Subject: The Ad Astra Per Aspera Gathering - footnote 3
From: Butterfly Bill <butterflybill@grapevine.net>
Newsgroups: alt.gathering.rainbow
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 07:12:25 -0500
[This letter was handwritten on July 2nd. in front of Robbie Gordon's tipi, and hand delivered to the Forest Service.]
Dear Mr. Ryberg,
This letter succeeds receipt of your Notice of Noncompliance dated June 28, 2003. Please be advised as Permit Administrator, it is your responsibility to administer compliance for both the Forest Service and the undersigned permittee. Accordingly, please accept this Notification of Noncompliance on the part of the Forest Service.
As a preliminary matter, your letter stated, "You should immediately discuss the violations with group leaders", and it is my obligation to remind you:
A. There is no group.
B. There are no group leaders.
C. I sign this permit as an individual.
D. As a self-designated contact person, I am continuing to communicate.
There have been a number of noncompliance activities on the part of the Forest Service and I am preparing documentation for you. However, I must bring to your attention first and foremost the activities of Officer D. Oates #331.
1. Patrick Thompson
a. Patrick was working the front gate, a difficult task. It was his job to determine which vehicles could access the #307 road.
b. At that time media people and their cars were not being given road #307 access. Instead, they were being shuttled in like everyone else.
c. I, the undersigned, witnessed myself several media people exiting and entering shuttles that day.
d. By all accounts, including Officer Tippet's, there was a media pair stranded at A-Camp.
e. Frieda, a woman whose vehicle had been denied access by Officer Oates, was the only driver available.
f. Patrick advised her to shuttle the media crew into the gathering, a task accomplished for all bona fide media.
g. Over the objections of Officer Tippet, Officer Oates issued Frieda a $75.00 ticket, and Patrick a $300.00 ticket #F2143661 for "interfering".
h. It was the opinion of numerous witnesses, including Attorney Brian Michaels, that Officer Oates was abusing the power of his office on account of personal resentment.
2. Philip Crookshank ticket #F2143663 D.Oates Officer
a. According to affidavit of P. Crookshank:
"FS Officer asked for my driver's license for security, to assure that I would come out again. I showed Officer Oates that I had 500 pounds or so of food supply for Musical Veggie Cafe, and it had to get to trail head. I would upload and drive out right away. I went in somewhere around 7:30 AM, driving 3 miles at 3 mph. When I came out it was around 10:15. The officer said it took me too long, and fined me $100 for "giving any false report/information to any Forest Service officer. He refused to explain anything more than that I agreed to be out in an hour, and it took longer than that, so it was a false statement."
3. Karen von Knoblauch
a. On June 25th., 2003 at the trailhead Karen observed another woman being given a verbal warning for dogs-off-leash by Officer Oates.
b. Approximately 3 minutes later, Karen observed the dog properly leashed, and observed Officer Oates return and ticket this woman for having had her dog off-leash 1/2/ hour earlier.
c. Karen stepped forward and inquired of Officer Oates what the true dog policy was.
d. Officer Oates ticketed Karen for "interfering" and detained her for over a half an hour.
e. Myself, as well as Specialist Bidlack, were present during Karen's detention and ticketing.
4. July 1st. Incident
a. The incident was created when Officer Oates witnessed a woman exiting a shuttle at trailhead.
b. She let go of the leash of her dog for an instant while she went to retrieve her pack from the shuttle.
c. Officer Oates chose to stop his vehicle in the middle of the trailhead road and pursued this woman down from the trailhead through the crowd where she was packing in to the gathering with her dog properly leashed.
d. Officer Oates then ticketed her for the instant back at trailhead when she had put the leash down.
e. A crowd formed, objecting to the unfairness of the ticketing.
f. Shanti Sena was called and intervened between Officer Oates and the crowd.
g. Officer Tippets had to move his car out of the roadway and had to go to help protect Officer Oates.
h. Shanti Sena and Officer Tippets working together escorted Officer Oates out of the crowd.
5. Incident of June 22nd., 2003
a. On Sunday during the snowstorm, a 1980 Chevy brown on brown van was given a $500.00 ticket by Officer Oates for parking on Road #307.
b. This van was stuck at Shandahai camp 100 feet north of the trailhead.
c. The van was in distress. It was stuck up to its wheel wells in the melted snow and mud.
d. It was off the road and many people, including witness Cary Johnson, were working to get it out.
e. Officer Oates first represented himself as "a Resource Officer" and noted to the driver that he thought the van was harming the environment.
f. Officer Oates then issued the driver the $500.00 ticket.
As you know, the greatest part of permit violations have been issued by Officer Oates. Officer Oates reasons or underlying motives for harassing us more than any other officer are irrelevant.
In our May 8th. meeting in Evanston, WY (including in the videotape submitted for the record with my application), it was clearly stated that with a legal gathering there would be a low level of law enforcement, and miniscule or petty violations would not be cited.
Officer Oates is in violation of the permit for violating our agreements, and for violating the highest law of the land by creating incidents which violate the people's right peaceably to assemble. His continued presence as an LEO represents a persistent noncompliance on the part of the Forest Service. To assure respect for the Special Use Authorization process, individuals assembling and public officers must adhere to and demonstrate compliance with the permits.
The permittee herein amends the permit, effective immediately, to prohibit Officer Oates #331 from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the permitted area. Based on the 30 years experience of the permittee, it is the position of the undersigned that unless the permit is not so amended, Officer Oates will create an incident of civil disturbance.
I trust that you will act favorably and immediately on this.
Sincerely,
Garrick Beck