CHP MEMORIES

The California Highway Patrol is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in CA, with officers stationed throughout the state. As a result, the department was/is often called to assist smaller agencies, whenever circumstances dictate a larger uniformed presence.

Such was the case back in 1981, when the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant was about to be licensed by the nuclear regulatory commission. This large electrical generating plant in San Luis Obispo County, with 2 nuclear reactors, was the focus of large demonstrations against it's operation. In addition to the protesters who were against any nuclear power generation, the more specific objection to this plant was it's location near 2 earthquake faults, one of which is the famous San Andreas Fault.

With national media attention, the crowd of protesters grew into the thousands, and the local Sheriff's Department quickly called for assistance from the CHP. Each office in the central part of the state sent a contingent of Officers, and I was part of the group dispatched from the Los Banos Office. We drove to the National Guard Base just outside of San Luis Obispo, where we were billeted in the National Guard barracks. At the time, all we knew was that we were going to be there for several days. From there, the National Guard Helicopter detachment flew us over the mountains in Chinnok Helicopters to the power plant, which was located right on the ocean. That was the fun part of this assignment. The rest of the time, it was mostly pretty boring.

The strategy of the protesters was to trespass through the main gate, and with large numbers, occupy the property. Initially, they were successful, overwhelming the small security force, and the presence of the local law enforcement agencies. When the CHP had several hundred Officers present, we formed a picket line at the main gate, and physically prevented anyone from entering the property. We also patrolled the perimeter fence, arresting those that climbed over the fence.

Each shift on the picket line was a couple of hours, as we watched the large crowd parade in front of us with signs, and lots of media coverage. As some of the Hollywood crowd got involved, the multitude of television cameras only increased. I'll never forget one day when I was standing shoulder to shoulder on the "Blue Line" that delineated the Pacific Gas & Electric Company property line. If anyone crossed the blue line, they were subject to arrest for trespassing. One of the Hollywood protesters was Robert Blake, and at the time, he was most famous for his starring role in the TV series Baretta. Each time he walked past my position, he always had something very uncomplimentary to say, and several of us commented that wouldn't it be nice if Mr. Baretta decided to try and cross the blue line. He never did, but many years later when he was on trial for murder, my image of him always reverted back to those days when we were on opposite sides of a public demonstration.

We spent a week at Camp San Luis Obispo, and at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Except for the hours that we stood at the main gate, most of the other hours were spent standing around, or playing cards back in the National Guard barracks. During the two weeks of protests, local law enforcement and the CHP arrested approx. 1,900 people, mostly for trespassing.

Compared to a few other civil disturbances that I was involved with, this protest at Diablo Canyon was peaceful, except for the passive resistance from the hundreds that we arrested. When the crowds of demonstrators began to dwindle, and it was time to head home, we were all ready to get back to a normal life.