'The Shit Show' 

Page 6 of 9

7:09 p.m. — Police read the dispersal order and begin removing furniture from the barricade at the western entrance to Siemens Hall. Cress directs officers in front of the building to push protesters back. As officers pull furniture from the blockade, the protesters behind it inside the building become increasingly animated, jumping and shouting, "Free, free, free Palestine!" Inside the building, as the officer begins reading the dispersal order, some protesters begin an Indigenous prayer, burning rosemary and other herbs.

7:14 p.m. — An officer reports to Cress that some protesters inside the building are now throwing cans at officers attempting to remove the barricade. The crowd of bystanders outside the building grows increasingly loud, converging on the line of officers. An Arcata police officer holding the door open tells several Eureka police officers with shields to move to the front of the barricade to protect others from projectiles. As she does, Jackson approaches Cress to report, "They're throwing shit." "OK," Cress responds. "Are you ready to start bringing people out?" Jackson says no, reports that "they still have stuff in the way" and tells Cress to have officers move the group outside the building back farther.

7:16 p.m. — Cress does not direct officers to move the group of bystanders back and instead stands monitoring the situation. Inside Siemens Hall, a scrum has now broken out, with protesters pushing back against officers' efforts to push their way into the building. A Eureka police officer loses her footing and is pinned against the furniture barricade. Officers wield batons against protesters, hitting at least two over the head — leaving a bloody wound to one's scalp, and a large bruise on another's forehead — and jabbing others. A protester uses a 5-gallon water jug to bonk a helmeted officer over the head, footage of which will soon go viral nationally. Cress radios dispatch to request additional units from allied agencies. "Send them Code 3," he says, as screams seemingly come from all directions.

7:17 p.m. — Two protesters are pulled from the fray at the entryway and pinned to the ground, with officers cuffing their hands behind them, as the group outside the building screams, "Leave them alone." As the protesters are lifted — one to their feet, the other carried — Cress yells for officers to lift them by the shoulders, not their hands or arms, to avoid injuring them.

7:20 p.m. — Cress pulls Fisher aside near the quad and says police need a facilities truck that can be backed up to the entrance of Siemens Hall and loaded with furniture pulled from the blockade. He expresses concern that the increasingly angry group outside Siemens Hall may use the furniture for other purposes if it's not secured.

7:22 p.m. — Cress and Jackson discuss next steps, with Cress asking where additional officers should be directed as they respond. "Here," Jackson says. They agree the crowd outside Siemens Hall needs to be pushed back and furniture from the barricade secured before any attempt can be made to clear the building. "I'm more concerned about the crowd out here," Cress says.

7:24 p.m. — Cress tells someone on the phone, "I've got everyone in the county coming Code 3. They are not going peacefully. They're resisting."

7:24 p.m. — Martin approaches Cress and tells him he needs to go talk to deputy Peter Leipzig, saying he wants to "pull everyone" and call in the SWAT team. Cress then walks to library circle where Leipzig is on the phone. "What do you need?" Leipzig asks. "I need people on that line," Cress says. Leipzig suggests calling in SWAT, "just for the bodies," and Cress agrees, making clear he doesn't want a full SWAT response but needs additional personnel. Cress then tells a group of officers nearby to follow Leipzig back to the front line, saying, "He's got the mission."