By Melissa Traynor
An Iraq War veteran and current CCSU student was arrested last Friday on the University of Pittsburgh campus while he was protesting the Group of 20 talks in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Army Sgt. Jeff Bartos, 24, a full-time student at CCSU, as well as the founder of the Iraq Veterans Against the War Connecticut chapter, was arrested by Pittsburgh Police for failure to disperse, a misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, according to court documents.
News reports indicate that activists had refused to leave the Schenley Quadrangle on the U. Pitt. campus and around 200 of them were arrested. Reports by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review indicate that Bartos and other protesters were doused with tear gas after seven or eight orders form police to disperse.
The Pitt News reported that police proceeded to arrest those who remained in the area including students, protesters and journalists.
According to a post about the incident on the IVAW’s Web site, Bartos had not been affected by the gas, but was attempting to give medical attention to a person nearby. He was then arrested and charged, along with many other protesters.
One of them was Peter Shell, a Carnegie Mellon University student and an organizer with the Thomas Merton Center. The Center is one that focuses its attention on organizing campaigns to bring about political change. Shell was also arrested for failure to disperse and said that despite the charge, many protesters tried to leave the area, but were confronted by police.
“They had no reason to arrest us… When I asked police what the charges were, they didn’t know. Then I asked a third [officer] and he eventually said it was for failure to disperse,” Shell said.
“They trapped us and arrested us,” Shell said. He also recalled that the police used tear gas in addition to rubber bullets and bean bag bullets in what he called a “military style occupation” of the campus.
Earlier in the day, Shell’s Merton Center had organized a peaceful march that attracted 8,000 people by his estimates. Shell said the IVAW, including a van full of Connecticut students, some part of the IVAW joined them in the march. Shell indicated that there were at least 15 protesters from Connecticut.
After Friday night’s scuffle with police, Shell said, the arrested protesters were taken into custody and held for around 8 hours. Bartos, he said, was held for much longer – 15 hours or so, he guessed.
The IVAW’s web site asserted that on Saturday morning that he was being held at either the Allegheny County Jail or the SCI Pittsburgh penitentiary, although neither confirmed that it ever had records of Bartos.
Bartos, who could not be reached for comment, was released on bail Saturday and is scheduled for a hearing at the Pittsburgh Municipal Court today, Wednesday Sept. 30.
At press time, student groups from CCSU were planning to travel to Pittsburgh to support Bartos at the courthouse. Shell said he and fellow organizers have already planned a courthouse rally that morning.
