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 what? police in DC has babysited a nut 3 days? |
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what? police in DC has babysited a nut 3 days? -- Anonymous - (0 Byte) 2003-3-19 周三, 下午8:37 (328 reads) |
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作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
Mall Standoff Enters Third Day
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Dwight W. Watson and his tractor were still in the pond at Constitution Gardens yesterday. His standoff with police fouled the morning and evening rush-hour commutes. (Photos Larry Morris -- The Wasington Post)
___ Standoff in D.C.___
Police say the area from Constitution Avenue to E Street, between 15th and 23rd streets in Northwest will remain closed until Watson is in custody.
_____In Today's Post_____
?Mall Standoff Fuels Evacuation Fears (The Washington Post, Mar 19, 2003)
?N.C. Man Made Trip of Last Resort (The Washington Post, Mar 19, 2003)
?Park Police Avoid Pushing Incident To a Violent End (The Washington Post, Mar 19, 2003)
?Farmer Says He'll Give Up Thursday if He Gets Respect (The Washington Post, Mar 19, 2003)
_____Related Column_____
?Marc Fisher: Paralyzing the Capital
_____Audio_____
?Washington Post reporter Libby Copeland describes the scene at Constitution Gardens, where police are still in a standoff with a man who has driven his tractor into the pond. (3:17 p.m.)
?Washington Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold reports from Constitution Gardens on the standoff. (8:22 a.m.)
_____Graphic_____
?Gridlock in the Capital
_____Traffic_____
?Live Traffic and Transit Information
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By David Nakamura and Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 19, 2003; 8:20 AM
A North Carolina tobacco farmer angry with the government extended his siege at the Mall into a third day today, continuing to insist that he had explosives.
Dwight W. Watson, who kept scores of law enforcement agents at bay, said in a midday telephone interview yesterday that his goal was to deliver a message to the American public about the plight of farmers or "die trying."
In a second interview last evening, Watson said that he did not want to hurt anyone and that he told police negotiators he would surrender peacefully today if they "treat me with respect."
But in both conversations, Watson referred to other highly publicized confrontations with federal authorities that ended in death, including the incidents in Waco, Tex., and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. "If they jerk my chain, I'll fight back," he said.
The negotiations between Watson and police appeared to become difficult early this morning and police detonated three small flash-bang explosive devices near the tractor about 5 a.m. Later a police officer using a bullhorn could be heard telling Watson to come out of the tractor and even urging him to answer his phone.
"You've got our attention, now come on out," the officer said. "Dwight c'mon. . . . You're not keeping your word. You said you were coming out. Now come out."
Park Police Sgt. Scott Fear explained that the explosive devices were used because "we thought we could make some tactical moves to move this along."
"We hope to get a peaceful resolution sometime today," he added.
Watson, 50, of Whitakers, N.C., continued his protest of the government's tobacco farming policies despite pleas from relatives and neighbors yesterday. Federal negotiators were trying to end the standoff that closed a key section of the city, created massive traffic jams and disrupted the work of thousands of federal employees.
"I'm going to get my message out," Watson said in a telephone call to The Washington Post from Constitution Gardens, where he drove a green John Deere tractor into a shallow pond at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
"I will not surrender," Watson said early yesterday afternoon, adding that he had plenty of food and water, as well as toughness and stamina dating to his days in the Army. "They can blow my ass out of the water. I'm ready to go to Heaven."
Authorities from agencies including the U.S. Park Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that time was on their side and that they were willing to wait Watson out rather than storm him or shoot him.
"It's time, patience and lots of communication that is key to having a safe resolution," said Park Police Chief Teresa C. Chambers. She added that her officers "have a lot of options" but declined to elaborate.
Some officials were skeptical about Watson's claim that he was carrying explosives, and Watson's brother, George Jr., and his neighbors in Whitakers said they did not believe he had any.
Although Watson said he could stay up for days, law enforcement sources said he apparently fell asleep for several hours late Monday or early Tuesday. But authorities said they were afraid to move in and arrest him, explaining that if Watson awoke he could trigger any explosive device he had. They said they do not know whether Watson has explosives but want to emerge with "zero casualties."
Others questioned the patient tactics, noting that the whims of one man-who jumped a curb on Constitution Avenue NW with his jeep, tractor and trailer-had snarled traffic through one rush hour after another, kept people from work and put fear into residents and tourists.
Tony Bullock, spokesman for D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), said that federal law enforcement agents should "hurry this along," pointing out the city already is under heightened threat alerts because of the nation's pending war with Iraq.
"We really need to have all of our attention on that and not be distracted by this ongoing saga, so it's time to conclude it," Bullock said. "It can't go on indefinitely. The traffic congestion that's being caused as a result of this is not just inconvenient; it has a security issue attached to it. If we had to evacuate an area, you can't do it effectively with major arteries closed."
Authorities brought out an armored vehicle and had snipers in place. They roped off streets with yellow police tape and redirected passersby. But they otherwise mostly stood by, watching Watson. At two points during the day, he started the tractor, moved it, then stopped.
Police shut down several streets, including Constitution Avenue between 15th and 23rd streets NW. They said the same streets would remain closed today if the standoff was not resolved. Several federal agencies were also expected to remain closed today if the situation continues, including the south annex of the Department of the Interior, which affects about 1,200 of the agency's 6,000 employees. Officials yesterday told only essential personnel to report to work at the Federal Reserve Board, which has 1,700 employees in Washington.
A federal official, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said Park Police recommended that buildings fronting Constitution Avenue be closed "because they were concerned the guy could go berserk and mobile and rush his tractor toward a building, and if he did have a bomb, could cause a lot of damage."
Authorities stationed two large trucks with plows near the pond, ready to block Watson if he tried to drive off.
About 8:30 p.m., authorities used five floodlights to illuminate Watson's tractor as brightly as a baseball field on game night. Shortly before 11 p.m., they turned on a searchlight closer to Watson, and a low-flying helicopter with a powerful light circled the area. Watson appeared to respond by turning on his tractor's flashing lights.
Shortly before midnight authorities started blaring an air horn in short blasts and longer ones, kind of like Morse Code dots and dashes, and even in a melody. Watson responded by shouting obscenities through his bullhorn, but about 12:15 a.m., he moved the tractor, maneuvering it north toward Constitution Avenue and then -- while going in reverse --
heading west along the Mall, parallel to the 1900 block of Constitution, for about half a block.
If Watson had been trying to escape the glare of the lights, he didn't succeed. He had evaded the flood lights, but a helicopter circled overhead, fixing its light on the tractor.
Just before 1:30 a.m., Watson nudged back to where he had been Tuesday night, near 18th and Constitution. In what seemed to be a campaign to keep the North Carolina tobacco farmer off balance, the horns resumed their bleats, and the bright lights were once again trained on the tractor.
Agents apparently were maintaining contact with Watson on his cellular phone, and his neighbors in Whitakers said they had spoken with him, too. One of Watson's brothers, Jim, along with his cousin Skip Watson and Skip's son, Jason, arrived in Washington early yesterday to offer to help with negotiations, but it was unclear whether they had spoken to Dwight Watson, neighbors said.
In the telephone interviews, Watson raised his voice several times while detailing his anger at government policies that he says are forcing tobacco farmers out of business. He said he is destitute and has decided to quit farming. He also denounced the government's $206 billion landmark tobacco settlement in 1998, railed on the attorneys general of several states and said he, his two brothers and his father, George Sr., who died in 1993, were once charged with illegally selling tobacco seed in Canada.
"They're not going to call my daddy a liar," he said. "This is supposed to be the city of liberty and justice for all, but that's a bunch of bull."
In his home town, friends and relatives said that Watson often has expressed his displeasure with the government. He frequented the food mart at the Gold Rock Texaco a mile or so from his farm, where he often would rant for more than an hour about the government's destruction of tobacco farming, said manager Emmett Westbrook.
Watson attended tobacco rallies in Washington and once covered his white Ford Explorer with bumper stickers proclaiming support for tobacco farming. About a month ago, the normally clean-shaven man started growing what became a full beard and began wearing the white gloves, vest, aviator sunglasses and helmet that had been part of his military police uniform.
He told Westbrook he was moving to Florida. His dog, named MP, recently ate a rat and got sick, Westbrook said. Watson apparently left the dog with a friend.
"In retrospect, it does look like he was planning something," Westbrook said. "He'd had a lot of problems lately. He's been flipping toward the edge for a couple of months now. It was very noticeable."
The area at the Mall teemed with law enforcement officers as the FBI and other agencies did their own digging into Watson's background. FBI agents searched Watson's property in North Carolina and found no explosives, sources said.
At times, the area near the pond was quiet and sometimes eerie. Early yesterday, the blinking orange lights of the tractor were visible in the darkness. Then, at 5 a.m., a police negotiator could be heard talking to Watson on a bullhorn. "I can't understand what you're saying. I can't hear you," she said. "Answer your phone, please. . . . Turn off your music so you can hear me."
As rush hour began, with traffic backing up, particularly on routes into the city from Virginia, the area near the pond-close to the Lincoln Memorial-was fairly tranquil. Streets were occupied only by police cars and a golf cart on which Red Cross workers handed out water.
Tourists and workers from nearby office buildings stopped to catch a glimpse of the green tractor through the trees and share theories about what should be done.
There was confusion among some employees who work near Constitution Gardens. Bill Skane, a spokesman for the National Academy of Sciences, a nonprofit group whose executive offices are in a privately owned building on Constitution Avenue just across from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, said: "No one ever called and talked to us."
In the interviews, Watson said he was acting alone. Asked why he decided to protest this week, Watson said: "I just played it by ear. The Lord told me to do it. He said, 'Time is running out, Jack.' "
Staff writers Stephen Barr, Petula Dvorak, David A. Fahrenthold, Christopher Lee, Arthur Santana, Michael D. Shear, Katherine Shaver and Clarence Williams and researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
?2003 The Washington Post Company
作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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