file photo/Arizona Daily Wildcat

A Mount Graham protestor gets arrested last month near the UA Library. Pima County Attorney's office dropped charges of class 5 rioting against the protestors due to a lack of evidence.

County attorney's office says protestors' actions didn't resemble rioting

The Pima County Attorney's Office dropped charges against 27 people involved in an Oct. 12 protest of the university's presence on Mount Graham.

The charge of class 5 rioting originally sought by the University of Arizona Police Department was dropped on Oct. 16 because of the lack of evidence to prove the incident was a riot.

On Oct. 12, as many as 35 people representing American Indian and environmental groups reportedly entered the Mirror Lab under Arizona Stadium forcibly in protest of the university's alleged negligence for wildlife and the religious value the mountain held for Native Americans.

The protestors then walked toward the Mall, where 27 of them were detained.

Two Mirror Lab employees were reportedly injured as protestors entered the building.

UAPD officials consulted with the county attorney's office, which recommended the charge of class 5 rioting the day of the incident.

But Lou Spivack, a Pima County deputy attorney, said that after his office performed an in-depth investigation, it found the incident in no way resembled a riot.

Spivack used the Fourth Avenue riots as a good example of incident warranting charges of class 5 rioting.

On April 2, fans on North Fourth Avenue lashed out after the UA loss to Duke University in the NCAA Championship. Windows were broken; cars were destroyed and a mobile home was lit on fire.

"If you were here about a year ago, you'd know what a riot is," he said.

The county attorney's office recommended UAPD officials charge protestors with interfering with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution - a misdemeanor.

Spivack said it is now up to UAPD to decide whether to cite them again.

UAPD Cmdr. Brian Seastone said the case is still under investigation.

"We will continue to investigate the crime and make sure the charges are appropriate," he said.

Seastone said UAPD should be finished with the investigation by the end of the week.

Paul Gattone, staff attorney for the Southern Arizona People's Law Center, witnessed the detainment of the protestors. He expressed concern for the change in recommendation given by the county attorney's office.

"There's certainly questions on whether those charges should have been filed in the first place," Gattone said. "I think it shows there was an overreaction of law enforcement."

Gattone, who has defended groups who held protests on campus in the past, said the majority of charges placed after a protest is misdemeanor offenses.

"For people who might be contemplating a protest, this might deter them from exercising their First Amendment right," he said.