threatened. It was getting loud and people were yelling
obscenities ... I turned around and yelled to get back,'' Aldrich said.

The protesters -- Aldrich estimated the number at 10 or more people --
outnumbered deputies in the area. He said he couldn't recall what they were
saying, "but it was the totality of the circumstances.'' He testified that
"everybody out there felt like they should be allowed in the park.''

Under questioning from Tansey, Aldrich said deputies warned protesters,
after their temporary-use permits from the city expired on Oct. 28, that they
would return and arrest whoever was in the park past curfew.

"We were told they could not be in the park -- if they wanted to stay
in the area they could be on the sidewalk,'' Aldrich said.

Under questioning from Deputy District Attorney John Rodnick, Aldrich
said Finger told other protesters to "cross the line.''

"That's why we thought enough's enough, they all might do it,'' Aldrich
said.

"When you went to arrest Mr. Finger, that's when the crowd, you could
say, descended on you?'' Rodnick asked.

"Yes,'' Aldrich replied.

The defendants were among 10 people arrested on suspicion of camping
illegally in Civic Center Park that night. One of the arrestees, Gale Wheat of
Indio, pleaded guilty in February to an infraction for staying in a Palm Desert
park past curfew and was ordered to pay a $125 fine.

Palm Desert city attorney Robert Hargreaves previously said the city supports the group's First Amendment rights, but could not allow the park to be used as a campground for an extended period of time.

"By providing Occupy Coachella Valley with a highly visible, dry,
shaded space with 24-hour access to restrooms, the city accommodated the
group's First Amendment rights while protecting public health and safety and
the rights of our residents and visitors to continue using Civic Center Park,''
according to a city statement.

On May 2, Downing ordered the sheriff's department to turn over the
operational plan for that night. The plan outlines the logistics of a law
enforcement operation.