G-20 arrestees prepare community service hours for court hearings

By the time Daniel Martin realized he should run, it was too late. The Cathedral lawn swarmed… By the time Daniel Martin realized he should run, it was too late. The Cathedral lawn swarmed with G-20 security forces, and Martin, who said he had been out observing the protests snaking through Oakland, was arrested on charges of failure to disperse as well as disorderly conduct.

At his preliminary hearing four weeks later, the Allegheny County legal system presented Martin with a choice: Fight the charges in court, pay a $300 fine or complete 50 hours of community service before the end of January. It was an easy decision for the senior classics major.

“I didn’t want a court battle hanging over my head,” Martin said. “And I definitely didn’t want to pay. I took the 50 hours because I wanted to forget that the G-20 ever happened.”

For Martin and about 90 others, events surrounding the tumultuous late-September Summit will finally come to a close today. At another court hearing — on Jan. 20th for some and Jan. 22nd for others — the students must provide proof that they completed 50 hours of community service. If they do so, their charges will be dropped, said Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr.

This is not the first time the DA’s office has offered offenders a chance to complete community service in exchange for reducing or expunging their criminal charges. Zappala said the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police implemented a similar program last February to punish those arrested during demonstrations following the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory.

“I think I can speak for both the Pitt and the Pittsburgh police departments and say this program recognizes that students were expressing a matter of principle, a matter of belief,” Zappala said. “They may have violated the law, but they don’t deserve to have a criminal record because of it.”

Zappala said 23 demonstrations took place in Oakland during the G-20, involving more than 10,000 people. Twenty of the protests were considered lawful, he said, and three were not. During the three illegal demonstrations, which took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, police arrested about 200 people — half of whom opted to complete community service.

The DA’s office asked the University to help administer the community service program.

“We asked Pitt to find some activity where the students could help the University, and the University could help the students,” Zappala said. “We’ve already had a large number of students move through the program. If the University tells us that they are satisfied with the students’ volunteer work, then that is fine with this office.”

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said the University’s Student Volunteer Outreach Program sent out a letter directing arrested students to local volunteer groups like Pittsburgh Care — an online service that connects prospective volunteers with local nonprofits. He added that Pitt did not assist non-students.

Martin, who plans to get a master’s degree in education and eventually teach Latin, said he logged 44 of the 50 hours as of Monday night through Pittsburgh Care and expects to complete them by today.

He logged hours at a food pantry in South Oakland and other hours renovating a dilapidated house in Shadyside — repainting walls and stuffing bags of groceries. While Martin maintains that he did not deserve to be arrested in the first place, he has enjoyed the community service process so far.

“I actually had a good time renovating that house,” Martin said. “When I first started, I felt like I was being wrongly punished. After a while, though, it was kind of cool. I got to help old ladies carry groceries around Oakland and help rebuild a house. It was definitely satisfying.”

Zappala said that people who entered the program but fail to complete the 50 hours will not necessarily be found guilty. Rather, their charges will be reinstated, and the trial process will start from the beginning.

“We have found that most people, both those who were arrested and those taking part in the prosecution, find the program to be very fair,” Zappala said. “I understand and support the actions of the police during the G-20, but still, we’re not trying to hurt any student’s future.”