OUT OF THE BLUE

Undercover police stir the violence pot at Red Hill and their bosses get promoted.

Tuesday, October 28, 2003. As police move in to remove valley protectors at Red Hill Valley "Protester Ted" is making "oinking" noises and loudly calling police "fucking pigs." His aggressive behaviour is out of synch with the nonviolent groove that has seen the demonstrators weather the months long valley occupation with power and grace.

"Ted" is "arrested" by police with two others, and after disappearing for about 20 minutes, Ted is back at the Mount Albion site with his yellow "trespassing" ticket in hand.

"Ted," it turns out, is also known as Detective Ted Davis to his comrades with the Hamilton Police where he is Staff Sergeant in charge of Intelligence.

Ted sounds taken aback when I call him on his office phone, "Where did you get all this information from, how would you know to call me?" he wants to know.

(I don’t have the heart to tell the head of intelligence that he was seen recently on the local news station CHTV, being interviewed about undercover police work infiltrating gangs.)

When asked about his undercover role, Ted gets tightlipped and answers "I’m not at liberty to talk about any of that" and refuses to confirm or deny his involvement.

Ted’s not talking but he certainly made a lot of noise at the first day of arrests in the valley.

According to eyewitness accounts "Ted" was "trying to initiate some kind of confrontation" with police.

Six Nations valley protector Donna Powless said she was disappointed by the police behaviour at the Mount Albion site.

"Our people were peaceful, nonviolent, and then we have this person out of the blue come and making these remarks and being very rude and trying to agitate the police there and get things stirred up" she says.

Other witnesses like Alessandra Brown report that while "Ted" was yelling at police, police approached and asked "Ted" who he was.

"Then ‘Ted’ started yelling ‘who the fuck are you, I have a right to be here!’ and stuff like that" reports Brown.

The Hamilton Spectator report of the incident states that three people (two men and a woman) were arrested and notes that police "declined to name those arrested."

No wonder.

The last time Red Hill defenders saw "Ted" was when he was flashing his badge and helping make arrests during the massive police raid on the Longhouse November 6.

Radical Change of Heart

Humble Armies

The Dirt on Environmentalists?

TREE FORT

CYCLING SUBCULTURES IN HAMILTON

With the World Cycling Championship in town, View takes a look at grassroots cycling initiatives in Hamilton.

After the last race has been won and lost, the big wheels of the local bike-world keep on turning. Once the spectator stands are taken down, why not hop on your bike and become an active participant in the city's living cycling civilization. 

Recycle Cycles has been straightening spokes and packing bearings in the basement of Erskine Presbyterian Church (19 Pearl N.) since 1998. With volunteer labour mainstays Dean Carriere and Neil Croft at the right end of a spoke wrench, they've kept thousands of bikes out of the landfill and under Hamiltonian's bums. This is the place to go to get help doing-it-yourself, a community-based, non-profit, all-volunteer bike repair workshop. It's also the place to go to get a cheap working bike or to pick up some handy bike repair skills. Croft is the shop's cycling philosopher and Carriere the heart and soul (and in the running for the happiest-man-alive award. Must be something in the chain grease?) 

Started with help from the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster, Recycle Cycles is the hands-down best place to go with your bike when your chain gets jammed on a Saturday morning. (Saturdays 9am to 12pm. Call 905.577.7753 to arrange donations, et cetera.) 

Critical Mass arrived in Hamilton in May 1998 with a 70 cyclist ride from Westdale to downtown. The monthly ride gets an average of 30 cyclists out on the last Friday of the month at 5:30pm at Hess and George Streets. The goal of the ride varies from rider to rider, but it generally ends up being a celebration of cycling in the city as cyclists make their way through downtown streets en masse. Typically the Hamilton season runs March to October. This year's March ride was under the banner Pedal For Peace in opposition to the bombing of Iraq and more generally against excessive fossil fuel consumption for transportation. The ride brought out Hamilton's police service to keep a wary eye on the antics of the peace-pedal-pushers. 

Critical Mass was originally a San Francisco thing in 1992, but has since spread to cities around the world. The film We Are Traffic: A Film About Critical Mass, which documents the rise of the phenomenon, has been shown by Transportation for Liveable Communities (see below). 

Blood Red