MORTON COUNTY, ND - (KFGO) - Pepper spray was used during a confrontation Saturday involving more than 300 protesters at a Dakota Access pipeline construction site.
The Morton County Sheriff's office says 83 people were arrested for various crimes including assault on a peace officer, reckless endangerment, engaging in a riot, criminal trespass, resisting arrest, and fleeing an officer on foot. In addition, two officers received minor injuries during the event.
The confrontation lasted about five hours. The protesters marched approximately 3 miles alongside a pipeline right-of-way west of Highway 1806. During that time, a group of protesters attempted to breach the police line and did not follow officer’s instructions.
Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says officers used pepper spray to protect themselves. One protester charged at an officer, tried to grab a canister of pepper spray, and was responsible for the officer getting sprayed in the face, blinding him for five minutes.
Authorities located an older style SUV parked on private property in the pipeline right-of-way area near construction equipment, with flat tires. Four people were attached to the vehicle; two attached to the outside of the vehicle, one attached to the steering wheel and another whose body was outside the vehicle with his arm fed through a hole in the door and his hand was in a bucket of hardened concrete.
“Today’s situation clearly illustrates what we have been saying for weeks, that this protest is not peaceful or lawful. It was obvious to our officers who responded that the protesters engaged in escalated unlawful tactics and behavior during this event" Kirchmeier said. "This protest was intentionally coordinated and planned by agitators with the specific intent to engage in illegal activities,”