Police, protesters profess praise over 26 arrests in DeChristopher demonstration

SALT LAKE CITY — It's not often that cops — and those whom they arrest — express mutual praise.

But that unlikely twist is part of the aftermath of Tuesday's wholesale arrests at the federal courthouse.

"I can't really say enough about the police," said Megan O'Byrne, one of the 26 who were arrested. "They were really great."

It was one of Utah's biggest mass arrests in years. The mass protest Tuesday over the two-year prison sentence for environmental activist Tim DeChristopher could have easily melted down into head-cracking violence. But it didn't.

Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank had praise for both sides on Wednesday.

"I'm extremely proud of my people and of those individuals who were here making their point" by rallying at the courthouse, he said.

Cool heads, police training, and a commitment by both sides to avoid a heated confrontation seem to be the ingredients that kept things from boiling over.

Emotions were certainly running high as speakers rallied the crowd with dramatic declarations. "Consider this the spark that will ignite this movement," one protestor yelled into a microphone. Another roared through a bullhorn: "Let's tell the whole world that we want climate justice."

The rally veered toward the unpredictable when protesters obstructed the courthouse steps and used plastic zip-ties to attach themselves to handrails. But police stood by and did not break it up — some officers even stepped around and over those protesters,  avoiding a confrontation.

Burbank said his police officers undergo training for protest events, large and small. And the department prepared well ahead of time for protests during DeChristopher's court proceedings.

"We've been working all along, throughout the trial as well as through the sentencing process, with the group of individuals and saying, 'Hey, we're here to facilitate you getting your peaceful message out there,'" the chief said Wednesday.

The situation escalated Tuesday when protesters moved into the street to block traffic. Burbank personally came to the scene to orchestrate the response. "I mean that becomes a violation of law," Burbank said. "It undermines the well-being and public safety of our community."