Tristan Anderson solidarity demo 3/16: arrests

Tristan was an incredibly good natured person. I knew him from perhaps 30 events in the Berkeley area. He had a habit of bringing an incredible amount of fun to events, and being an exclamation point to otherwise ordinary or mundane political activities. Not an ideologue or scold in any way, he had a very large network of friends. While he contributed to major global justice events such as WTO Seattle and gatherings in Italy, Germany, Greece etc, he also participated in very local and fun 'lifestylist' events. I have a great memory of a maypole and bright torches he built for a mayday celebration in the city of Berkeley, one of the coolest experiences ever. I bet many people in San Francisco and Berkeley know him for his athleticism, and ability to successfully perform bike tricks such as standing on the top bar of his bicycle without handlebars, yet miraculously never falling down or overstepping his skill level. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2003/05/02/16065101.php?show_comments=1
Tristan also contributed as an amateur photographer and journalist in places such as Oaxaca and Iraq right after the escalation period. He may have been one of the earliest members of the western press to report on Abu Ghraib, before the story blew up later on. In other local events such as 2003-2004 antiwar events or a biotech protest, he thought very quickly on his feet and had creative ideas to effectively get the action into the press
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/13/18576814.php

Arriving 90 minutes late, I could not assess the initial crowd size and had to catch up where the group had marched to Powell and Market street. The intersection was occupied for 20 minutes without significant tension with motorists, and only minor conflict with police officers. As the group walked back to 456 Montgomery St, the size diminished somewhat. Two blocks before the consulate, a few dozen people jogged ahead on the sidewalk, and a few moved random cardboard boxes, orange traffic cones and some chairs sitting by businesses into the intersection. A block away, the police suddenly arrested a man bicycle on the sidewalk, although we couldn't tell if he was affiliated with the protest in any way.
By this time, many of the main group were dispersed a block west up the hill, but eventually most made it to the Israeli consulate at 456 Montgomery. There was no real direction or special inspiration, so some people started chanting and singing while others stood in clusters talking. A few additional police vans had arrived which hadn't been present on Market. Suddenly, a few officers started to arrest a woman wearing a dress who had been leading a chant and drumming. It wasn't clear at all what illegal action, if any, she could have done other than stepping off the sidewalk. Next, as people turned to see this unfold, more police rushed in and grabbed additional members. The one standing closest to me was Tristan's friend Ayr, a hippie who had spoken on KPFA's Flashpoints report earlier in the evening. During the next 90 seconds, as a lot of batons were waved and people were randomly shoved over, it looked like two additional men were targeted for arrest by groups of 4-5 officers. 20 minutes later, a fifth woman was suddenly grabbed on the other end of the block and placed in a police van. She told the crowd that she had been beaten on the arm by a baton.
The only way I could interpret all of this was to remember that both the woman and Ayr had visually stuck out as leaders in some sense. I bet that the police sergeant had gotten tired or frustrated and had made a decision that the demonstration needed to end at this point by whatever means. So despite the fact that this was a legal assembly, they targeted vocal members.