Thanks to Phil Bantz for this article about the Keene police’s position on the cannabis celebrations at 4:20 everyday in Central Square. While KPD is doing the right thing and ignoring the peaceful people gathering daily and toking up, it’s amusing to listen to them attempt to explain that they are serious about cannabis use and would be arresting people if they could only just determine that laws were being broken. Maybe someday they’ll actually admit that what they have been doing in the name of some arbitrary words on paper has been WRONG, and they are sorry.
Until then, leaving peaceful people alone will suffice. Here’s the story:
The marijuana protesters in downtown Keene are getting high on publicity, while city police have adopted a wait-and-see strategy.
Every afternoon for the past week, protesters have gathered at Central Square to promote the decriminalization of marijuana. They upped the ante Sunday by showing up at the Keene Police Department lobby, where they cheered and smoked.
No protesters were arrested during the demonstration at the police station. So far, just one protester has been arrested and charged with marijuana possession.
A second was briefly taken into custody but released after police realized he was not smoking marijuana. He told a Sentinel reporter he was smoking dried mint leaves.
Before the protests even began, police were tipped off that many of the protesters would be smoking legal substances, such as oregano, tobacco, cloves and chicory, Keene Police Chief Arthur Walker said.
“The information coming in is suggesting that it makes for good photo ops, good videos,” he said. “It isn’t radically different than a lot of political rallies. … You have a right to express your beliefs.”
Initially, uniformed police officers were sent to keep an eye on the protesters because police weren’t sure what to expect and wanted to make sure there was no “blatant law-breaking,” Keene police Capt. John C. Zeller said.
The officers’ presence, though, inflamed some protesters. They began heckling and taunting them.
“We’re the only entertainment out there at this thing. It’s just not very exciting,” Zeller said. “But we’re not trying to provide entertainment for anybody.”
Since the initial protests, police presence has been scaled down at the demonstrations. On Monday, for example, there were about 60 protesters and onlookers in Central Square and not one uniformed officer in sight.
“We’re trying to keep this as low-key as the situation calls for. They’re basically obeying the laws and not being destructive to property or other people,” Zeller said. “If we can ascertain that someone’s breaking the law, we’ll make an arrest. We’re not shy about that.”
Meanwhile, some residents have criticized city police for being too lenient with the protesters.
One Sentinel reader called for using tear gas, riot batons and Tasers on the protesters.
Another reader said the protesters make her uncomfortable about bringing her children into downtown.
“To the KPD: My prediction is that if you allow this to continue, someone is going to get hurt,” she wrote. “Either from a fed-up citizen or from the junkies.”
Even if police smell marijuana during the protests, it’s difficult for them to weed out the culprit in the midst of a crowd where many people are smoking legal substances, Zeller said.
“It’s a fool’s errand to play hide-and-seek with a joint with 60 people,” he said.
Zeller likened the situation to being a police officer who smells marijuana at a packed concert. The officer cannot legally call in for backup and arrest and search every concertgoer for marijuana, he said.
But that doesn’t mean city police have stopped monitoring the protests. They may not be as visible as they were during the initial demonstrations, but they’re still watching, Walker said.
“Your police department is doing something,” he said. “It’s validating that there’s not a lot of marijuana being smoked out there.”
City police may end up spending many hours making sure protesters are keeping it legal: Some protesters have vowed to continue demonstrating every day until marijuana laws are changed and people who are imprisoned on drug convictions are freed.
But Zeller predicts the movement will eventually snuff itself out.
“I disagree that this isn’t going to go away,” he said. “Everything goes away in time.”
