Police arrest SLO protest organizer after anti-racism demonstration. Here’s a rundown of events
An anti-racism protest ended with the arrest of the lead protest organizer on charges that included participating in a riot after people marched onto the freeway and a car hit a protester.
Local activist Tianna Arata, who was arrested on five separate charges, organized the protest that brought together around 300 people in Mitchell Park near downtown San Luis Obispo on Tuesday evening to advocate for black lives.
A second activist was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer when an altercation erupted after Arata’s arrest.
Protesters said Tuesday’s march was motivated largely by a recent video that surfaced of SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson speaking on the issue of racism to the North San Luis Obispo County Tea Party earlier this month.
In one part of the video, Parkinson said racism exists, but not in this county.
“I said the only thing I know about prejudice is when I put on a uniform and somebody doesn’t like me because I’m wearing a uniform,” Parkinson said in the video. “I do understand in areas that have heavy minority communities, how they might feel that way, but here in San Luis Obispo, we’re being trashed by this issue of something that truly is not here in that form.”
“Racism is everywhere,” he told The Tribune, but said he’s “never seen any indication that systemic racism exists in this county.”
Demonstration participant Melissa Elizalde took issue with that characterization.
“That is his white privilege,” Elizalde said of the sheriff. “He is an elected official in this county, and if you’re here, you need to write in to get him the (expletive) out.”
The protest was also inspired by the continuing activisim in Portland, Oregon, where federal officers have been rounding up demonstrators against the wishes of local authorities.
Protest moves onto Highway 101
The protest began at 4 p.m. at Mitchell Park, where organizers spoke from the gazebo before leading a march downtown.
At one point, protesters stopped at the intersection of Higuera and Chorro streets. A couple of protesters began stomping on an American flag that was partially burnt. A white man came up to stop the protesters, but he was quickly turned away by a group of demonstrators.
Around 7 p.m., protesters marched onto Highway 101 from Osos Street, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions for about an hour.
During the closure, District Attorney Dan Dow issued what he called a “public safety alert” on Twitter in response to protesters blocking the highway, writing, “This is unlawful and incredibly dangerous. It must stop.”
The blockade backed up traffic on the highway, and tensions rose when one driver tried to push his way through protesters, hitting county resident Sam Grocott.
“I was standing on the shoulder of the street and then he proceeded to back up and get onto the shoulder ... then he just gunned it,” Grocott said after the incident. “Next thing I know, I’m on the man’s hood, holding onto the back of his hood by his windshield wipers as he’s just flying down the street.”
As the silver sedan pushed past, protesters smashed the hood and rear window of the vehicle, which, according to police, had a 4-year-old child in the back seat.
Grocott said he was worried about his right knee, which was in a lot of pain despite him feeling amped with adrenaline hours after the incident.
A video of the incident acquired by the Tribune shows the car push into the protesters, hitting one person. After protesters move aside, the vehicle can be seen driving away with a smashed rear window.
In their release, San Luis Obispo police did not include that the car had hit protesters.
Video: Car struck protesters
The San Luis Obispo Police Department on Wednesday posted an edited video on its Facebook page showing a small group of protesters getting hitting by a gray vehicle near the intersection of Chorro and Pacific streets at around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
That video appears to show a protester being dragged on the hood of the vehicle for a short time before the car drives away, narrowly missing Arata and other protesters.
Police said Arata struck the car with a flagpole “as the vehicle attempted to leave the area.”
On Wednesday, the Police Department sent a news release seeking the identity of the car’s driver, described as a “vandalism victim.”
Jeff Smith, public information officer for the San Luis Obispo Police Department, said that person then came forward and identified themselves.
Smith said investigators were inspecting the damage to the person’s car.
Smith said he couldn’t comment on whether charges will be brought against the driver.
Protest organizer arrested on 5 charges
After leaving the freeway, protesters headed back to Mitchell Park and dispersed around 8 p.m.
Just before 8:30 p.m., several San Luis Obispo police officers approached a group of protest organizers as they were placing their signs and other materials in a car.
The police identified Tianna Arata, the protest’s main organizer, and immediately grabbed her and placed her in a nearby SUV.
“No words were said, not a single word was said (by the police),” said Joseph Powell, who witnessed the event. “All of a sudden they charge ... we’re pushing back, making sure that they don’t do (expletive) to her because we know what the deal is.”
Powell said that while others pushed back on the police, Arata did not. In videos circulating social media, Arata can be heard repeatedly saying “I am not resisting,” before the vehicle doors closed.
The arrest was “based on Arata’s actions and the actions of the organized group,” police said in the release, although it doesn’t claim she directly participated in any of the described vandalism.
Arata was facing charges of participation in a riot, unlawful assembly, conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest, the release said.
A video of the incident posted to Twitter showed how the incident developed.
As police led Arata to the car, supporters gathered around yelling at police. Then, an officer can be seen shoving one of the protesters to the ground. After standing back up, the protester, who has been identified as Elias Bautista, appears to yell at the officer before suddenly kicking him in the groin and then dashing off across the park.
Bautista was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer and booked into jail on a $50,000 bond.
After the arrest, several protesters then went to the County Jail on Kansas Avenue to demand the release of Arata and Bautista.
Arata was released from jail without bail around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Bautista is also no longer in custody, according to the Sheriff’s booking log.
Both Arata and Bautista have court dates set for Sept. 3. A local lawyer, Dustin Tardiff, is representing Arata pro-bono.
Although R.A.C.E. Matters did not organize the protest, the organization posted about the demonstration, which was intended to be nonviolent.
“The events that unfolded during and after Tuesday night’s protest are troubling and leave us wondering what SLO County values as a community,” the organization wrote in a statement following the arrest of Arata and Bautista. “While violence is not condoned, the tactics used by law enforcement to arrest protesters after the protest ended is reason for grave concern.”
The statement referenced protests across the nation, including in Portland, where “dissenters exercising their First Amendment rights have been stealthily grabbed off the streets by unwelcome Federal personnel” and asked if similar tactics would be used in San Luis Obispo County.
“These tactics have sought to intimidate those resisting injustice in the name of restoring ‘law and order’ to ‘out-of-control’ communities. Is this the next step for SLO County?” the statement read.
“We must not shut down protests, nor lose sight of the reasons why our citizens, many of them young adults, are taking to the streets. They are calling attention to the systemic racism here in our county, and raising their voices for freedom, equity, and inclusion. It is precisely because they care about this community that they’re willing to put themselves on the line,” the statement concludes.
SLO mayor responds to Parkinson video
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon was among those who attended Tuesday’s protest and commented on the question of racism in SLO County.
“We obviously have, I would say, a significant lack of diversity here. And we hear over and over again that people of color, and especially black people in particular, feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome here,” she said. “People in San Luis Obispo may be surprised to hear that, right? Because there’s a sense that people are nice here. I think that those of us that are white and have the privilege of all of that don’t understand how sort of alone and unconnected people feel.”
She said she was troubled by the sheriff’s comments, both on the issue of racism and COVID-19.
“This isn’t about violence. This is about taking a stance against systemic violence that is perpetrated against people of color every day in this country,” Harmon said. “Now, is it loud? Is it angry? Is it edgy? Are they using every swear word in the book? Yes. And that makes people uncomfortable.
“The way that he characterized this movement is not only inaccurate, but it seems intentionally inflammatory and coming from a place of an intentional lack of understanding of this movement,” she said.
On the issue of masks, she said, “I found the ‘you could wear masks or you could not wear masks, it’s up to you’ comment to be very, deeply concerning, coming from this person who’s in a position of authority. ... I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me deeply concerned about the video.”
On Thursday morning, Harmon said she wasn’t prepared to comment on the protest as she was still gathering information from those involved. She was also at the County Jail into the early hours of the morning until Arata was released.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 12:58 PM.
