Police, Genetics Event Protesters Scuffle

Police skirmished with protesters Monday near a downtown hotel where an international conference of scientists had convened to discuss the latest advances in animal genetics.

Eighty people were arrested, Police Chief Robert Olson said. One police officer suffered a minor injury; no major injuries were reported among protesters, though dozens were hit with pepper spray and others were struck with police batons.

“We tried to be as gentle as we could,” Olson said. “They want to shut down our city. We were not going to let them do that.”

The skirmishes were the first significant disruption since the International Society for Animal Genetics conference opened Friday under heavy security.

Police, determined to avoid violence on the scale of the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle last year, erected concrete barriers and steel fencing around the hotel, where about 650 scientists are meeting through Wednesday.

Monday’s scuffles broke out after more than 200 protesters had gathered in a downtown park. About 1 p.m., a group of about 25 tested a line of 12 officers in riot gear about three blocks from the hotel.

Protesters used a gas canister apparently containing a chemical irritant and threw rocks at officers, Deputy Police Chief G.S. Hestness said.

Officers fired beanbag-like projectiles into the crowd.

Eventually, protesters did break through a police line into a park that has served as a staging area for demonstrators since the meeting opened Friday evening.

Activists say genetic engineering threatens biodiversity and could pollute delicate ecosystems.