About 30 people gathered Tuesday at the Douglas County Judicial & Law Enforcement Center claiming that police used excessive force to arrest protesters Monday night outside a Dole Institute dedication event.

The group came to the center, at 111 E. 11th St., to attend first appearances for four of the 18 people arrested Monday, and they had an impromptu protest beforehand outside the building. Some held signs that read, “Police brutality” and “Cops lie.”

At least three protesters have been charged with battery on law enforcement officers stemming from events outside a $500-a-plate dinner Monday at the Lawrence Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive. Others face charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice or having an illegal weapon.

But Corinna Kimball-Brown and others who gathered at the courthouse Tuesday said the protesters were beaten, not the officers. She said officers arrested some people who weren’t doing anything illegal.

“I’m disappointed in the Lawrence Police,” she said.

¢6News video report on protest, arrests

Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a Police Department spokesman, said officers “used enormous restraint and acted appropriately” at Monday’s protest.

“I’ve been told by the supervisors who were present at the location that the actions were entirely justified,” Pattrick said.

Many of the protesters identify themselves as anarchists, and in recent months the group has successfully “occupied” Massachusetts Street and South Park temporarily without violence. Pattrick said the situation was different Monday in part because there were “federally protected” VIPs at the Holidome and because the protest threatened to block McDonald Drive, which he said is a highway used for interstate commerce.

Conflict began when protesters marched down McDonald Drive to the Holidome and some tried to remain in the roadway. Officers arrested about five people and then moved the protest to the west side of the road, but some protesters say they never heard a clear order to stay out of the road.

A scuffle began later when a group of people at the front of the protest began marching across the street. One of the first officers they made contact with was Chief Ron Olin, who was standing near the front line of the protest.

“They knocked over the chief of police,” Pattrick said.

Protester Dave Strano of Lawrence disputed that as he stood outside the courthouse Tuesday, saying Olin “charged” the protesters and fell down in the process. Other protesters described seeing their friends thrown to the ground as other officers came to help.

Olin wasn’t injured.

Strano, 21, said that during the scuffle he was knocked to the ground and kicked twice in the groin. On Tuesday he had a “v”-shaped cut on his forehead.

“I think our police chief is just trying to cover his butt because he was personally there and directed the entire charade of security,” Strano said. “It wasn’t about keeping people secure. It was about showing who was in charge.”

After the arrests, police found a bottle of ammonia and a “wrist rocket”-style slingshot among protesters’ belongings, Pattrick said.

Asked whether he thought the department could have done anything better during the handling of the protest, Pattrick said it was too early to say.

“We think that the event went extremely well,” he said.