PROTEST SPOTLIGHTS SECRET POLICE CONFERENCE 

By Jane Cutter - Seattle 

Hundreds of activists converged to protest the Law Enforcement Intelli 
gence Unit (LEIU) annual conference in Seattle on June 2-6. Police 
attacked the permitted demonstration, arresting 12 and shooting rubber 
bullets at protesters. 

LEIU is an allegedly private organization of police agencies that share 
"intelligence" information. They have been in business since the 1950s 
when they gathered information on leftists and those labeled "communist 
sympathizers." 

Today, the LEIU has garnered additional corporate support for its spying 
in the post 9/11 era of the "war on terrorism." 

Numerous businesses sponsored the LEIU conference--including Starbucks 
and Pemco Insurance. 

The protest was sponsored by the satirically named "LEIU Welcoming 
Commit tee," which included Not In Our Name, the International Action 
Center, American Friends Service Committee and many other groups. 

The June 2 demonstration started with a rally at Westlake Center and 
marched to the nearby Red Lion Inn--the site of the LEIU conference. 

At the Inn, Seattle police began to harass and encircle demonstrators. 
It was there that police arrested 12 activists and shot at protesters 
with rubber bullets. Police dumped a disabled protester out of his 
wheelchair. 

http://www.workers.org/