Shots From the Halliburton Protest Today in Duncan, OK- May 17, 2006

[Rick Waldroup]

Here are some random shots from today in Duncan, OK at the Halliburton protest. There will be many more shots posted tomorrow on my pbase account. There were several arrests- anywhere from 16 to 30 depending on the news source. I arrived about 7:30 in the morning and stayed until close to noon. The protesters probably numbered about 300 or so. An interesting note, there was an elementary school across the street from Halliburton and they shut it down for the day- just as a precaution. The authorites were well prepared but the crowd was not near as big as what they anticipated. I will post many more shots tomorrow on pbase.

[David]

VERY nice shots.

[lscottpht]

great shots!! looks like the ARA was there. they always make quite a presence! love shooting them! you did an awesome job! thought about shooting it, but my agency showed us in a newsletter the type of protests shots we are up against (Germany, France, and other international ones...ours pale in comparison); so, i'm laying off the protests for awhile unless its something major. anyway, you did really well!

[BobbyC]

Good shots, were you working for a paper?

[Jeff_Green]

Good shots! What a surprise, was that Cindy Sheehan???

[Rick Waldroup]

I used to work for a couple of newspapers many years ago. This was strictly freelance stuff. That was not Sheehan. I had the same impression as you did Jeff when I first saw her. I was a pretty good distance away from them but when I looked through the camera I could tell that it was not Cindy Sheehan. At first, the cops kept everyone with a camera back a ways, but as they kept arresting people we were able to get closer and closer. There were only a couple of times things got a little tense and that is when the protesters broke down the orange fence and when the ARA guys headed towards the street. Other than that it was fairly peaceful. The police had everything firmly in control. The Chief of Police in Duncan was a great guy. He actually came out several times and spoke to some of the protesters and told one of them to put out the joint he was smoking so he would not have to arrest him. It was a wild and interesting day.

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by Rick Waldroup

He actually came out several times and spoke to some of the protesters and told one of them to put out the joint he was smoking so he would not have to arrest him. It was a wild and interesting day.

So did you do as he asked???

[Rick Waldroup]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

So did you do as he asked???

Well now, aren't you the funny man. Actually, if this had been just a few years earlier..... To tell you the truth, I was amazed by their Chief of Police. The guy was really active and helped diffuse a couple of incidents that could have gotten out of hand. I just now got through posting about 70 shots of the event on pbase and there are several of the Chief dealing with the protesters in a very civilized manner. I think his disposition towards the protesters helped a lot in the outcome of the protest. Every time he approached someone he would always ask, "Well now what can I do to make sure this ends up right for both of us?" Duncan is lucky to have such a pro-active man in the position.

[My Porsche]

i love how these people are so brave in their protesting that they wear bandanas over their face

go all the way or dont go, wussies

[PeteQ]

Rick, kudos to you for passing along the story-line on the Chief of Police. It's amazing what a little mutual respect can accomplish isn't it?

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Some great shots, was there really a SWAT team nearby?

[Rick Waldroup]

Pete you are exactly right. The guy just walked right up to the barrier and lit up the joint right in front of the cops to engage them in some type of confrontaion. The Chief actually made the guy look kind of foolish and he meekly put the thing out. Time and time again he handled situations like this. He really was something to watch.

[Rick Waldroup]

Originally Posted by DEMDeepEllumMusic

Some great shots, was there really a SWAT team nearby?

Thanks Paul. I was looking for you there. Kathy and I actually drove up Tuesday night. There were no hotel rooms to be had in Duncan so we stayed in a place called the A-OK Motel in Waurika, about 20 miles south of Duncan. It wasn't the Hilton, but it wasn't too bad. Looked like the decor had not been changed since the 50's, but it was clean and had satellite TV. Yes, there was a SWAT team there. Everytime I tried to get a shot of them, they ducked behind a fire truck. And they were a good ways away from the crowd. What few shots I did get of them, you could not see much and the shots were soft, I used the longest lens I had, and they were in deep shadow so it was tough to get off a good shot. They were in full riot gear with sheilds and everything. The only time things really got a little tense was when the ARA kids moved towards the fence and when they marched towards the street. The ARA kids really made the cops nervous. I could tell the police were expecting many more protesters than what showed up. One young girl flashed the cops her breasts and of course I did't have the camera up to my eye at that moment. Then some guys in the crowd started shouting for her to do it again, and this time I waited with the camera ready, but of course she never did it again. Plus I had Kathy beating me in the back of the head. She didn't think any of this was funny. I wish you had been there. We would have had a good time shooting together.

[jDett]

Did they arrest any shareholders?

[Rick Waldroup]

Originally Posted by jDett

Did they arrest any shareholders?

Well, of course not. It was strange in that a lot of the shareholders walking in to and out of the meeting looked upon the protesters as though they had no idea as to why the protesters were there. A lot of them seemed to have a perplexed look on their face as to why this was happening, and then again a lot of them had an expression that they could care less. That's the way it goes, I suppose.