Evening Sun: Cops shut down rally

Gettysburg police officer Chris Folster talks to Bruce Davis of York in Lincoln Square on Sunday afternoon during a rally in support of abortion rights. (Evening Sun photo by Dick Bloom)

By SETH GOLDSTEIN
Evening Sun Reporter

Gettysburg Police sent a crowd of about 25 pro-abortion rights ralliers packing Sunday because they didn't have the required permit.

The protesters gathered on the square at about 12:50 p.m. to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court's 33-year-old Roe v. Wade decision and protest Samuel Alito's nomination to the court.

The protesters stood on the square for about 45 minutes before being told to leave.

One man, Bruce K. Davis, of York, was arrested.

Originally planned by the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, the rally was canceled when the group was denied a permit because it didn't have liability insurance.

But some showed up anyway, and said they shouldn't need a permit because they weren't members of any specific group.

"It seems that people are still expressing their rights of free speech," Kristin Eyssell, NOW's Gettysburg vice chairwoman, said referring to the groups of people holding signs with slogans against Alito and for a woman's right to choose.

Davis' daughter, Kody Hill Davis, 23, of York, said they weren't part of any group.

"We came out as a family because of the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling," she said. "We're a pro-choice family. It's a family outing of sorts. My father was arrested because he didn't see why he wasn't allowed to express his views."

Luke Norris, a senior at Gettysburg College, said there wasn't a coherent group protesting on the square. He said the police made an assumption that everyone was part of the same group, but they weren't.

"If there were any groups, there were two, the pro-choice and the anti-Alito" he said. "Even so, if you divide the anti-Alito group and the pro-choice group, neither was more than 19 people. We were individuals gathered to express our views as the First Amendment dictates we can."

But Gettysburg Police Chief Rolf Garcia disagreed.

"The borough code is specific," he said. "Nineteen or more people assembled - whether it's for the same thing or not - must have a permit."

Garcia said Davis was arrested because he refused to leave.

"(Davis) was asked nicely to leave," the chief said. "(He) didn't leave. Because of this (he) will be subject to fines. End of story."

About two hours after his arrest, Davis said both he and the officer "let it escalate more than it should have."

"He told me to leave and I told him I didn't believe that I had to, that I was exercising my rights as an individual. The officer told me that if I didn't leave he would have to arrest me. At that point I put down my sign and told him, 'I guess you're going to do what you have to do.'"

A brief struggle with the officer ensued, Davis said, because he wanted to give his wife the keys to the car so his family wouldn't be stranded.

"The officer said I was resisting arrest," he said. Police eventually located the keys and gave them to Davis' wife.

Davis said he was cited for disturbing the peace and violating borough code. Garcia would not confirm the citations Monday morning.

"I didn't get arrested for the publicity," he said.

Contact Seth Goldstein at sgoldstein@eveningsun.com.