Columnist: SLO protesters should ‘stop whining’ and learn that actions have consequences
The temerity of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protesters complaining to the San Luis Obispo City Council because police used non-lethal tear gas against them is unbelievable.
They act as though this were a school prank and they did nothing wrong.
Throwing objects at police and disobeying lawful police orders may get you tear gassed. That’s the price of adult lawlessness, and protesters shouldn’t whine like spoiled children when it happens.
At the June 1 protest, officers used tear gas effectively after they ordered the crowd to disperse. Protesters were turning into a riotous mob and tear gas was an alternative to physical force.
If, as protesters claim, this was a peaceful, loving rally, why did it take 178 officers to end it?
It’s time protesters who now face charges, such as Tianna Arata and SLO Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force Chair and Cal Poly engineering graduate student Amman Asfaw, grew up and learned that as adults their actions have adult consequences.
College students, especially Cal Poly students, should realize that regardless of ethnicity, they are part of a privileged group — in 2020, only 38% of Cal Poly first-year applicants were admitted.
Attending Cal Poly can open doors for students in the future, but if that future includes throwing objects at police and disobeying lawful police orders, they should be prepared to accept the consequences, rather than complaining that police have no accountability.
What about their own accountability?
Take Sam Grocott, one of several facing charges for blocking Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo at a July 21 protest.
He is claiming victim status because he was “struck” by a silver BMW trying to get free.
The driver, a man with his 4-year-old son in the back seat, was stuck in a line of traffic on the 101 on-ramp behind other cars blocked by BLM protesters.
Recently released drone video shows the BMW pulled out of the blocked lane and attempted to get free of the mob.
An individual on a bicycle blocked his way. As the BMW lightly bumped the bicycle, four or five individuals approached his car. The bicyclist wouldn’t move.
The driver backed up and went on the dirt shoulder, going around the bicycle at a very slow speed in an attempt to re-enter the freeway. Protesters again rushed the car, attempting to illegally stop it. One young man, later identified as Grocott, stood there blocking his way. The driver continued at a slow speed, and when Grocott didn’t move, the BMW made contact with him. Grocott either fell or threw himself onto the BMW hood and held on. The car continued at a slow speed for three or four car lengths, as another protester shattered the car’s rear window with a skateboard, spewing glass on the 4-year-old. Grocott then jumped off the hood, landing on his feet.
Grocott’s attorney said the driver of the car that struck his client (while Grocott illegally blocked his way) should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Brian Ford, attorney for the protester who threw the skateboard, said it should be an attempted murder charge.
Put yourself in the BMW with your child in the back seat.
While trying to enter the freeway you become the victim of an aggressive, yelling crowd of protesters illegally blocking the freeway. You remember earlier Black Lives Matter riots that resulted in assaults and injuries to armed police and citizens, burning and overturning vehicles and burning of businesses.
You don’t see any police nearby. Would you just sit and wait for something bad to happen? Wouldn’t you do as this driver did, or what any reasonable, prudent person in fear for their child’s safety would do, and try to get away?
While the driver had not been physically attacked at that point, his movements were blocked; the only “protection” from the angry mob was the window glass. I suggest you would use the only thing you had (your car) to get to safety. If your captors blocked you again, wouldn’t you use your car to clear a path to safety?
In this case, the BMW driver showed remarkable restraint, considering the circumstances. He could easily have pushed aside the bicycle and had a clear path to escape. Instead, he bypassed the bicycle and only made contact with Grocott when Grocott continued to attempt to imprison him by refusing to move.
If Grocott was injured, it was his fault. He contributed to his own injuries while engaged in the furtherance of his own illegal acts.
His attorney’s demands that police arrest the BMW driver and charge him is a ridiculous smokescreen and an attempt to mitigate his client’s actions.
Joseph Rouleau is a retired supervisory special agent with the U.S. Treasury Department and a retired U.S. Naval Reserve captain. Contact him in care of letters@thetribunenews.com.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 4:42 PM.