Pier Goers Weigh in on Possible Terrorist Threat

By Ann K. Williams
Staff Writer

August 15 – As usual, police were everywhere in sight for the weekly Twilight Dance Series concert on the pier last Thursday night -- on horseback, in quad-runners, even silhouetted ghostlike on rooftops, where their dark uniforms made them nearly invisible after the sun set.

Two days earlier, Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. had warned the City Council in closed session about possible “probing” by terrorists after his department had received photographs of three men who looked to be of “Middle-Eastern descent” videotaping the pier in a suspicious manner. (See related article)

The Chief called for additional money to combat a possible terrorist threat on Santa Monica soil, asking the City Council for about $2 million to further beef up patrols, install video surveillance and get more bomb-sniffing dogs on the pier and Downtown.

But the only explosions that night came from the young Latino artists on stage as the pier vibrated to the pounding electronic sounds of Pastilina Mosh and the Nortec Collective.

Some in the slightly smaller than usual crowd hadn’t heard the news, and others chose to come to the popular dance series in spite of it.

But none acted alarmed. It seems that Santa Monica, like much of the rest of the world, has gotten used to rumors of terrorism and the heightened security that goes with it.

Here are some who shared their opinions about the alleged threat to public safety:

Matt Burrows is an entertainment attorney who used to work for the American Civil Liberties Union. He took his trade’s rational approach to the question of whether or not additional security is needed. “The answer is you never know, unless you’re tied to some organization -- a terrorist organization, or a government organization,” Burrows said. Photos by Gene Williams

“You don’t know if it's completely about fear, or ‘let's deny civil liberties’ or the police chief enhancing his powers, or it may be totally legitimate.

“Power tends to corrupt…so anything the police say, I tend to take with a skeptical view. I refuse to operate out of fear. Civil liberties are important.

“It could be about the police chief getting a bigger budget, could be all of the above. I’m not saying be stupid.”

Santa Monican Emily Jones had brought her friend from Florida, Andrea Robins, to see the famous landmark pier. Like Burrows, they were skeptical.

Emily Jones and Andrea Robins

Jones thought “a lot of stuff about the terrorists is a bunch of bull.”

“I just saw this headline on my walk and what I thought was, ‘Yeah, right.’ I hate the idea that we’re profiling Middle Easterners and we’re not looking at our own government.”

Robins wasn’t quite so sure.

“I didn’t know about it,” she said. “I am not afraid. I don’t think it’s necessarily bull----, but I don’t know what it is.

“But it doesn’t make me afraid enough not to come to the pier. I don’t feel that concerned about it.

“If I were an authority, I would be suspicious. If that were my job to be suspicious, then I would be suspicious.”

Troy Hyatt is an acupuncturist who has lived in Santa Monica for 22 years. He supports beefing up security.

Troy Hyatt

“I’m glad to see the police present,” he said. “It makes everyone more safe and secure. I feel comfortable.

“Since 9/11 there’s been a heightened awareness of being in a crowded area. They’re doing a good job.”

But not everyone was reassured by the visible police presence.

It wasn’t clear if Detra Wilson and John Ryan Mitchell felt more threatened by terrorists or the police.

Detra Wilson and John Ryan Mitchell

“I’ve noticed them up here,” Wilson said, pointing to an officer on the roof of the police station.

Mitchell said he’d seen helicopters flying toward the beach from over the ocean near the pier for the last few days. He thought they were “seeing if anything was coming up in the water.”

The life guards and police were “harassing homeless people,” complained Mitchell, “checking for illegal things. But I just smoke cigarettes.”

Terrorism was far from many people’s minds, as they got into the swing of the party.

Georgeo Tucci had just come in from Tuscany and was having a great time with his friends.

Georgeo Tucci and friends

I’m “just chillin’,” he said. Tucci hadn’t heard the news, but he wasn’t crazy about having all the police around.

“I didn’t know,” he said. “It sucks. It’s not right. I don’t like to live in fear.”

Georgeo quickly turned the topic back to his visit in California -- “I love it, people are so friendly, so nice” -- before going back to dancing with the young women he’d come with.

Musicians Milton Pacheco and Eddie Gonzalez who played with Plastilina Mosh just got off their set and were surprised by the news.

Milton Pacheco and Eddie Gonzalez

“No, really?” said Pacheco. “We just came in today, so we didn't get a lot of word.” He was still high from performing, and wanted to talk about that.

“A lot of people came. We had fun.”

A smiling Gonzalez agreed. “It’s been a while since we got to play in California.

“Good thing we didn’t know,” he added. “We’d be like, ‘uh, uh, are you okay, are you okay?’” he said, miming playing bass and looking back and forth with wide eyes.

Unlike Pacheco and Gonzales, a young man named Clay -- who emphatically did not want to be photographed -- not only was aware of the police chief’s warning, but used it as an opportunity to proselytize.

A tall thin man with dark hair and stubble from a black beard, Clay was handing out flyers calling for Americans to “Drive Out the Bush Regime.”

Between exhaling puffs of smoke from his hand rolled cigarette, he explained his cause.

“If you really want to combat terrorism, you have to combat U.S. imperialism, combat the Christian Fascist regime,” he said.

His flyers -- which papered the windshields of the cars in the pier parking lot -- could be seen in the hands of many in the crowd, though they seemed much more interested in dancing than in making revolution.

Staff writer Gene Williams contributed to this report